Star Wars Might Actually Bring Mace Windu Back
Bryce Dallas Howard wants to work with Samuel L. Jackson again—and she's not shy about it.
In an interview with The Direct, she said she's been nudging Dave Filoni to bring Jackson's Star Wars character Mace Windu back from the dead. Here's exactly how she put it:
"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."
So no, nothing official—just Bryce being a fan with access. But it's not the first time she's said something like this. Back in early 2025, she dropped similar hints, and given her directing track record (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Skeleton Crew), fans are more than happy to encourage her.
As for Mace Windu: he was last seen getting his hand chopped off by Anakin and launched out a Coruscant skyscraper by Palpatine's lightning in Revenge of the Sith. No body, though—which in Star Wars logic means he's probably still out there brooding in a back alley.
Jackson's already popped back once via a voice cameo in The Rise of Skywalker, so a return isn't impossible. But it also wouldn't help the franchise's growing reputation for treating death like a minor inconvenience. After Maul came back with robot legs and Palpatine came back with… somehow, fans might be reaching their limit.
Could they set it before Windu's death? Sure—but it would require digital de-aging, and Lucasfilm's track record there has been... mixed. And with Kathleen Kennedy now saying the studio wants more standalone stories with fresh characters, reviving Mace might be more nostalgia than strategy.
Still, if anyone deserves a shot at a Star Wars feature, it's Bryce Dallas Howard. Her episodes consistently rank among the best in the franchise. Let her make a movie. Let her throw in a holorecording of Windu if she needs her Sam Jackson fix. Just don't drag the whole timeline backward again trying to retcon another miraculous survival.
At some point, somebody in the galaxy has to stay dead. Maybe. Probably. Well… we'll see.