Some time has passed since we last witnessed the demise of Master Jedi Mace Windu. He had Emperor Palpatine right where he wanted him, only to have a Dark Side embracing Anakin Skywalker slice off his hand. A quick zap of Force-lighting later, and Windu was tossed some 20 stories down to the busy streets of Coruscant.
Tough way to go for the only man worthy enough to ride into battle wielding a purple lightsaber. However, now over ten years since Revenge of the Sith was released, the details of Mace Windu’s death are being scrutinized by none other than Samuel L Jackson himself.
The series of Windu death-questions started during a Twitter Q&A between Jackson and some fans.
.@starwarsgirl1 #IMDbAskSamJackson pic.twitter.com/aSZ0uwHUpz
— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) June 25, 2016
“In my mind, I’m not dead. Jedi can fall incredibly high distances and not die.”
That could have been the end of the discussion. A simple comment lost in the archives of a Twitter session. However, Entertainment Weekly didn’t let up. Instead, they grilled Jackson on his comments to find out if he truly believes Mace Windu is dead.
“Of course he is (alive)! Jedi can fall from amazing distances. And there’s a long history of one-handed Jedi. So why not?”
So let’s just say Windu did survive. Where did he end up? Well, Jackson agreed with the notion that like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Windu fell into seclusion and is hiding out from the Empire. That would enable Jackson to return to the Star Wars franchise and perhaps be a lost relative for Finn (a rumor that once spread rampant across the internet). If Windu does get involved, he did get the blessing from one prominent Star Wars figure.
When asked if he talked to anyone about his theory, Jackson replied, “Only George (Lucas)… but George doesn’t have anything to do with it anymore.” But that didn’t stop Lucas from giving the green light. “George is like, ‘I’m okay with that. You can be alive.”
I mean, if George Lucas (the Godfather of Star Wars), is fine bringing Windu back into the fold, who are we to deny Mr. Jackson’s wishes. Imagine how happy you would be if during the final scene in Episode VIII, Finn is on some mysterious island and holds a lightsaber out… only to have Sam Jackson stare back at him before the film ends. A perfect and familiar ending.
Let’s be honest here. As much as I’d love to see the stoic Windu return to aid the Jedi, he’s toast (literally). I know Jedi have been known to Force-leap great distances, but remember: this is a man who had a limb chopped off and was burnt to a crisp. There was no chance for him to recoup that quickly, dodge all those flying Coruscant vehicles, survive the fall, and escape the planet incognito. Still, that doesn’t mean Mace Windu is “done” in a galaxy far, far away.
Remember, there are always Force ghosts. Perhaps he was brushing up on the notion Qui-Gon Jinn was looking into. Then in a future installment, we can have a loaded Jedi Council will all the fan-favorites: Mace, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Qui-Gon, (my personal favorite) Kit Fisto, and for the hell of it, a surprisingly chipper Anakin Skywalker. They can all spend eternity laughing about their mortal days and try to keep the Force balanced the best they can. Hey… I think I just came up with another spinoff: STAR WARS: SPACE GHOSTS!!!
