Mace Windu

Several early incarnations of the character were present in George Lucas's original Star Wars drafts. They included a narrator, Princess Leia's brother and Luke Skywalker's friend.{{cite book|first=J.W.|last=Rinzler|title=The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film|publisher=Del Rey Books|location=London, England|date=2007|isbn=978-0345494764}} The character was ultimately removed from the original film trilogy, but it resurfaced in 1994 when Lucas began writing the prequel trilogy.

Although his weapon was not seen onscreen until Attack of the Clones, action figures released for The Phantom Menace paired Windu with a blue lightsaber.{{cite web|last=Veekhoven|first=Tim|date=June 30, 2014|title=The Beginning: Hasbro's Phantom Menace Toys|url=https://www.starwars.com/news/the-beginning-hasbros-phantom-menace-toys|access-date=October 13, 2019|website=StarWars.com|archive-date=October 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013072750/https://www.starwars.com/news/the-beginning-hasbros-phantom-menace-toys|url-status=live}} During the production of Attack of the Clones, Jackson asked Lucas if his character could wield a purple lightsaber to make him easily distinguishable in large battle scenes.{{cite web|first=Jeff|last=Giles|url=http://screencrush.com/star-wars-samuel-l-jackson-purple-lightsaber/|title=Samuel L. Jackson On The Hilarious Origins Of His Purple Lightsaber in 'Star Wars'|website=ScreenCrush|publisher=Townsquare Media|location=Greenwich, Connecticut|date=July 1, 2013|access-date=November 1, 2018|archive-date=May 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508185336/https://screencrush.com/star-wars-samuel-l-jackson-purple-lightsaber/|url-status=live}} According to Jackson, the lightsaber's hilt was engraved with the phrase "bad motherfucker", which is a reference to his role in Pulp Fiction. The engraving is not visible in the films.{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Prairie|date=May 18, 2005|title=Celebrity Spotlight: Samuel L. Jackson|url=http://www.longislandpress.com/?cp=142&show=article&a_id=3977|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051119091014/http://www.longislandpress.com/?cp=142&show=article&a_id=3977|archive-date=November 19, 2005|access-date=May 10, 2009|publisher=LongIslandPress.com}} Even though Windu dies in Revenge of the Sith, Jackson has called for the character's return in future Star Wars media.{{Cite web |last=Cavanaugh |first=Patrick |date=June 13, 2019 |title=Star Wars: Samuel L. Jackson Wants "One More Run" at Mace Windu |url=https://comicbook.com/starwars/news/star-wars-samuel-l-jackson-mace-windu-return-details/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920174459/https://comicbook.com/starwars/news/star-wars-samuel-l-jackson-mace-windu-return-details/ |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |access-date=2020-09-19 |website=Comicbook.com |language=en}}

{{Main article|Star Wars prequel trilogy}}

Windu first appeared in The Phantom Menace (1999), the first film of the prequel trilogy. He is portrayed by Jackson in all three prequel films. In The Phantom Menace, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn comes before the Jedi High Council and requests that nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker be trained, believing he is the Chosen One of Jedi prophecy destined to bring balance to the Force. Windu and the other Council members deny the request, believing Anakin is too old and full of fear. When the Council realizes that the Sith have returned, they reluctantly allow Obi-Wan Kenobi to train Anakin.{{cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120915/?ref_=nv_sr_1 |title=Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace |date=1999 |publisher=20th Century Fox |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305110845/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120915/?ref_=nv_sr_1 |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |url-status=live |format=DVD}}

Windu returns in Attack of the Clones (2002), which is set ten years after the previous film.{{Cite web |last=Travis |first=Ben |date=June 12, 2024 |title=Star Wars Timeline: Every Movie, Series And More |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/star-wars-timeline-chronological-order/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323122442/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/star-wars-timeline-chronological-order/ |archive-date=March 23, 2024 |access-date=July 2, 2024 |website=Empire |language=en}} He initially refuses to believe that the assassination attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala was authorized by the former Jedi Master Count Dooku, who is now the leader of a Separatist movement. After Obi-Wan is captured on Geonosis while investigating the Separatists, Windu leads a cadre of Jedi to rescue him. In the ensuing battle, Windu kills the bounty hunter Jango Fett and leads a clone army to victory against Dooku's forces. As the Clone Wars begin, Windu resolves to keep an eye on the increasingly corrupt Galactic Senate.{{cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121765/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 |title=Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones |date=2002 |publisher=20th Century Fox |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905183145/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121765/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 |archive-date=September 5, 2021 |url-status=live |format=DVD}}

Revenge of the Sith (2005) takes place three years after the beginning of the Clone Wars. Windu and the other members of the Jedi Council are concerned that the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine, may not relinquish his emergency powers when the Wars end. Their suspicions grow when the Senate grants Palpatine a vote on the Council by appointing Anakin as his personal representative. Although Anakin is granted Council membership, Windu notifies him that he will not be granted the rank of Jedi Master. This infuriates Anakin and diminishes his trust in the Council.

After Obi-Wan kills the Separatist leader General Grievous, Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, the mastermind of the war. When Anakin informs Windu of Sidious's treachery, Windu and three other Jedi Masters attempt to arrest Sidious. The Sith Lord easily cuts down Windu's companions and then duels with him, but Windu successfully disarms the Dark Lord. With Windu's victory imminent, Anakin pleads with him to spare Sidious—who, unbeknownst to Windu, has promised to teach Anakin to use the dark side to save his pregnant wife, Padmé Amidala, from dying in childbirth. Windu responds that Sidious is too dangerous to be kept alive, and prepares to execute him. However, desperate to save his wife, Anakin betrays Windu by severing his hand before he can deliver the killing blow. Sidious then blasts Windu with Force lightning, which sends him falling out a window to his death.{{cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121766/?ref_=tt_rec_tt |title=Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith |date=2005 |publisher=20th Century Fox |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207052352/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121766/?ref_=tt_rec_tt |archive-date=December 7, 2018 |url-status=live |format=DVD}}

Jackson makes a vocal cameo as Windu in The Rise of Skywalker (2019), the final film of the sequel trilogy, set 54 years after his death in Revenge of the Sith. During Rey's battle against the resurrected Palpatine, she hears the voices of various deceased Jedi, including Windu.

Jackson voices Windu in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars, which is set shortly after the beginning of the Wars. Like all other Jedi Masters, he is a General in the Grand Army of the Republic.{{cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185834/?ref_=nv_sr_2 |title=Star Wars: The Clone Wars |date=2008 |publisher=20th Century Fox |access-date=November 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315031514/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185834/?ref_=nv_sr_2 |archive-date=March 15, 2018 |url-status=live |format=DVD}} Windu also appears in the animated series The Clone Wars (2008–2014; 2020), which is set between the film The Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith. He is voiced by Terrence C. Carson. In the series, Windu participates in the liberation of Ryloth, encounters Boba Fett as he attempts to avenge the death of his father Jango, and tries to recover a stolen Jedi Holocron. He also works with Jar Jar Binks to rescue the queen of Bardotta, who was captured by a cult led by Mother Talzin. In the final season of the series, Windu and Obi-Wan lead the Republic's ground forces in the Anaxes campaign. Windu manages to deactivate a bomb hidden by Admiral Trench. During a meeting of the Jedi Council, Windu orders Ahsoka Tano to deliver Maul to Coruscant.

In 2017, Marvel released Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu, a five-issue comic series focused on Windu during the early days of the Clone Wars. He leads a small team of Jedi to a remote planet to investigate a Separatist presence, then battles a mercenary droid hired by General Grievous. One of the Jedi turns on Windu after becoming disillusioned with the Jedi Order's involvement in war.{{Cite web |date=February 6, 2019 |title=Review: Star Wars- Mace Windu: Jedi of the Republic |url=https://www.comicbookwire.com/review-star-wars-mace-windu-jedi-of-the-republic/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517094319/https://www.comicbookwire.com/review-star-wars-mace-windu-jedi-of-the-republic/ |archive-date=May 17, 2021 |access-date=May 17, 2021 |website=ComicBookWire |language=en-US}} Windu appears in flashbacks in the comic miniseries Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – Dark Temple.{{Cite web |last=Celestino |first=Mike |date=September 5, 2019 |title=Comic Review - "Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order: Dark Temple" #1 |url=https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2019/09/05/comic-review-star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-dark-temple-1/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904094141/https://www.laughingplace.com/w/articles/2019/09/05/comic-review-star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-dark-temple-1/ |archive-date=September 4, 2021 |access-date=2021-09-04 |website=LaughingPlace.com |language=en-US}}

{{See also|Star Wars in other media}}

Following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, most of the licensed Star Wars Expanded Universe material produced between 1977 and 2014 was rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise. The Legends works comprise a separate narrative universe.{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:
{{cite news |last=McMilian |first=Graeme |date=April 25, 2014 |title=Lucasfilm Unveils New Plans for Star Wars Expanded Universe |url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/lucasfilm-unveils-new-plans-star-698973 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429022447/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/lucasfilm-unveils-new-plans-star-698973 |archive-date=April 29, 2016 |access-date=May 26, 2016 |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter}}{{cite web |date=April 25, 2014 |title=The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page |url=https://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910044317/http://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page |archive-date=September 10, 2016 |access-date=May 26, 2016 |website=StarWars.com}}{{cite web |date=April 25, 2014 |title=Disney and Random House announce relaunch of Star Wars Adult Fiction line |url=https://www.starwars.com/news/disney-publishing-worldwide-and-random-house-announce-relaunch-of-star-wars-adult-fiction-line |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514073722/http://www.starwars.com/news/disney-publishing-worldwide-and-random-house-announce-relaunch-of-star-wars-adult-fiction-line |archive-date=May 14, 2016 |access-date=May 26, 2016 |publisher=StarWars.com}}{{Cite web |last=Dinsdale |first=Ryan |date=2023-05-04 |title=The Star Wars Canon: The Definitive Guide |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/the-star-wars-canon-the-definitive-guide |access-date=2024-05-31 |website=IGN |language=en |archive-date=May 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240503204025/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-star-wars-canon-the-definitive-guide |url-status=live }}}}

Windu appears in the novels Cloak of Deception, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, Rogue Planet, Outbound Flight, The Cestus Deception, Jedi Trial, Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, Labyrinth of Evil and Matthew Stover's Shatterpoint (2003).{{Cite book |last=Stover |first=Matthew Woodring |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WeLjPgAACAAJ |title=Shatterpoint |date=2003 |publisher=Century |isbn=978-1-84413-365-9 |language=en |access-date=July 7, 2024 |archive-date=August 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240806044806/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shatterpoint/WeLjPgAACAAJ?hl=en |url-status=live }}

Shatterpoint takes place six months after Attack of the Clones. It is based on Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness (1899).{{Cite web |last=Liptak |first=Andrew |date=2017-05-04 |title=Star Wars reading list: where to start after you finish the movies |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/4/15299448/star-wars-novels-recommendations |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=The Verge |language=en}} In the novel, Windu's former Padawan and fellow Jedi Master Depa Billaba has been sent to Windu's homeworld, Haruun Kal, to start a revolution against the Separatist-allied government. After the Jedi Council finds evidence that Billaba has fallen to the dark side of the Force, Windu is sent to find her. After a fight, he puts Billaba under arrest. The Separatists are forced to surrender to the Republic, and Billaba falls into a vegetative coma. A Republic force stays on the planet to police the restive local tribes. The novel explores Windu's unique talent of sensing "shatterpoints"—faultlines in the Force which reveal his enemies' weaknesses. It explains that Windu is the creator and sole master of Vaapad, a form of lightsaber combat which skirts dangerously close to the dark side.{{Cite book|last=Wallace|first=Daniel|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/752590192|title=The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force|publisher=Chronicle Books|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4521-0227-6|location=San Francisco, California|pages=136|oclc=752590192|orig-year=2010|access-date=December 22, 2020|archive-date=August 6, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240806044808/https://search.worldcat.org/title/752590192|url-status=live}}

Windu appears in the "Emissaries to Malastare" story arc (1999–2000) of the Star Wars: Republic comic series. He and other Jedi Masters travel to Malastare to establish peace between two rival factions. They subsequently find themselves caught in the middle of a high-stakes podrace. Windu then travels to Nar Shaddaa to investigate the trafficking of an animal from his homeworld.

Terrence C. Carson voices Windu in the animated micro-series Clone Wars (2003–2005) which takes place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. In the early chapters, he defends the grasslands planet Dantooine against a hovering Separatist fortress. He loses his lightsaber during a battle, which forces him to use a lethal form of unarmed combat powered by the Force. In later chapters, Windu and Yoda help defend Coruscant from an attack by General Grievous, but are unable to prevent him from kidnapping Palpatine.

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