Bryce Dallas Howardhas spoken to Dave Filoni aboutSamuel L. Jacksonreturning to theStar Warsfranchise. While Bryce Dallas Howard is an accomplished actress, having appeared in films likeJurassic World,The Village, andSpider-Man 3, she has also made a name for herself as a director. She has excelled in theStar Warsuniverse, directing episodes ofThe Mandalorian,The Book of Boba Fett, andSkeleton Crew. Howard’s episodes are often regarded as some of the best in their series, and fans have been hoping Lucasfilm will take the leap and upgrade her to a feature film.
In an interview withThe Direct, Bryce Dallas Howard spoke about wanting to reteam with herArgylleco-star Samuel L. Jackson. She revealed that since Jackson had previously appeared in theStar Warsprequels as Mace Windu, she had mentioned the idea to Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni about bringing his character back. It sounds like it was nothing more than a conversation, likely just two creatives sharing ideas and pitches. Howard said:
“I want to work with Sam Jackson, just no matter what, in any circumstance. And I also love working in Star Wars… And so, you know, I harass Dave Filoni a lot about a lot of things, and that’s just one, but, yeah, no, that was a fun conversation, but didn’t add up to anything.”
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Why Mace Windu Not Returning is For the Best
This is not the first timeBryce Dallas Howard mentioned bringing Samuel L. Jackson backas Mace Windu, as she hinted at her intentions earlier in 2025. Samuel L. Jackson appeared as Mace Windu in all three Star Wars prequels, and even reprised his role for a voice cameo inThe Rise of Skywalker. The character died inRevenge of the Sith, following Anakin Skywalker cutting off his hand and Palpatine shooting him with Force lightning and sending him flying into the streets of Coruscant. Yet, because fans technically didn’t see a body, there has been a desire to see the Jedi master return and reveal he actually survived.
Even though fans might want to see more Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, retconning the character’s death would only enforce the major criticism ofStar Warsthat characters can’t seem to stay dead. Revealing thatDarth Maul had survivedhis fatal wounds was already a hard pill to swallow. Following the infamous “somehow Palpatine returned” moment fromThe Rise of Skywalker, bringing back Samuel Jackson as Mace Windu would only enforce the idea that death is meaningless inStar Wars. Jackson could reprise his role as Mace Windu in a story set before his death, which would likely involve some digital de-aging, and the technology has repeatedly shown it is never quite up to the challenge.
With Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy’s recent comments about wanting topivotStar Warsto more standalone storiesthat don’t need to connect to prior films or characters, bringing Mace Windu back would only be going backwards. Lucasfilm should give Bryce Dallas Howard aStar Warsfilm and let her maybe sneak in a Mace Windu Easter egg or cameo by Samuel L. Jackson in a holorecording. Books and comics could delve more into Mace Windu, but the franchise should focus on building up new characters that can carry the franchise forward, so they don’t need to keep going back to the same characters.
Source:The Direct
