by Chris Snelgrove
| Published
If you asked a casual Star Wars fan what was wrong with the Sequel Trilogy, they would likely respond with a screed longer than every opening crawl in the series put together. If you ask them what worst However, they likely suggest that Luke Skywalker has turned into a grumpy old man who has given up on his life and protecting the galaxy from evil. It's difficult to explain how and why Luke fell so far from the heights of heroism, but Disney can offer an easy explanation and retroactively fix 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 Emperor's Hand, someone who had been trained to do Palpatine's orders from a very young age. She lost her cushy imperial job and became a smuggler after the Emperor's death, which she blamed Luke Skywalker to. Eventually, she learned the truth, became Luke's ally and later wife, and they had a child before she was tragically killed by Jacen Solo, the fallen Jedi's son. Han Solo And Leia Organa.
Now, all of these details about Mara Jade come from the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and Disney He decreed that all of these stories (now reprinted under the Legends banner) were no longer canon. However, Jade was introduced in the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn, and Grand Admiral Thrawn He was reintroduced to the canon thanks to Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka. Mara Jade could likewise be reintroduced, but how would that solve the problem with Luke Skywalker's portrayal in… The last jedi?
How does Mara Jade fix Luke?
In the old EU stories, Mara Jade was the love of Luke Skywalker's life, and he was traumatized by her death… so traumatized that he went on a quest for revenge and ultimately killed the wrong person. As is the case with Luke Skywalker The last jedithese actions (mostly stalking someone and brutally killing them in retaliation) seemed out of character for the Luke we know and love, but were motivated by grief and loss. And if Disney is willing to bring Mara Jade into current canon and mostly reflect the EU story, her eventual death would help explain why Luke later turns into an angry sad sack.
This requires a bit of ingenuity. Mara Jade should be inserted post-Return of the Jedi era The Mandalorian And other offers to plausibly explain how she would have time to meet Luke, fall in love, and die before the events The last jedi. And Disney will either need to recast a younger actor for Luke in a live-action show or create an animated series for it Mark Hamill Simply Luke's voice. Finally, they (like the EU writers before them) will have to accept that Jedi in this new era can fall in love and marry without falling to the Dark Side.
Disney clearly has a lot of conditions to meet to do Mara Jade's story justice, but at this point, the studio giant has almost nothing to lose. A show centered around Mara Jade may appeal to old school fans who have been turned off by shows like assistant Although it does tone down the much-hated portrayal of Luke Skywalker in the Sequel Trilogy. Considering that Disney is canceling projects left and right and abandoning the ones that finally see the light of day, bringing back Mara Jade might be the only thing that can bring back something else: our collective passion for Star Wars
