Star Wars: Everything We Know About Mace Windu’s Life Before The Phantom Menace

The iconic Jedi Master Mace Windu was introduced to the Star Wars franchise in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and non-movie materials have vastly expanded his backstory following his debut. In the Star Wars prequel trilogy movies, Mace Windu is not only a Jedi Master, but he is also the Master of the Order, presiding over the Jedi Council and standing alongside Jedi Master Yoda – the Jedi Order’s Grandmaster. Windu is known as one of the Jedi Order’s finest warriors and staunchest defenders of the Galactic Republic’s democracy.

Mace Windu’s ideals and legendary combat prowess made him one of the Republic’s finest leaders during the Clone Wars, but sadly, he was too late to see that the Republic he loved so much was corrupted by the Sith well before the war began. As one of the greatest threats to Palpatine, secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Mace Windu ended up becoming one of the first Jedi casualties in the Jedi Purge and Palpatine’s subsequent authoritarian coup. Before the events of the prequel trilogy, however, the Star Wars franchise’s two continuities each provided Mace Windu with fascinating background details.

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8 Mace Windu’s Early Life In Star Wars Canon

As is often the case in the modern Star Wars canon, Mace Windu’s current backstory is heavily inspired by its original incarnation in the Legends continuity. Mace Windu comes from the planet Haruun Kal, a harsh world in the galaxy’s Mid Rim. While Haruun Kal had a tragically high mortality rate among its youth, Mace Windu survived long enough to be discovered by the Jedi Order and join them. Mace eventually became the Padawan learner of the Mirialan Jedi Master Cyslin Myr, who imparted a young Windu with a strong affinity for the rule of law.

In one notable mission, Mace Windu and Cyslin Myr traveled to Mathas to capture a con artist who had formed a cult of followers by masquerading as a Jedi healer and taking advantage of the populace’s desperation during a devastating outbreak of the Niffin plague. Upon completing his training and becoming a Jedi Knight, Mace Windu continued to travel the galaxy, completing various missions, but Mace Windu also showed an affinity for teaching. Even as a Knight, Windu held lessons for fellow members of the Jedi Order, as revealed in E. K. Johnston’s Queen’s Peril.

7 How Mace Windu Built His Lightsaber In Star Wars Canon

Mace Windu is known for wielding a lightsaber with a distinctive purple blade, a rarity among Jedi. The modern Star Wars canon’s lightsaber lore establishes that all lightsabers are powered by Force-imbued Kyber crystals, which are initially clear but take on a specific hue when bonding with a Force user. The most common colors for a bonded Kyber crystal are blue and green, but in rare cases, they may become colors like purple, yellow, or orange. Mace Windu’s Kyber crystal became purple when it bonded with him, and he presumably obtained the crystal on Ilum like most Jedi younglings.

Mace Windu notably struggled with the construction of his lightsaber hilt. Under the supervision of the ancient droid Huyang, Windu felt hopeless at first, but the droid expressed his belief that Jedi did not deliberately build lightsabers, but rather allowed the Force to guide them to put the components together. The advice, while esoteric, helped the young Windu piece together the distinctive weapon, which featured electrum plating. The durable electrum finish gave the lightsaber a fittingly regal appearance for the initiate who would one day hold the title of Master of the Order.

6 Mace Windu’s Missions As A Jedi Master In Star Wars Canon

Mace Windu eventually ascended to the rank of Jedi Master, allowing him to utilize his aptitude for teaching even more. Mace Windu rescued a young and orphaned Depa Billaba from pirates, eventually instructing her as his Padawan. Mace Windu’s mentorship made Billaba a formidable Jedi, who not only rose to the rank of Master herself but eventually joined the Jedi Council along with her former mentor. Mace Windu would also befriend the Jedi Master Dooku (once Yoda’s padawan), though the two would have greatly differing perspectives on the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic.

As shown in the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi episode, “Choices,” Mace Windu accompanied Dooku to Raxus Secundus to investigate the murder of Jedi Master Katri. While Windu adhered to the Jedi Council’s orders, Dooku deviated, initiating an impromptu investigation into the Jedi Master’s death. Although Dooku’s actions revealed who killed Katri and why, Windu noted that the investigation also resulted in the death of a Republic senator. Katri’s murder also left a vacancy in the Jedi Council, who gave the spot to Windu.

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5 Mace Windu As Star Wars Canon’s Master of the Order

Sometime after the investigation of Katri’s murder, Mace Windu ascended to the rank of Master of the Order, one of the highest ranks in the Jedi Order. While Windu presided over the Jedi Council, he continued to travel the galaxy on important missions. One such mission, as shown in Matthew Rosenburg and Paolo Villanelli’s Jedi Fallen Order – Dark Temple comic series, saw Windu, among other Jedi, intervening in a conflict between the Fylari and the Daa Corporation, helping expose the latter’s corruption. Mace Windu would also knight Cere Junda, completing her ascension to Jedi.

One of Mace Windu’s last known missions before the start of the prequel trilogy was shown in Ethan Sacks and Paolo Villanelli’s comic “The Weapon.” Two years before The Phantom Menace, Mace Windu allowed himself to be captured by the terrorist leader Guattako as part of a ruse to lead the Jedi to his hideout. Within Guattako’s intricate network of underground tunnels, Windu used the Force to reassemble his seemingly broken lightsaber and contact the Jedi, dismantling Guattako’s terrorist group and preventing further murders and kidnappings.

4 Mace Windu’s Haruun Kal Background In Star Wars Legends

Mace Windu’s original backstory was explored in the Star Wars Legends continuity before it became an alternate timeline. Like the modern canon’s iteration, Mace Windu was born on the Mid Rim planet Haruun Kal. On Haruun Kal, families or tribes are known as a Ghôsh, with Mace Windu belonging to Ghôsh Windu. Tragically, Mace Windu lost his parents to Haruun Kal’s harsh conditions at only six months old, which led other members of Ghôsh Windu to allow visiting Jedi to take Mace to the Jedi Temple. Fascinatingly, Harun Kal’s human population was unanimously strong in the Force.

As a youngling, Mace Windu demonstrated an exceptional connection to the Force, displaying the ability to use the rare power of Shatterpoints. Shatterpoints allow a Force user to detect a weakness in a physical object, an opponent’s defenses, or even abstract concepts like situations. While all Jedi Padawans at the time received a degree of training under Jedi Grandmaster Yoda, Mace Windu became the Padawan learner of Jedi Master T’ra Saa, a member of the legendary Neti species of sapient and mobile trees.

3 The Star Wars Legends Backstory For Mace Windu’s Lightsaber

In the Star Wars Legends continuity, lightsaber crystals come in many varieties and colors, with Jedi typically using the blue and green Adegan crystals of Ilum and Sith creating red synthetic crystals with the dark side of the Force. Like his newer counterpart in the modern canon, the original Legends version of Mace Windu struggled to construct his lightsaber. Rather than traveling to Ilum like most Jedi students, however, Mace Windu was sent by the Jedi Council to the planet Hurikane in Wild Space. As shown in “Stones,” by Haden Blackman and Michael Zulli, Windu obtained a Hurikane crystal.

Mace Windu’s Hurikane crystal gave his lightsaber its distinctive purple hue, though the weapon’s blade color also has a fascinating real-world origin. After having been depicted as wielding a blue-bladed lightsaber in various works, Samuel L. Jackson asked George Lucas if his lightsaber could have a purple blade. Subsequent Legends-era works would retroactively establish that Mace Windu’s lightsaber always had its iconic purple blade.

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2 Mace Windu’s Early Missions As Master of the Order In Star Wars Legends

Like his modern canon counterpart, the Legends version of Mace Windu would rescue Depa Billaba from pirates and eventually train her as his Padawan. Mace Windu would also develop the lightsaber combat form known as Vaapad. Ordinarily, Form VII – also known as Juyo – was all but forbidden among Jedi, who considered it a dark side form. Windu created Vaapad as a Jedi version of Juyo, allowing Jedi to indulge in more aggression but control it. Windu considered Vaapad as much a state of mind as a lightsaber combat form and taught it to Depa Billaba and Jedi Master Sora Bulq.

Sadly, both Depa Billaba and Sora Bulq would fall to the dark side of the Force during the Clone Wars, with their inability to master Vaapad being contributing factors to their respective falls. Although Mace Windu took longer than most initiates to construct his lightsaber, he became one of the youngest Jedi to sit on the Jedi Council, earning his spot at 28 years old. Mace Windu’s exceptional combat skills combined with his equally remarkable skill as a leader and diplomat eventually earned him the rank of Master of the Order.

1 Mace Windu’s Jedi Temple Defenses & Yinchorri Uprising Leadership In Star Wars Legends

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During his time as the Master of the Order, Mace Windu played active roles in numerous conflicts in the year before the Invasion of Naboo, with some of these conflicts secretly having been orchestrated by the Sith. These included the Stark Hyperspace War and the Jedi Order’s conflicts with Qui-Gon Jinn’s fallen apprentice, Xanatos. Mace Windu’s leadership skills were on full display during the Yinchorri Uprising, in which the Jedi battled a Force-resistance species who sought to conquer nearby star systems. Mace Windu deployed Jedi strike teams to put down the rebellion and led a team to the Yinchorri homeworld.

Less than a year before the events of The Phantom Menace, Mace Windu would defend the Jedi Temple from the Zeltron bounty hunter Vianna D’Pow. D’Pow was seemingly attempting to kidnap a Jedi youngling, but Windu soon learned that she was actually hired by the child’s parents, who regretted giving them to the Jedi. Although Windu defeated D’Pow, he chose to return the child to their parents himself.

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The beginning of the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace sees young Anakin Skywalker put on his path to discovering his ability to influence the Force. While attempting to thwart the nefarious Trade Federation in their plans for the planet of Naboo, two Jedi discover an exceptionally-gifted slave with the ability to wield the Force. Little do they know, rescuing him is just the beginning of a saga that will span generations of the Skywalker family.  

Director George Lucas Release Date May 19, 1999 Studio(s) Lucasfilm Distributor(s) 20th Century Writers George Lucas Cast Ewan McGregor , Liam Neeson , Natalie Portman , Jake Lloyd , Ahmed Best , Ian McDiarmid , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Pernilla August , Frank Oz , Ray Park , Samuel L. Jackson Runtime 133 minutes Franchise(s) Star Wars Sequel(s) Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones , Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith , Solo: A Star Wars Story , Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope , Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back , Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi , Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens , Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi , Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker Budget $115 Million Expand

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