Samuel L. Jackson Tells Fans To Look Closely At This Famous 'Star Wars' Scene
It’s great to have such a famous and beloved actor be so invested as a fan of the Star Wars saga. (Check out his 2019 Howard Stern interview to see how he asked for and received a Star Wars role: starting at 2:39 at this link). And it’s even better, when he has his own theories on the material. Samuel L. Jackson has his finger on the pulse of the Star Wars fan community; or he at least enough to trigger fun fan discourse.
Samuel L. Jackson has starred in over 150 feature films, from the Avengers films to multiple Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee films. And he, Star Wars’ Mace Windu, recently sent out an Instagram post where he made his opinion known over the moment in Attack of the Clones where he decapitates Jango Fett.
The caption of Jackson’s post (and shirt) states, “Check out the big brain on Jango!” This is a reference to both the aforementioned decapitation of Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones and his line from Pulp Fiction where he says, “Check out the big brain”, before proceeding with his famous Ezekiel biblical monologue.
Star Wars fans have long debated the Jango Fett death scene. One side argues that Jango held his ground before Mace Windu’s fatal stroke. The other argues that he tried to use his jetpack to escape, just before his death.
Jackson’s post suggests that he believes that Jango tried to trigger his jetpack, rather than hold his ground. This would run contrary to some of the recent Mandalorian-machismo lore coming out of The Mandalorian TV series and The Clone Wars, and perhaps also re-ignites the debate over whether Jango/Boba were indeed Mandalorians. Those series hold that Mandalorians have a culture, creed, and code focused primarily around their martial history. The recent Mandalorian iterations suggest that it would be unlikely for a Mandalorian, like Jango, to try to flee rather than fight, but Samuel L. Jackson and perhaps the facts as well suggest otherwise.
In the moments prior to the Mace Windu and Jango Fett showdown on Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, we see Jango get run over by a stampeding reek. The reek knocks him to the side and then runs over him. Visible sparks are shown coming out of his jetpack, which questions the integrity of his jetpack. Jango is able to slay the reek, before taking a few shots at Mace Windu. But Jango succumbs to Mace Windu’s attack after Windu deflects a few of Jango’s blaster bolts and moves within melee range. It is still questionable whether he would have known the extent of the damage to his jetpack immediately after the reek encounter, but it does add an element to the debate at hand.
Another option to consider is that of Mandalorian culture. We now know of the Mandalorians’ Spartan-esque code and warrior mentality from Knights of the Old Republic, The Mandalorian, The Clones Wars, and other subsequent Star Wars enterprises. But when Attack of the Clones came out, the Mandalorian code was not that fleshed out in canon. Boba Fett was always a popular character since his inception in The Empire Strikes Back (okay, and the Holiday Special), even due to his limited screen time. But that was also due in part to the fact that he bested the other bounty hunters and his background was not explained. It left a wide-open avenue for interpretation, which down the line did lead us to the popular The Mandalorian television series.
Jackson’s shirt (and Instagram) is wonderful, and his fan interaction is a boon to the Star Wars community. Many fans, (and Jackson) alike are hoping for the return of Mace Windu. Hope continues on after the return of Palpatine and Maul in various Star Wars stories. Or maybe we can at least hope for a Force ghost after hearing his voice in The Rise of Skywalker.
It will remain up for debate whether Jango tried to use his jetpack, or accepted his fate in the duel. Or perhaps George Lucas will clear it up later on a new DVD edit. (Greedo says hi.) Either way, it’s a treat to have one of the actors and fans chip in with their take on a fun discussion.
Source(s): Independent.co.uk