Does ‘Star Wars’ Have A ‘Death Problem’

Star Wars

Apr 11

The old saying, “You can’t keep a good man down,” may be applied to the Star Wars franchise in recent years. Many series and movies of late have brought back several “believed-to-be dead” characters into the storyline after their apparent demise. More Jedi characters than ever are now shown to have survived Order 66 than the original trilogy suggested. Both the Imperial Grand Inquisitor and Reva survived seemingly fatal lightsaber wounds in the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Cobb Vanth and Fennec Shand both survived what should have been fatal blaster shots. These are in addition to notable resurrections throughout the franchise like Darth Maul, Ahsoka Tano, Emperor Palpatine, and Boba Fett.

Bringing characters from the dead is not unique to the current canon as Legends had its share of resurrected characters as well. However, while bringing back some of these characters has generally been well-received by fans, others are questioning whether Star Wars is overdoing it, thus, cheapening their “deaths.” In this article, I will discuss some of the more memorable Star Wars resurrections to date, my thoughts on how well they worked, and whether Star Wars really does have a “death problem.”

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All The Jedi That Survived Order 66

Darth Maul

The fourth season of The Clone Wars saw the return of Darth Maul who was supposedly killed by Obi-Wan in The Phantom Menace. Approximately a decade later, his brother Savage Oppress found Maul living on another planet in squalor and using mechanical spider legs attached to his upper torso to get around. The Nightsister Mother Talzin then helped him regain his sanity and gave him a better pair of prosthetic legs to replace the ones he lost on Naboo. Maul would later strive to become a major galactic player, seeking revenge against Obi-Wan, conquering Mandalore, deposing and killing Obi-Wan’s (sort of) lover, and barely escaping with his life during Order 66.

Maul resurfaced years later as the leader of the criminal organization Crimson Dawn, as featured in Solo: A Star Wars Story. He reappeared years later in Rebels to manipulate Ezra Bridger and the crew of the Ghost in acquiring the Sith holocron. The former Sith finally died for good on Tatooine after his duel with Obi-Wan.

Resurrection Verdict: Mau became a more interesting and engaging antagonist after his resurrection. However, his survival still makes absolutely no sense to me.

Ahsoka Tano

Ahsoka may have survived Order 66 but seemed to have met her fate at the hands of her former master Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader on Malachor during the second season of Rebels. However, Ezra was later able to use a portal in the World Between Worlds through time and space to pull her away right at the last moment. This has allowed her to survive into the time after Return of the Jedi. She has since appeared in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett and will soon be appearing in her own spin-off series, Ahsoka. We even see her meeting Luke Skywalker in The Book of Boba Fett.

Resurrection Verdict: Despite criticism during the early season of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka has become a fan-favorite. I am personally interested in seeing her quest to find Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger.

Emperor Sheev Palpatine

Emperor Palpatine as seen in Return of the Jedi — Image Source: NME

Many have described Palpatine as the personification of evil that never really dies. Thus, both Legends and canon have depicted the return of Emperor Palpatine after his apparent demise in Return of the Jedi. In both the Dark Empire comic book series and The Rise of Skywalker, the Sith lord’s resurrection involved cloning technologies and his dark side powers. Palpatine hinted in Revenge of the Sith that he had some arcane knowledge about keeping oneself alive through the dark side of the Force. However, the explanation for his return in The Rise of Skywalker was more implied than outright stated. Both continuities do agree that Palpatine has met his final doom after the destruction of his clone

Resurrection Verdict: I am fine with his resurrection, especially since there was precedence for it in Legends. Also, Ian McDiarmid can chew scenery like nobody’s business, so it was wonderful to see him onscreen in that role again.

Boba Fett

The infamous Mandalorian bounty hunter was first introduced in The Empire Strikes Back. He returned in Return of the Jedi only to die ignominiously after being blasted into the sarlacc pit. Boba Fett was resurrected and further developed in both Legends through various comic books and novels, as well as in canon in both The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett series. It is clear that he will appear in future Star Wars works especially since he was mentioned in a recent episode of The Mandalorian.

Resurrection Verdict: There seem to be two major camps of people when it comes to Boba Fett: those who love him and those who think he is overrated. I find myself somewhere in the middle, enjoying the character without excessively fangirling over him either. One has to admit that Mandalorian armor and weaponry are really cool, and Boba’s many gadgets and wits make him stand out in The Empire Strikes Back and The Book of Boba Fett. I was glad to see him return in The Mandalorian played by Temuera Morrison, who previously played his genetic donor/father, Jango Fett, as well as the many clone troopers featured in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

The Final Verdict

So, does Star Wars actually have a “death” problem? I have not done the math yet, but, in its forty-two years as a franchise, Star Wars has probably brought back far fewer characters than those it has permanently killed off. However, it may not be so much an issue of quantity as much as quality. It is better to look at the impact of the characters’ return, whether it adds to or detracts from the story, and, more importantly, whether it makes sense.

As some of the above examples illustrate, if the character’s survivability is believable, it can add to the character's development and expand the story. Of course, it can also become a problem when you do not have a plausible explanation for a character’s return, such as in the case of Darth Maul. Actor Samuel L. Jackson, who portrayed Mace Windu in the prequel trilogy, has stated on several occasions that he would love to be able to play his character again and even some fans have been clamoring for him to return. However, based on the circumstances of his demise in Revenge of the Sith, his return would strain (if not break) credulity, even for a space fantasy series such as Star Wars. Hopefully, moving forward, Star Wars will maintain a careful balance between bringing some characters back from the brink without making their deaths altogether meaningless.

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