Star Wars: Could Mara Jade become a canon character again?

If Star Wars is looking to mine its old Legends universe for new characters, what could a Mara Jade return look like? Is there room for her?

Slowly but surely, parts of the original Expanded Universe that defined Star Wars in the ’90s in particular have come back into the realm of canon. Grand Admiral Thrawn not only has appearances on Star Wars Rebels under his belt, but also has a second book on the way (that even merits an appearance from Darth Vader). Clearly, this sort of success story has, per Star Wars News Net, inspired Lucasfilm’s Story Group to actually take a look at their other old characters … and possibly bring one back. Our hearts, dear Lucasfilm, are crying out for Mara Jade, so let’s dig in to how it could all work.

With what we know of Luke Skywalker’s story, it might not make a ton of sense to bring Mara Jade back in as Mara Jade Skywalker. After all, it might necessitate that she be a part of the story only in flashbacks or as a dead wife to make his story even more tragic. That would be, obviously, less than ideal.

But what if — and bear with us here — what if Mara Jade doesn’t need to exist as Mara Jade Skywalker? Have her be Luke’s old flame/ex-wife if you wish, since it might not be a bad parallel to how we saw Han and Leia’s relationship in The Force Awakens, but it’s entirely possible for her to still be her own character, with a killer past.

For those who have not read the Timothy Zahn now-Legends novels that introduced her, Mara Jade spent time as the Emperor’s Hand — basically, a non-Sith version of Vader, albeit less dreaded enforcer and more just a Force-using assassin/spy. That’s how she can keep up with Luke and everyone else.

So perhaps she makes appearances in whatever’s next for Star Wars on TV; perhaps she gets her own series of books to reintroduce her into the universe. She doesn’t have to appear in the new films or that time period. Doctor Aphra as a comic series, for example, is between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

When it comes to book series, Zahn’s already returned for Thrawn. It wouldn’t be surprising if he returned for Mara Jade, too, but we’d love to see her in the hands of Delilah S. Dawson or Claudia Gray of Phasma and Leia, Princess of Alderaan fame, respectively.

And, let’s face it: there is room for more women in the Star Wars universe on the big screen. Sana Starros, Mara Jade, Shara Bey, Doctor Aphra, Ahsoka Tano … and those are just off the cuff lists. We’ve talked before about characters who deserve spinoffs of their own.

Next: Force ghost odds: Who will cameo in Episode IX?

With this news, it seems the hopes are even higher than before.