The Mandalorian may finally solve the biggest debate from the Star Wars prequels

Emperor Palpatine already proved that falling a great distance isn't enough to kill a powerful Force user. So if Darth Sidious survived his trip down the Death Star reactor shaft, is it possible another character we thought was long dead might actually be alive? With The Mandalorian Season 2 putting its main characters on course to meet another Jedi, the series might just put one of the biggest prequel debates to rest once and for all.

There's a long list of Jedi that Baby Yoda might meet on Tython, ranging from animated characters like Ezra Bridger to Star Wars icons like Luke Skywalker. But the best answer might be the one we're all overlooking: Mace Windu.

Samuel L. Jackson's Star Wars character famously died at the end of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith after Anakin Skywalker turned to the Dark side and sliced the Jedi master's hand off. But, as fans have pointed out for 15 years, we never actually saw proof that Windu was dead. He loses an arm, gets blasted with Force lightning, and tossed out a skyscraper window. That's more than enough to kill most people, but Windu isn't most people. He's a powerful Jedi.

George Lucas himself has even said he believes Windu could have survived. In a 2016 Twitter video, Jackson argued that "Jedi can fall from amazing distances. And there’s a long history of one-handed Jedi. So why not?” He went on to add that he shared this theory with Lucas, who replied, ‘I’m okay with that. You can be alive.” And, as Jackson points out, plenty of Star Wars characters have gotten robot hands, so Windu would fit right in despite his injuries.

Spurred by these comments, fans have spent the last few years debating whether the character is alive. More recently, in 2018, Jackson told CinemaBlend that he'd like to play Mace Windu again — and recent rumors suggest there could be plans for a Disney+ show devoted to the purple lightsaber-wielding Jedi. However, the details we learned about Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian Chapter 13 make an even more convincing case for bringing back Windu.

Think about it. If Mace Windu survived his fall in Revenge of the Sith, that would mean he know about Palpatine's plan before Yoda, Obi-Wan, or any other surviving Jedi. However, after losing a hand and getting blasted with lightning, Windu was probably in no condition to fight.

So what did he do? Maybe he raced back to the Jedi temple and managed to rescue one extremely powerful Force user who could secure the future of the galaxy. Someone like Baby Yoda, who we now know was being trained at the temple during that time under his actual name, Grogu.

If Windu was the one to save Grogu only to lose the Child at some point over the three decades between Episode III and The Mandalorian, it'd make sense if he was the first to show up when Baby Yoda sends out a Jedi signal from Tython. And the sight of a grizzled old Windu would probably excite fans even more than the appearance of a middle-aged Luke Skywalker.

Even better, it would finally confirm once and for all that Samuel L. Jackson was right and put this long-running prequels debate about Mace Windu to rest.

The Mandalorian is streaming now on Disney+.