SPECULATION Mara Jade in New-Canon discussion thread

I know we both share the same feelings on the use/misuse of the term "fan service". What I'm getting at is, does it cross that line between good fan service with good writing and fan service for nothing but nostalgia's sake. If the main tenants of a character don't exist any longer, why disrespect the Legends by simply using a known name on an entirely different character with merely a fraction of her origin only for the name recognition.

Also, granted my memory of such things are dusty, but I don't see people rallying for Talon Karrde in Canon, and as I recall, he was a cool character with some good potential to be Canonized.

Fair point. And right inline with my point. Look, I don't hold anyone's admiration of Heir to the Empire against them. Those were some Dark days for us in the 90s. Zahn gave us a big, epic tale. It was complex, exciting, blah blah... I understand. But. Canon has obliterated that story. Pre-Sequel Trilogy... that could have been a different story. Maybe recycling Heir into the ST would have been a worthwhile endeavor then. I'm sure there are those among us who would argue it would have been better than what we got, but I digress. "Thrawn has returned. As Heir to the Empire..." I strongly believe THAT and that alone will be the only tie in the Mandoverse to the Heir Trilogy. Thrawn is great and I look forward to see how he plays into this era. I enjoyed him in Rebels. So let's be real, though, in order to avoid his presence or lack thereof from causing chaos in the established Saga, DF had to launch him into deep space for a decade or so just to get him out of the way. I truly believe and trust that he's gonna make it all work and work well, but that's quite a bold storytelling device to just put him on a rocket and shoot him into space. Dave wanted Thrawn in the story THAT badly.

As far as why we're hearing about them adapting Heir to the Empire... Prove me wrong, but that's strictly fan speculation that popped up immediately after Ahsoka uttered that phrase. There has been zero mention of such from Dave, Jon or Kathleen. That line by Ahsoka is an Easter egg, a nod to Thrawn's origin and to Timothy Zahn. Nothing more.

I have learned to never say never. I did get ahead of myself earlier and much of my response to this is above. I love the idea of golden nuggets being picked from Legends and into Canon. There is a wealth of "stuff" there, and with proper gatekeepers like Jon, Dave, and yes, Pablo, I trust when used it will be done right. I'm good with the EU Fanatics making wild assumptions, like a suit of armor in the background at Luthen's shop surely means that Starkiller is magically Canon now. Sure thing, buttercup!

Again, I just don't believe that in any way, shape or form is Dave attempting to adapt Heir to the Empire, or any part of it, aside from Thrawn. If I'm wrong, I will still be at the front of the line to buy a ticket. I also think there are a dozen little bits from Heir that have a better chance of finding their way into Canon before Mara Jade.

 

I have to agree that if they don't de-canonize the sequel trilogy, which I do wish they would but don't expect will happen, Mara Jade as we know her is essentially impossible. Also, as someone said above, the Mara Jade we remember is no longer possible in today's cinematic cultural climate. They might as well transmogrify her into someone else. As long as the actor can handle the role, I'm good with it, because I'm realistic.

 

I wish I could tell you now where I heard it but sometime after Mando Season 2 but before (I think) The Book of Bobba Fett came out I heard some insider Star Wars report that Dave Filoni was working with Jon Favreau on a plan to adapt Heir to the Empire (maybe even the Big Screen.) Note: this was loooooong before KK's report on Dave's feature film.

Whether it was dead-on or BS, I felt it was legit enough that it prompted me to read Zahn's book and its 2 sequels (What was it? Maybe 20 years after it first came out). They were -- and continue to be -- the only Star Wars books I've ever read. And I specifically read 'Heir' in order to envision for myself how it might be adapted inside The Mandoverse.

Will it happen? Who knows? But the good thing is we'll eventually find out. But there have been some clues (including in The Bad Batch) that supports the notion that's where the story is going.

 

The Bad Batch bringing Mt. Tantis into Canon was pretty cool. Now, in fairness, it is vastly different than Tantis in Heir. It is a top-secret Imperial base cloning facility. Fully manned by Imperial scientists, officers and troopers. We have yet to see an insane clone of a slightly less insane fallen Jedi Master protecting the place, but maybe in Season 3? We are also roughly 25(?) Years before the events of Heir, and it's pretty obvious that the secret Mt. Tantis is about to be not so secret anymore, and could be destroyed by the series finale. I could be wrong, but I took it to be a repurposed use of Tantis in that story.

I think I can also remember some speculation about Dave adapting Heir back as far as when Ahsoka namedrops the Grand Admiral in Mando S2. Always just speculation though.

And I find it surprising and peculiar that you only read the Heir to the Empire Trilogy recently and you still see a path for it to be adapted. You flummox me, my friend. Should I give it a third chance?? Maybe I am completely off center here. Nah. BUT... This info does make me respect your perspective a little bit more. I actually did re-read the Trilogy in the past couple of years, and it only strengthened my thoughts.

In closing, I highly recommend reading some books. I have been on a book binge lately and there is some good to amazing stuff out there. I absolutely loved The High Republic phase 1, but aside from that, Catalyst, Tarkin and Ahsoka are really fun, easy and quick reads.

 

I've seen enough film adaptations of beloved books over the years to know that RARELY do you see failthful adaptations---especially since Lucasfilm would never faithfully adapt an EU story.

So I went into my reading of 'Heir' with the mindset "what could work for Dave?" versus your "This can't work!" reaction. As I mentioned earlier in this thread but it bears repeating: I went into Heir with the image of Karen Gillian in my head playing Mara Jade. When you do that, it's damn hard NOT to think the character is super-cool.

I am a highly-skilled flummoxer !

 

Don't get me wrong. When I first read it in the late 90s, I had no pre-concieved notions and surely had not known anyone who had read the books. When I read them more recently, I approached them hoping that I would appreciate them more. I just didn't. I do clearly remember my issue even way before there was a Legends vs. Canon dynamic, for me, it just felt like Zahn had just taken things too far into a fantastical and far-fetched direction. I found that to be the case in a few other EU books I have read or started to read over the years. That being said, there are some Legends stories I have seen high praise for that I may very well check out eventually.

 

Her complete absence from ROTS is the only hole in her story from an OOU perspective.

Yes, there exists a perfectly valid (canon) reason for her exclusion - but for me, the thing is - I know she REALLY SHOULD BE in the movie.... so it's simply a little weird that she is not. But I'm still terribly salty about Quinlan Vos getting canned and reduced to a name drop. I wanted the OG Jedi with a Gun to get some proper screen time instead that weak ass retcon from TPM. But I digress.

As for Mara Jade - the real tragedy in her exclusion from canon is Luke's reaction to the news of her death.

What he did and how. Luke was brutal. And he was wrong.

 

I have hope to see him again. Until then in my mind he's shredding on Kef Bir.

Maybe a better question to this is "Why is Luke or basically any character in Star Wars movies not allowed to have a functional relationship?"

Does Lucas/Disney frown on the institution of marriage?

 

Cool. I had no idea they were made Canon in any capacity. Where? Although they are pretty far out there, I find the concept interesting. If certain species and substances are more Force-friendly, why wouldn't the opposite be true?

Interesting. I think it's unlikely that this is an intentional device, but I guess it could be... Off the top of my head, I can only think of two, which oddly enough are Owen and Beru, and Bail and Breha Organa. So the twins were born from a, shall we say, tumultuous marriage, mom died, dad had the mother of all mid-life crisis at the ripe old age of twenty... Each child was given to and raised by a happy, healthy, long-term married couple. Now I guess one could argue that Han and Leia didn't necessarily have a great marriage, but they seemingly maintained a love for each other. What we see in TFA definitely wasn't your typical divorced couple. I know their relationship is covered better in some books, I just haven't gotten there yet.

--- Double Post Merged, Jun 30, 2023, Original Post Date: Jun 30, 2023 ---

My friend. I know I said Never Say Never in a previous post. But THIS^^ Is. Never. Going. To. happen. Never. Ever. It's a little bit shocking that this is even still a "thing". I would recommend tweaking your YT algorithm, you may very well enjoy your SW online experience. I did.

I only invoked the ST in context to HttE, and, as you agree, Mara Jade and the core plot of HttE were invalidated by Canon, primarily the ST.

Star Wars is based on non-linear storytelling. The ST story is not done. Just like Rogue One enhanced the story of A New Hope 40 years after the fact, the stories being told now and in the future will enhance the ST.

 

Star Wars Rebels – "Through Imperial Eyes"