Jon Favreau to produce & write live action show

[Tuskin38]

Mara is a character from the old EU which Disney discarded.

So was Thrawn, and he came back.

There's also several other, albeit minor characters, from the EU that have been reintroduced in the books since the wipe in 2014.
https://starwarsfans.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Legends_characters_reintroduced_in_Canon
https://aminoapps.com/c/star-wars/p...t-is-now-canon/QJFX_ulQ5kN7ZBYQp6pZeYBR2xrMEw

Writers working in the new canon are not forbidden from brining back EU characters.

I agree that Mara probably would't work as well as Thrawn.

 

[Hound of UIster]

It helps that Filoni is a fan of the the Thrawn Trilogy.

 

[Set Harth]

So was Thrawn, and he came back.

Thrawn had {checks notes} 0 babies with Luke.

 

[Tuskin38]

Thrawn had {checks notes} 0 babies with Luke.

That wasn't my point. Your first sentence implied it was impossible.
I also agreed with you in regards to Mara if you read my entire post.

 

[fireproof78]

Mara is a character from the old EU which Disney discarded. Why would she be included at all? Doesn't that kind of miss the point in a big way? Her story was fundamentally tied to Luke, and Luke's backstory is now different.

Her story can still be told, even without the tie ins to Luke. No, including her doesn't "miss the point" as it allows them to weave it in to the current story. Any more than having Mara as part of Kyle Katarn's story missed the point.

 

[fireproof78]

Thrawn had {checks notes} 0 babies with Luke.

That's not the only part of Mara's story and highly reductionist in its argumentation.

 

[Set Harth]

Your first sentence implied it was impossible.

You might have read too much into it.

The point was, Disney said: the EU is gone. And pretty much immediately people were like, "Yeah whatever, imma let you finish, but Mara Jade is Rey's mom CONFIRMED!!!"

 

[JD]

This is a big-budget ($100m) series - they're going for general audiences who've never watched TCW/Rebels, and therefore wouldn't give a rat's ass about Ezra, Ashoka, or any of those earnest, goody-goody characters appearing, assuming they recognized them at all. The series also sounds like a deliberate departure from Force users and their world; to bring them in would be to miss the point.

We've already gotten Saw Gerrera and Chopper in Rogue One, and a version of Maul who matched up with how he was portrayed in The Clone Wars in Solo, so they obviously have no problem with bringing their animated series characters into the bigger live action productions. We've also got Dave Filoni as director on the show, and the interview I posted a link in the last page specifically mentions TCW as one of the things they're taking elements from. Now OK, they didn't specifically mention Rebels, but I'd say if they're willing to use stuff from TCW, then Rebels is probably fair game too. If anything I'd say Rebels is even more likely since it takes place much closer to The Mandalorian, and there's a pretty good chance it's surviving characters were still active at the time where it's happening.

 

[Crewman6]

The show wouldn't have to delve into that, though. It could merely present her as an independent rogue who happens to have some abilities (and no lightsaber!) that she tries not to get caught using. I don't think we've ever seen that in live-action SW, so it could be a cool angle.

Well, I could agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong, and who would that benefit? I mean, I know Mara is somewhat controversial, but who doesn't like Kaarde? A principled smuggler who's unusually concerned about his employees, yet strictly apolitical could make for an interesting contrast in a part of the galaxy in which everyone's out for themselves.

Kardde is an unbelievably boring and generic character. Yes, the Mandalorian will arguably have many characters from the criminal realm, but what would be the point of resurrecting someone from a discarded story for no reason? There's nothing remotely special or unique about him.

Mara has always sucked and her story is inextricably intwined with Palpatine and Luke. Beyond that, she has zero point. If she's just some "random independent rogue", why bother using her at all?

 

[Gaith]

Mara has always sucked and her story is inextricably intwined with Palpatine and Luke. Beyond that, she has zero point. If she's just some "random independent rogue", why bother using her at all?

Already answered that.

 

[Reverend]

Honestly, I think with a scant few adjustment Mara could work perfectly well in canon so long as you just take her backstory and drop the romance with Luke. Hell, you don't even have to loose that in it's entirety, just have things either end badly, or not work out between them.

Maybe re-interpret her history as "Emperor's Hand" to something more like an elite Inquisitor, often assigned to ISB (off the books) to root out traitors and rebel sympathisers. Indeed, loosing the more personal connection to Palpatine might add a more interesting dimension to her relationship with Luke (romantic or otherwise) if she had been trained by Vader. For Luke to interact with someone that knew his father as the monster he was and yet still have a certain respect for the man, perhaps challenging some of his preconceptions is to me a much more compelling dynamic than: "I wanna kill you", "OK, cool. But do you really though!?"

You keep all the spy stuff, the picking up the pieces after Endor (and now, Operation Cinder too), and working for Karrde. Her personality and demeanour would be the same, you just alter the manner and context in which she interacts with Luke.

To me, Mara as a character was never defined as "Luke's girlfriend/wife". That's a role assigned to her much later on down the line and honestly, instantly made her less interesting to me.

 

[Set Harth]

It was already fairly obvious she was being set up as a love interest in the first book she appeared in, but that's partly because it ripped off the Madmartigan/Sorsha thing from Willow.

 

[Gaith]

^ A character can serve as a love interest and still be an interesting and engaging character. And since it's highly unlikely that any new movie or live-action TV series would ever show Mara and Luke getting to know one another, I don't see any reason why she shouldn't appear in a series like The Mandalorian.

 

[fireproof78]

To me, Mara as a character was never defined as "Luke's girlfriend/wife". That's a role assigned to her much later on down the line and honestly, instantly made her less interesting to me.

Completely agree. Mara was far more interesting to me as a Force user, with a history in the Empire than her relationship with Luke.

She is less compelling to me as Luke's wife.

 

[Reverend]

^ A character can serve as a love interest and still be an interesting and engaging character.

Did I state otherwise?

And since it's highly unlikely that any new movie or live-action TV series would ever show Mara and Luke getting to know one another, I don't see any reason why she shouldn't appear in a series like The Mandalorian.

Agreed.

 

[Gaith]

Did I state otherwise?

I was reply to Set Harth there, not you.

 

[Hound of UIster]

Completely agree. Mara was far more interesting to me as a Force user, with a history in the Empire than her relationship with Luke.

In a post-ROTJ galaxy she really works well as an ex-Imperial trying to survive in a galaxy run by her former enemies. Contrast that in the Thrawn Trilogy with Thrawn and Pellaeon who are still trying to continue the war and destroy the Rebellion. There is far more to her than being Luke's love interest (which isn't even a thing imo in The Thrawn Trilogy).

 

[fireproof78]

In a post-ROTJ galaxy she really works well as an ex-Imperial trying to survive in a galaxy run by her former enemies. Contrast that in the Thrawn Trilogy with Thrawn and Pellaeon who are still trying to continue the war and destroy the Rebellion. There is far more to her than being Luke's love interest (which isn't even a thing imo in The Thrawn Trilogy).

Yes, indeed. But, the moment she comes up its in relationship to Luke, which is such a small part of her story.

 

[Crewman6]

Already answered that.

No you didn't. Your answer was to ignore 90% of her backstory and her defining purpose in the SW story.

My point was, if so, why bother?

Why not just create an all new cybernetic Hutt accountant and call her Mara Jade? Makes as much sense as what you were suggesting.

 

[JD]

While Rebels was on the air, I thought she could be worked in there with Kanan taking Luke's place.