After previous teases, this Mandalorian director is walking back her comments about Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu resurrection. From 1999 to 2005, Jackson played the fierce Jedi master, appearing in George Lucas' Prequel Trilogy before getting offed by Ian McDiarmid's Emperor Palpatine directly preceding his iconic Order 66 massacre of the Jedi Council. Since then, Jackson's purple saber-wielding Jedi has not been heard from outside of some appearances in the animated Clone Wars series (which was not voiced by the Nick Fury actor).
Despite that, fans have been loud and clear about wanting Mace Windu to be restricted in some form in the Disney Star Wars era. In an exclusive conversation with The Direct, while promoting her new movie Deep Cover, The Mandalorian director Bryce Dallas Howard addressed her previous comments about potentially getting Samuel L. Jackson back into the Star Wars fray with his Mace Windu character.
When asked about the iconic actor potentially reprising his prequel trilogy role, Howard admitted that she "want[s] to work with Sam Jackson" in Star Wars or not:
"Well, I mean, I want to work with Sam Jackson, just no matter what, in any circumstance. And I also love working in Star Wars."
"I harass Dave Filoni a lot about a lot of things," Howard remarked, and bringing back Jackson "is one of them;" however, those conversations have not "[added] up to anything:"
"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."
In April, The Mandalorian director let slip that Jackson told her he would "act in something that [she] directed," which she promptly took to Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni.
This sparked rampant speculation amongst the Star Wars fandom, with fans wondering how and if Jackson's Mace Windu could ever return to the galaxy far, far away.
Bryce Dallas Howard and Samuel L. Jackson previously worked together on Apple TV+ Plus' action-comedy Argylle but have yet to collaborate as actor and director. Howard has directed five episodes of live-action Star Wars television over the years, taking the helm on three episodes of the acclaimed Mandalorian series, one on The Book of Boba Fett, and another on 2024's space-faring adventure Skeleton Crew.
Her next Star Wars project has not yet been officially announced, but with The Mandalorian's streaming future in doubt, it seems highly unlikely that it would be in any potential fourth season of the hit Disney+ show.
Will Mace Windu Return to Star Wars?
As of May 2025, it has been 20 years since Samuel L. Jackson was last seen or heard from in the Star Wars canon. After having his arms sliced clean off by Palpatine to kick off Episode III's third act, Jackson's Jedi character has been largely absent from the Lucasian canon. But that is not to say that will remain the case forever.
In March 2022, the Mace Windu actor teased that he is up for returning if given the opportunity. "There’s a huge history of people with one hand returning in Star Wars," Jackson posited at the time, saying he had asked Bryce Dallas Howard to "Put [him] back in there:"
"Definitely. There’s a huge history of people with one hand returning in Star Wars… The only person I’ve ever said that to about coming back was Bryce Dallas Howard, ’cause I just did a movie with her. And she directs episodes of 'The Mandalorian,' so, 'You think you might be able to hook a brother up? I mean you like me, right?' She’s like, 'I love you, you’re amazing!' So, ‘Put me back in there… Put me in coach, I’m ready!’ You know, I’ll learn to lightsaber left-handed. Come on, hook me up.”
So, it is clear that Jackson is not against coming back to the Star Wars universe; it is just a matter of making it happen.
Sure, he may have technically died at the end of Revenge of the Sith, but we didn't see a body (in fact, according to an Obi-Wan Kenobi fan theory, he may be being kept in captivity by the Empire).
To paraphrase the prequels-era star, Star Wars has a long history of characters returning from the quote/unquote dead. Darth Maul, Asajj Ventress, and Emperor Palpatine have all been resurrected in some form (whether literally or not). So, why not do the same with Mace Windu at some point in the future?
With some more story to be told in the Mandalorian timeline, where his return seems to make the most sense, Dave Filoni and the Star Wars brain trust would be smart to tie an aged-up version of Mace into the ever-evolving Star Wars story, even if it is just for a brief cheer-inducing cameo.
