This Character Could Fit Perfectly In 'The Mandalorian' Season 3

At the end of The Mandalorian Season 2, we saw Grogu leaving with Luke Skywalker, seemingly out of Din Djarin’s life forever. Boba Fett returned to rule Jabba the Hutt’s former crime syndicate with Fennec Shand at his side. The plot for Season 3 and the spinoff The Book of Boba Fett remained open. What is Din Djarin’s next move post-Grogu? What is Bo Katan’s response to Din Djarin being the rightful owner of the Darksaber. What shenanigans can Boba Fett whip up out of his new base at Jabba’s palace? This character from Star Wars Legends would fit perfectly into the timeline of both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

Mara Jade was introduced in Timothy Zahn’s original Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, which came out in the early 1990s. When we first saw her, she was part of the infamous smuggler and information broker Talon Kaarde’s entourage. However, her true allegiance lied with the Empire. As Emperor’s Hand, she acted as Emperor Palpatine’s personal assassin and covert agent, doing whatever was necessary to complete her mission. She answered to no one but the Emperor himself. She traveled the galaxy and inserted herself into various organizations, ultimately carrying out his will and eliminating targets he deemed deserving.

Making her even more dangerous, Mara Jade was a Force user. In addition to intensive training in the arts of assassination and espionage, she was also trained in ways of the Force, although not to the level of a Sith Lord (because we already had two Sith Lords in Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader). She was competent with a lightsaber in her hand as well as with a blaster pistol. Her connection to the Force was so strong that she could hear Palpatine’s voice telepathically wherever she was in the galaxy.

In Legends, Mara Jade would encounter Luke Skywalker during the rise of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Their paths would cross as they work together in the post-Empire era. Setting aside the part that her last order from the Emperor was “Kill Luke Skywalker,” the two would grow closer as Luke helped further her training with the Force, and eventually they would wed.

We may not see Mara presented as Luke’s wife in canon anytime soon with the events after Battle of Endor already set in concrete thanks to the sequel trilogy. However, her character is the perfect missing piece in connecting the clean cut Jedi world with the shady business of smuggling and bounty hunting. She could be one of the Force users currently being trained by Luke. With Bo Katan’s friendship with Din Djarin up in the air, and Cara Dune being cut out of the storyline, Mara could enter The Mandalorian as another female figure in Grogu’s life. We could see her crossing paths with Din Djarin in the future and perhaps reuniting Grogu with him (albeit for a short time).

With Lucasfilm’s current modus operandi of weaving Star Wars characters through as many series as possible, we could see Mara Jade appearing in series centered on the Jedi like Ahsoka, and in series centered on bounty hunters like The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett. Her past Imperial connection also makes her versatile if we need to pull in former Imperials like the Inquisitors or Grand Admiral Thrawn (and we already saw Ahsoka actively searching for him in The Mandalorian).

Furthermore, Mara had connections on Tatooine, the planet that Din Djarin frequented, and the planet where Boba Fett and Fennec Shand settled. According to Tales from Jabba’s Palace, Mara infiltrated Jabba’s Palace prior to the events of Return of the Jedi. She posed as dancer Arica while she waited for the arrival of Luke. However, Jabba’s secret security detail suspected that Mara was sent to assassinate the crime lord. Jabba further questioned her motive when she attempted to Force persuade him into letting her on the sail barge to the Dune Sea for our heroes’ execution. She was told to leave his palace and never to return. She eventually returned to a displeased Palaptine on Coruscant, but we could see her developing her own underworld connections on the desert planet in the meantime.

With the Star Wars Expanded Universe rebranded as Legends, we saw many beloved characters removed from canon. As more characters like Grand Admiral Thrawn were introduced, fans could hope to see others returning to canon soon. A character with such a rich background like Mara Jade would fit perfectly in the upcoming The Mandalorian Season 3 and perhaps other shows Lucasfilm has in store for us.

Source(s): Inverse
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