Did Mace Windu Survive the Fall? (& Is He Still Alive)

Mace Windu was one of the leading Jedi Masters on the Jedi Council during the events of the Clone Wars, which took place in the prequel trilogy movies of Star Wars. As powerful as he was, he seemed to have died during the events of Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith, and he has not been seen since then. So, in that regard, did Mace Windu survive the events of Episode III when he fell from the Chancellor’s office?

Unless proven otherwise by canon confirmation, Mace Windu did not survive the fall when he fought Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in Episode III. As far as the canon is concerned, Windu is still dead in Star Wars. But that could change depending on what Lucasfilm decides in the future.

It would be a great surprise if Lucasfilm would indeed decide to bring Mace Windu back and confirm that he survived the battle against Darth Sidious during the events of Episode III. But as far as the canon is concerned, he is dead. Still, we are here to look at how he died and how he could possibly return in the future.

Did Mace Windu Survive Order 66 In Revenge Of The Sith?

Since the start of the prequel movies during the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, it was clear that Jedi Master Mace Windu was one of the most important figures of the Jedi Order and that he could possibly be one of the strongest Jedi in the entire prequel trilogy. Of course, this was all true because he proved to be powerful enough to become Master of the Order and eventually make a difference during the Clone Wars because of his amazing capabilities as a Jedi.

The Clone Wars raged on until the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith when the Republic was about to defeat the Separatist army headed by Count Dooku and General Grievous. When Grievous was defeated, Chancellor Palpatine initiated what is called Order 66, which is an order that was programmed into the chips in the heads of the clones so that they would execute all Jedi without question.

This was how the Jedi Order got destroyed, as the Clones killed all of the Jedi they could see, regardless of how old or young they were. The Clone Wars and Order 66 were responsible for decimating the population of the Jedi, and it happened almost instantly thanks to the machinations of Chancellor Palpatine.

Given that Mace Windu himself was a powerful Jedi that could stand up to any other Force user in Star Wars, did he also die during the events of Order 66?

Technically, Mace Windu did not die due to Order 66, but he did indeed die in the events of Revenge of the Sith. He actually died before Palpatine initiated Order 66, and that’s something that we are going to look at.

How Did Mace Windu Die?

As established, Mace Windu did not die during the events of Order 66 because his apparent death came before Chancellor Palpatine initiated the protocol. In fact, it was Windu who helped pave the way for Palpatine to legally execute Order 66. And that’s something we are here to explain.

During the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker had grown to become quite close with Chancellor Palpatine, who was giving hints that he was knowledgeable in the ways of the Force and that he could help Anakin prevents Padme’s death, which was something he was constantly seeing in his visions. Palpatine had already seen Anakin’s potential as a Force user, and that made him want to pull the young Jedi over to his side through schemes and machinations.

After Palpatine’s revelation that he knew things about the dark side of the Force, Anakin eventually came to the conclusion that Palpatine was, in fact, the Dark Lord of the Sith that they had been searching for the entire time. He came to Mace Windu with this knowledge, as the Jedi Master was just on his way to Palpatine to make sure that he gave up his emergency powers following the defeat of General Grievous at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

When Windu heard that from Anakin, he had all the more reason to bring several other Jedi Masters to the Chancellor’s office so that they could force him to give up his emergency powers and arrest him for his crimes as the Dark Lord of the Sith. 

Of course, considering that he was hungry for more power and that he had all of the dice rolling over to his side, Palpatine refused to give up his emergency powers and quickly drew his lightsaber to slaughter all of the other three Jedi Masters. Proving himself to be arguably the strongest Jedi of his time, Windu was able to find his bearings amidst the confusion and dueled with Palpatine.

Using his Vaapad lightsaber form, Mace Windu was able to use his own darkness as well as Palpatine’s darkness against the Sith to gain the advantage in their duel. Windu’s form was specifically made to counter the aggressive and dark style that Sith often used in battle, and that meant that he could outduel arguably the strongest Sith of all time in a lightsaber fight. This proved to be true as Windu was able to disarm the Chancellor.

Windu told the Chancellor that he was under arrest, but Palpatine employed Force Lightning, which the Jedi Master was able to deflect. This caused significant damage and deformity to the Sith just as Skywalker arrived at the scene.

As Mace Windu was about to slay Palpatine, Anakin came over to tell him that they needed him alive because it was not the Jedi way to kill him and because he needed him. When Windu relented because he believed that the Chancellor was too dangerous to be kept alive, he was about to strike the killing blow before Anakin drew his own saber to sever the Jedi Master’s hands. 

This allowed Palpatine the opening to blast him with Force Lightning and eventually use the force of his power to throw Jedi Master Mace Windu out the window, where he presumably fell several stories.

The standing belief is that Mace Windu died then and there not only because he fell from several stories up but also because, as powerful as he was, he got fried by the full force of a Sith Lord’s Force Lightning, which is powerful enough to kill any Jedi. As such, Windu might have already died while getting blasted by the Chancellor. And even if he didn’t die from the Force Lightning, he couldn’t have the energy and consciousness to find a way to keep himself alive while he was falling to the streets of Coruscant.

So, the reason why Order 66 happened was that Chancellor Palpatine now had all of the excuses in the galaxy to use it without the Senate objecting to it. He told the entire galaxy that the Jedi had plotted to kill him and that it was only right for him to execute Order 66 to eliminate all of the other Jedi to stop their supposed insurrection against the Republic.

What Year Did Mace Windu Die?

The Clone Wars ended on 19 BBY, which was also the final year of the Galactic Republic. That means that Mace Windu must have also died on 19 BBY.

Mace Windu Age At Death?

Mace Windu was born on 72 BBY. Meanwhile, his death occurred on 19 BBY. This means that he must have been around 53 years old at the time of his death at the hands of Darth Sidious, who soon became Emperor Palpatine.

Is There A Chance That Mace Windu Could Still Be Alive?

At this point, the canon confirms that Jedi Master Mace Windu is indeed dead. The only thing that would reverse this fact is if Lucasfilm were to decide to bring him back alive. As such, it is currently undisputed that Windu is dead, but there is still a chance that he could be alive because death is rarely permanent in the Star Wars universe, depending on what the people behind Lucasfilm decide.

After all, after getting cut in half at the torso and falling from a great height during the events of Episode I, Darth Maul was still able to survive. Meanwhile, Sidious also fell from a great height and into what seemed to be some sort of a furnace for the Death Star during the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Nevertheless, in Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine returned.

As such, if the heads behind Lucasfilm were to decide that Windu could still be alive, they could easily do so. However, what are the possible scenarios related to Mace Windu’s survival?

It could be possible that, due to his training and his mastery over the Force, Windu survived getting blasted by Force Lightning and was able to find a way to survive falling from the Chancellor’s office. Or it could also be possible that a speeder was there to help him as he was falling and that he was nursed back to health during the rise of the Empire.

There is also a standing belief that Mace Windu did indeed survive the fall and was able to get his bearings quickly enough to go back to the Jedi Temple to save as many younglings as he could before the clones could kill him. This is where the theory of him saving Grogu from the Jedi Temple comes in. 

As what was established in the events of The Book of Boba Fett, Grogu was saved from the Jedi Temple before the clones could get to him. However, it was never established how he escaped the clones or who saved him, given the fact that he might have been too young or too weak to use his own powers against the well-trained clones who were able to kill Jedi Masters, Knights, and Padawans alike.

This means that Windu could have been one of the people who could have possibly rescued Grogu when he came back to the Jedi Temple during the confusion. Nevertheless, this is merely a theory that has no grounds other than mere speculation.

But we do believe that he may not return because Mace Windu being alive means that there is a massive plot hole that needs to be filled, especially when you consider that he was absent during the reign of the Empire and when the Rebels needed all the help they could get during the time of the Rebellion. 

Nevertheless, if Lucasfilm were to decide to bring Mace Windu back, we are confident enough that they can find a way to fill all of the plot holes regarding his life after his apparent death in Revenge of the Sith.