When George Lucas created the original Star Wars he clearly had no idea what massive behemoth he was making. The movie would capture the imaginations of a generation, and generations to come. Today there are several upcoming Star Wars movies and TV series, but new additions used to be much rarer. When it was announced that a prequel trilogy was coming, to say people were excited was quite the understatement, and that didn’t just mean the fans, but also the cast, like Samuel L. Jackson.
Many stars just wanted to be part of Lucas’ new Star Wars movies in some way, including Samuel L. Jackson. Looking back on the experience with GQ, the former Mace Windu reveals that when it came time to film his first scenes, he didn’t even know what role he was playing. He just got on a plane and showed up, finding out details as he went along. Jackson said…
I’m looking around. There’s like, some boots, a robe. I’m like ‘I wonder whose dressing room this is?’ And then they come in and they give me some sides, like four pages. So it’s like Mace Windu. Yoda. I must be this Mace Windu dude, ‘cause there’s nobody else talkin but him and Yoda. So ok, awesome. So he’s a friend of Yoda’s.
While secrecy surrounding major franchise movies is commonplace today, it was less common back when The Phantom Menace was filming. But even now it would be rare for an actor to arrive on set having not seen a script at all or to not even know what character they were playing. Even after Samuel L. Jackson figured out his character was named Mace Windu, he had no idea who Mace Windu was beyond somebody who talks to Yoda.
It wasn’t until Jackson started getting in wardrobe that he realized he was playing a Jedi, at which point he got very excited. Any Star Wars fan would lose their mind realizing they were going to be a “real” Jedi in a Star Wars movie, and the ultra-cool Samuel L. Jackson was no exception. He continued…
Then they come in and they start putting this shit on me. So I put on the boots, put one of them on, and I’m like, ‘I’m Jedi?’ And they’re like ‘Yeah.’ Then I go downstairs and dude comes over with a Haliburton, then he opens it, it’s like lightsaber handles. Like ‘Oh , shit.’ Then they say ‘Pick one.’ [trying to contain excitement] ‘I pick that one!’ Oh yeah, that one. Hook them on my belt, was like ‘Shit, I’m a fucking Jedi!.’
That lightsaber handle would eventually get a special Samuel L. Jackson-inspired inscription. The story about Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber is fairly well known. Jackson made the request of George Lucas, and initially, Lucas seemed against the idea but ultimately gave the actor what he wanted. It sounds like the entire experience from beginning to end was a dream for Samuel L. Jackson. Check out his full comments below.
Samuel L. Jackson has a stated interest in playing Mace Windu again, as the Jedi’s fate in the Star Wars prequels is just ambiguous enough that an explanation for his survival could be contrived. While there hasn’t seemed to be much interest in that idea, the prequels have been reevaluated in recent years, and opinions on them are not quite as harsh as they once were. One imagines Samuel L. Jackson would be very excited to hold that lightsaber again.
