It’s no secret that the Star Wars prequels had a way of draining the charm and personality out of even the most talented and charismatic of actors. At least, for the most part. When it came to Samuel L. Jackson though, that wasn’t quite the case, as the legendary performer emerged from the oft-ridiculed trilogy mostly unscathed. True, his turn as Mace Windu was weighed down by some rough dialogue, but the Jedi master made a strong impression with fans and to this day folks are still calling for him to wield the purple lightsaber once more.
Whether it’ll ever happen or not remains to be seen – and we wouldn’t hold our breath – but it at least sounds like the actor would be all for returning. Back in the summer, he revealed that he’d be “totally interested in revisiting Mace Windu” and now, in a more recent interview, he said much the same.
Speaking to JOE to promote his new movie Glass, Jackson was asked if he’d return to the Star Wars franchise to reprise the role and said that he absolutely would, telling the outlet that “all they got to do is call.” They being Lucasfilm, who so far haven’t expressed any interest in bringing Mace back. At least, not that we know of.
Then again, Star Wars is no stranger to bringing supposedly deceased characters back to life whenever there’s fan demand. Just look at Boba Fett for example, who apparently met his demise in the Sarlacc Pit in Return of the Jedi, only to be alive and well in various Expanded Universe fictions.
In fact, Jackson himself even believes that Mace might still be alive, saying the following back at the Star Wars Celebration 40th anniversary panel in 2017:
“I know you’re all in my corner on this. We all know Jedi can fall from incredible heights and survive, so apparently, I am not dead. Yes, I have two appendages right now, but we know the long and rich history of Star Wars characters reappearing with new appendages and being stronger and better than they ever were. Mace Windu is awaiting his return, let’s make it happen!”
Again, we wouldn’t hold our breath waiting for Sammy J to return – despite how much fans want it to happen. We wouldn’t say it’s totally off the table, but something tells us Lucasfilm will be more interested in looking forward with the Star Wars franchise post-Episode IX than continuing to revisit characters from the past.