Mara Jade became a fan-favorite Star Wars character after her introduction 34 years ago, and the franchise continues to offer hope that she’ll one day return to canon. Having started as the Emperor’s Hand with a direct mission to kill Luke Skywalker, before reluctantly teaming up with him to take on Grand Admiral Thrawn, then eventually marrying Luke and becoming a Jedi Master herself, Mara has one of the most dramatic arcs in the entire saga, even if George Lucas himself wasn’t a huge fan of the character (and particularly not the decision to have her married to Luke).
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She was confined to Star Wars Legends status when Disney changed what is and isn’t canon following its purchase of Lucasfilm. However, there’ve been hopes that she could still be brought back. Of course, whether something is canon or not shouldn’t drastically alter the ability to enjoy it, nor lower their value: Mara is still a fantastic character. But it does carry that perception of importance, and, undoubtedly, it’d be nice to have the chance to see the character used more often. Now, another non-canon source – the TV show LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy: Pieces of the Past – name-drops Mara, which is at least a small step towards her.
In Episode 2 of the show, which takes place in an alternate galaxy, the character Yesi puts out a call for help to the Alliance, including to: “Watto? Hux? Mara? Anyone?” The mentions of the canon characters are no surprise: this is a show where Darth Vader is a Jedi and Jar Jar Binks is a Sith Lord, after all. But Mara is particularly curious, and can only be taken as a nod to Mara Jade. She’s part of the Alliance, which means she’s turned to the light side at this point (or was all along in this galaxy), but doesn’t seem to be connected to Luke Skywalker, who is a chilled-out surfer dude here. Unfortunately, however, even LEGO doesn’t bring the character back. That’s despite the same show finally seeing Darth Revan return to Star Wars, even with his full arc similarly existing only in Legends, though the character himself is canon.
Could Mara Jade Return To Star Wars Canon?
It’s interesting that, in a show with Darth Revan and Darth Jar Jar, Mara is still just limited to a name-drop, and not even a full one at that. After all, if there were any space that would be the easiest way to include her on TV, this would be it. Does that mean Mara is still a line that Lucasfilm won’t cross? Perhaps, but there is at least some groundwork for her to make an actual appearance, and not just in another season of Rebuild the Galaxy (though at least using her name on-screen is a start).
Star Wars is currently building to an event involving Thrawn, which will likely adapt some elements of Heir to the Empire, albeit with several story beats and characters having to be changed. It’s not impossible that a Force-sensitive character with red hair, who goes by the name of Mara Jade, is a part of that. It could probably give her a backstory as having been the Emperor’s Hand easily enough, too. That’s a title that does exist in canon, albeit not for a group of Force-sensitive assassins like in Legends. There’s enough wiggle room and plenty of shadowy secrecy around Palpatine’s plans and operations that it shouldn’t contradict too much.
On the flip side, there’s no good way to have Mara Jade be Luke’s wife. It may not be impossible, but it is implausible. There’s no suggestion that Luke is open to that level of attachment, and no mention of her in the sequel trilogy. Could it have Mara meet Luke in the fight against Thrawn, have them fall in love, and then have her leave him or be killed off a few years later? The timeline doesn’t allow for there to be too much to it – which would raise the question of why bother – but I guess it’s just about doable, even in a very limited way.
There are even theories that Amy Adams will play Mara Jade in Star Wars: Starfighter, which would mean the character survives what happens with Thrawn and lives through the sequels, too (the new movie takes place five years after The Rise of Skywalker). Again, that seems very unlikely to be true, but for as long as Star Wars media is being made, there’ll probably always be talk of if, when, and how Mara could make her return to canon.
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy: Pieces of the Past is now streaming in Disney+.
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