Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Studios, Disney+
Topics: Star Wars, TV And Film, Disney
Beloved by many, this Jedi is a fan-favourite of the Star Wars fandom. Yet, his isn’t a traditionally “good” story.
This isn’t to say that Star Wars’ Mace Windu is evil, but rather he has moral ambiguity when compared with other Jedi.
We should have seen the signs of this sooner, but we were too busy being enamoured by his cool demeanour.
There’s a dark side to Mace Windu, one that’s hinted at through more than just the colour of his lightsaber.
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It’s also in his fighting style, and his inability to sometimes control his emotions.
Here's the trailer for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, for old time's sake
It may surprise some of you to learn that Windu adapted his fighting technique from Form VII, aka Juyo; known for its aggressive stance, it's heavily associated with the Dark Side.
Although Jedi did use this technique in the past, the Order eventually banned it because of how many fell to the Dark Side when using it.
Despite tweaking said fighting style, the undercurrent of darkness remains, which could be argued as also hinting at Windu’s morally grey character.
Delving deeper into Star Wars lore, we see many references to Windu struggling with emotions, particularly the art of letting go of what troubles him.
He’s not the first Jedi to battle his inner demons, nor did his difficulties prevent him from using his power for good. Still, there’s always been that potential to slip.
Even without all of these additional details, Windu’s lightsaber colour tells us everything we need to know.
Granted, Samuel L. Jackson requested the colour purple for the films. However, thanks to the expansion of lore via Legends, purple is regarded as illustrating a moral uncertainty.
Perhaps it started as a mere colour preference, but Windu’s fate was sealed the moment such a design detail was introduced.
Mace Windu is still seen as a brilliant Jedi, but none of us can afford to ignore his dark secret any longer.