Obi-Wan Kenobi star Ewan McGregor recently revealed that he does not think that Jedi Master Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) could have survived his fall in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. McGregor will reprise his role as Jedi Master Kenobi in the upcoming Disney+ television series that is set to debut on the streaming service May 27. Set 10 years after the the fall of the Galactic Republic, Obi-Wan Kenobi will introduce new characters to the Star Wars franchise such as Reva the Third Sister (Moses Ingram) and Haja (Kumail Nanjiani) the street thief. But due to the series' connections with the prequel trilogy, many cameos from previously established characters are expected.
Nearing the climax of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, the final film of George Lucas' prequel trilogy, Windu confronts Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and accuses him of treason against the Galactic Republic and of being the Sith Lord orchestrating the Clone Wars. Before Windu could execute Palpatine, however, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) protects the Chancellor by cutting of Windu's hand before Palpatine thrusts Windu out a high-rise window with Force lightning. The Jedi Master then falls thousands of feet, presumably to his death, in the depths of Coruscant below. And yet, other Star Wars character who were presumed dead have since reappeared. Boba Fett, for example, made just such a reentry in The Mandalorian season 2.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, McGregor revealed that he does not think Windu could not have survived his fall after confronting Palpatine. When asked if the actor thought the Jedi Master was still alive, McGregor responded, "No. No. I don't think so." After being reminded that Boba Fett was seemingly killed off and then subsequently returned, McGregor admitted that Windu's survival could happen in the grand scheme of things, but then double-downed on his initial answer. Read Screen Rant's exchange with the actor, below:
Do you think Mace Windu is still alive?
Ewan McGregor: No. No. I don't think so. Is he? No, no, no.
We never saw the body, and Boba Fett crawled out of that Sarlacc Pit. Anything's possible.
Ewan McGregor: Anything is possible, I suppose. It's not for me to say, really. I can be cheating someone out of a sequel. No, I don't think so. I think he went out that window, and it was a long way up.
We also spoke to Hayden Christensen who joked about giving Mace Windu a "good cut" and while he says "anything is possible," he also agrees Mace Windu did not survive. Read more here on Hayden's reactions to various fan theories to us here. Samuel L. Jackson would disagree and explained in 2020 how Mace Windu could have survived. George Lucas, for his part, also believes Mace Windu could be alive.
Jackson has previously said he's open to returning at Mace Windu, amusingly admitting that he would have to learn to use a lightsaber left-handed. However, McGregor is most likely correct to assume that Windu would be dead from such a high fall after suffering traumatic injuries. Even a Jedi Master would have trouble surviving such an attack.
Although, McGregor does not believe that Windu is still alive, he does admit that anything is possible within Star Wars. And as the franchise's films and television shows have demonstrated, there is real possibility for any major death to be reversed. Besides Boba Fett's most recent resurrection in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, Darth Maul was cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi and dropped down a seemingly bottomless pit on the planet of Naboo in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Yet, the Sith apprentice managed to survive and became a prominent figure in the popular Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated television series. More recently—and controversially—Palpatine was resurrected for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker following the Dark Lord's presumed death in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Whether or not Mace Windu returns to the franchise remains to be seen, however, Star Wars has seemingly created a precedent that no one is ever really gone.
