The worst Star Wars mistake is fixed by one character

The author Chris Snelgrove
| Published 26 seconds ago

If you were to ask the average jaded Star Wars fan what was wrong with the sequel trilogy, they would likely answer with a lengthier explanation than every early installment of the franchise combined. If you asked them what the worst However, they would likely point to making Luke Skywalker a grumpy old man who has given up on his life and protecting the galaxy from evil. It's hard to explain how or why Luke could have fallen so far from the heights of heroism, but Disney was able to provide a simple explanation and retroactively correct their mistake with one bold move: officially adding Mara Jade to the canon.

Mara Jade is the key to all of this

Mara Jade was, of course, the Hand of the Emperor, someone trained from an early age to do Palpatine's bidding. She lost her easy job as an emperor and became a smuggler after the death of the emperor, which she blamed Luke Skywalker for She eventually learns the truth, becoming Luke's ally and later wife, with the two having a child, before being tragically killed by Jacen Solo, son of a fallen Jedi. Han Solo and Leia Organa.

Now, all of this information about Mara Jade comes from the Star Wars Expanded Universe and Disney has decided that all such stories (now reprinted under the legend banner) are no longer canon. However, Jade was introduced in prolific author Timothy Zahn's Trawn trilogy, and Grand Admiral Thrawn himself re-introduced into the canon thanks to Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka. Similarly, Mara Jade could be reintroduced, but how would that solve the problem with Luke Skywalker's portrayal in the film The Last Jedi?

How Mara Jade fixes Luke

In the old EU stories, Mara Jade was the love of Luke Skywalker's life, and he was understandably traumatized by her death… so traumatized that he went on a quest for revenge and ended up killing the wrong person. As with Luke Skywalker from The Last Jedithese actions (mainly the whole hunting and brutal killing of someone for revenge) seemed inconsistent with the Luke we know and love, but were motivated by grief and loss. And if Disney were willing to include Mara Jade in the current canon and mostly feature her EU storyline, her eventual death would help explain why Luke becomes a grumpy sad sack later on.

It would require a little finesse. Mara Jade should be introduced afterReturn of the Jedi era of the year The Mandalorian and other shows to reasonably explain how she would have time to meet Luke, fall in love, and die before the events The Last Jedi. And Disney would have to either cast a younger actor in Luke for the live-action show or create an animated series to Mark Hamill just voice Luke. Finally, they (like the EU writers before) must accept that the Jedi of this new age can fall in love and marry without falling to the dark side.

Disney obviously has a lot to fulfill in order to do Mara Jade's story justice, but right now the studio giant has almost nothing to lose. A Mara Jade-centric show would appeal to old-school fans turned off by shows like Acolyte even if it softens the much-hated portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the sequel trilogy. And with Disney canceling projects left and right and ditching those that will eventually see the light of day, bringing back Mara Jade may be the only thing that can bring back something else: our collective fascination with Star Wars.