J.J. Abrams Might Be Casting a Major Character From the STAR WARS Expanded Universe For EPISODE IX
J.J. Abrams is currently deep into the development of Star Wars: Episode IX and with the film project scheduled to start shooting in July, he and his team are in the process of casting the lead roles in the film. Thanks to a recent report from That Hashtag Show, it looks like he may be including a major and popular character from the classic Expanded Universe novels.
Even though this is only a rumor, if you don't wan't to know who this character might be, you probably won't want to read ahead:
They are reporting that Abrams and casting director Nina Gold, who has worked on both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, are looking for a "female lead, 40-50 years old, to play the role of MARA." Now, this could be a code name being used during the casting process, but this character is believed to be Mara Jade, who was introduced in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire, which was published back in 1991. For those of you not familiar with the character, here's a brief rundown from the report:
Mara Jade is a character that carries a special importance to a generation of fans who only had the EU novels to quench their Star Wars thirst. Originally the Hand of Emperor Palpatine, Jade, a powerful Force user in her own right, was sent to kill Luke Skywalker. Skywalker was able to not only escape death but to break Palpatine’s posthumous power over Jade. The two went on to marry, have children and train a new generation of Jedi.
If Mara Jade does end up in the film, I have no clue how they would utilize her. It would obviously open up more questions about Luke Skywalker's past, but there are already, so many questions in this new trilogy that need to be answered! Now is not the time to add any more questions! But, maybe she is an answer, maybe she could tie into Rey's parentage somehow. Could she be Rey's mother? At this point, we have no idea.
I know that when Disney first acquired Lucasfilm and made plans to continue the Star Wars franchise that they said they wouldn't really count the Expanded Universe, but since then, some characters from the EU have found their way into the official canon again. Some of those characters include Thrawn in Rebels and the Cloud-Riders, who will be featured in the upcoming Solo film.
There is one fact here in this article, Lucasfilm is casting a female lead in her 40s to 50s, for the role of "MARA." Everything else is just rumor and speculation.
As the film gets closer and closer to production things will start to come together and things will start to come into focus. In the meantime, let us know what you think about the possibility of seeing Mara Jade introduced in Episode IX.
Star Wars: Episode IX is set to be released on December 20th, 2019.