Obi-Wan Kenobi officially kicked off the second half of its season with the release of Episode 4 on Disney+. Directed by Deborah Chow and starring Ewan McGregor as the titular Jedi Master, the series explores Obi-Wan's life following the events of Revenge of the Sith. McGregor is joined by Vivien Lyra Blair, who portrays Leia Organa, Moses Ingram as Reva, the Third Sister Inquisitor, and Hayden Christensen, who is reprising his role as Darth Vader.
Due to the show taking place after Order 66, Master Kenobi isn't the only Jedi that has appeared on-screen or been the topic of discussion among the characters.
Part I featured Benny Safdie's Nari, a Jedi that was also hiding on Tatooine and being hunted by the Inquisitors. In Part III, no other Jedi made an actual appearance, but Quinlan Vos was mentioned and the Path was introduced, which is a network of secret tunnels that on-the-run Jedi have access to in case they need a quick getaway from the Empire.
Before Obi-Wan Kenobi premiered, many fans speculated that there would be surprise appearances from multiple familiar characters. In Part IV, there was a quick shot that may have featured one of the most well-known characters from the prequel trilogy.
New Evidence Could Suggest Mace Windu is Still Alive
Warning - the rest of this article contains spoilers for Part IV of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
In Episode 4 of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Master travels to Fortress Inquisitorius to rescue Leia from the hands of the Third Sister. He is aided by Indira Varma's Tala, as she is able to get through the security of the stronghold due to her ranking as an Imperial Officer.
Obi-Wan infiltrates the lower section of the base by swimming into an entry point that is below the surface of the water. After he takes out a stormtrooper and evades a security droid, he is on his way to find Leia when he enters a long hallway of horrors. This hallway is revealed to be housing the bodies of dozens of Jedi, showing what happens to them after they are captured and tortured by the Inquisitors.
The Jedi Master walks through the room and sees the faces of former members of his Order frozen in time. However, after he comes back to his senses and diverts his focus back to Leia, he runs out of the hallway and heads for the interrogation room.
As Obi-Wan is running out of the hallway, some fans have claimed to see Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu in one of the frozen holding cells. Twitter user @tomprinciotto noticed that the frozen Jedi looked like Mace Windu, saying "This has to be Mace Windu" and tagged Jackson in the post.
If true, this would confirm that the Jedi Master survived his encounter with Darth Sidious and Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith, and was later captured by the Inquisitors instead. @imbeing_myself also questioned whether or not it was the former champion of the Jedi Order by asking "WAIT IS THAT MACE WINDU" and including a photo of the holding cell.
Another fan, @gaabrielrulez, thought that it was Master Windu as well, asking "Does this look like Mace Windu to anyone???!!!" Upon closer look, the figure does seem to have striking similarities to Samuel L. Jackson and also appears to be wearing the same Jedi robes that he was often seen wearing during the prequel era.
@64_bit420 was more confident than the other Twitter users, claiming that the figure frozen in time was definitely the master of Vaapad, saying "This is 100% Mace Windu btw."
Why The Jedi in Obi-Wan Kenobi Isn't Mace Windu
It could be argued that the figure inside Fortress Inquisitorius is in fact Mace Windu. His fate is left open-ended in Revenge of the Sith because, even though he got thrown out a window by Darth Sidious, Force users in Star Wars have survived much worse, such as Darth Maul. However, there are a few reasons that this is most likely just some random Jedi and not one of the former leading members of the Jedi Council.
When the image of the Master Windu lookalike is zoomed in, he clearly has his right hand. When Mace, along with three other members of the Order, went to arrest Chancellor Palpatine, Anakin came in at the last moment. Just as Mace was about to kill Palpatine, Anakin drew his lightsaber and cut off his right hand. It could be argued that Mace may have found some sort of medical bay and got that hand replaced with a mechanical one just as Luke and Anakin did, but it is highly unlikely, seeing how injured he would have been from the Force lightning and the fall.
Fans also have to remember that the Jedi began to be hunted by the clones right after Mace was thrown out the window, so if he had gone to any sort of medical establishment or back to the Jedi Temple, he would have definitely been killed.
Even if Windu did get his hand replaced, possibly in some sort of underworld parlor on Coruscant, Obi-Wan would not have run right past him. Those two characters had extensive history and a great amount of respect for one another. They not only served alongside each other on the Jedi Council, but they also fought together multiple times during the Clone Wars. If Mace was being held in that chamber in Fortress Inquisitorius, Obi-Wan would have been able to feel it through the Force, and he would definitely have stopped to mourn his fallen Council member.
It is also important to point out that Disney and Lucasfilm wouldn't bring back Mace Windu for a background Easter egg shot. Samuel L. Jackson has expressed that he would be interested in returning to the world of Star Wars, and due to him being one of the biggest and most influential actors of the modern era, his wish would definitely be granted and he would be used in a much larger role.
Viewers are always looking for Easter eggs or familiarities when it comes to Star Wars. Due to Mace Windu's abrupt fate in Revenge of the Sith, fans have been wanting to see more of him and have always claimed that he did not meet his end in that scene. Since Jackson is ready to return to the galaxy far, far away, perhaps those wishes will be granted sometime in the near future.
Part IV of Obi-Wan Kenobi is now streaming on Disney+.
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