Samuel Jackson took a trip down memory lane and recalled how he became a part of a huge epic space opera franchise Star Wars, and ended up working with George Lucas. The Secret Invasion star first played the role of Mace Windu in The Phantom Menace in 1999 and reprised his role in the next two Star Wars prequels, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Sadly, his character was killed in the last movie.
In an interview with Vulture, Jackson revealed it was a little twist of fate when he joined the Star Wars cast. He just told his interest in playing a role in the big movie series and working with Lucas. Little did he know that it would be the start of him being an iconic Jedi master.
Samuel Jackson Recalls Joining Star Wars
The 74-year-old’s Star Wars journey began when he said on a British talk show that he would “love to be in a Star Wars movie” and work with Lucas when asked if there were any directors he wanted to work with.
From there, he received a surprising phone call while filming Sphere in Vallejo with Dustin Hoffman and Sharon Stone. “George Lucas would like to meet you. He hears you want to be in his Star Wars movie,” he said.
From having a working relationship, the Marvel Cinematic Universe star and Lucas became “really good friends.” “He liked my work ethic, he liked the fact I showed up, I hit my marks, I knew my lines, I was nice to everybody, I was cool, I was glad to be there,” he continued.
At the time, Star Wars got the biggest fan base, so it became a norm for Jackson to receive some jokes about his character. Though he found it funny, he wanted the “adults” who were doing it to stop.
“I’ve been accosted by the Jedi Council of every city on the planet,” he continued. “‘Master Windu, please, let us have a council. Get away from my room!’ They’re outside in the parking lot, chanting. Jesus, these people are adults. Stop it.”
Samuel Jackson expresses interest to Star Wars Universe
Mace Windu was killed by Sidious’ blast of Force lightning that sent him falling to his death from his office’s window after Anakin disarmed him by cutting his right hand in Revenge of the Sith. Though it has been years since Jackson hasn’t reprised his role, he expressed his interest in returning to the Star Wars universe in an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in March 2022.
“There’s a huge history of people with one hand returning in Star Wars,” he explained. However, there are no words if fans will again see Jackson as Mace Windu in any Star Wars project. But as he believes it’s possible, it’s maybe not far from happening.
