Star Wars Rebels Star Reveals the Legends Character They Want to Bring to Live-Action

Actor Vanessa Marshall won over Star Wars fans thanks to voicing the hot-shot pilot Hera Syndulla in Star Wars Rebels, though when that character was brought to life in Star Wars: Ahsoka, Mary Elizabeth Winstead took on the role. Luckily for fans, Marshall wasn’t only interested in replicating her animated role, as she recently confirmed how she would be interested in playing Mara Jade Skywalker in a live-action project, a fan-favorite character that is now part of the Legends realm of the galaxy far, far away. While Mara Jade has yet to be reintroduced into the official Star Wars canon since Lucasfilm was purchased by The Walt Disney Company, we can’t rule out a possible return, given her passionate following.

“I would love to play Mara Jade. Can you call Dave Filoni and just let him know that I’d love to play Mara Jade?” Marshall shared at Fan Expo San Francisco, per Collider. “I think we would all just like to be in live-action in some way. We haven’t had the opportunity to do it yet. But my background is in live-action.”

After the conclusion of the original trilogy of Star Wars films, the adventures continued in the galaxy far, far away courtesy of various comic books and novels, which were referred to as the Star Wars Expanded Universe. When Lucasfilm was acquired by Disney, the studio clarified the official vs. non-canonical stories, noting that only the six live-action movies and Star Wars: The Clone Wars were part of the official canon, while all other stories became part of the Legends corner of lore. Going forward, all new stories were considered part of the official canon, which included novels, comics, and video games. 

Mara Jade first appeared in the Timothy Zahn novel Heir to the Empire, which also explored the nefarious Grand Admiral Thrawn. While the character first appears as a threat, she would go on to marry Luke Skywalker and become the mother of their child, Ben Skywalker.

Despite initially being relegated to the Legends realm of Star Wars, Thrawn entered the official canon with Star Wars Rebels, before making his live-action debut in Star Wars: Ahsoka. While Mara Jade hasn’t yet been reintroduced into the official canon, the Thrawn precedent has fans hoping that Mara Jade could follow suit.

Stay tuned for updates on the possible future of Mara Jade.

Would you like to see Marshall play the character? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!