In the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, fan favorite Mace Windu famously wields a lightsaber with a purple blade, helping Samuel L. Jackson’s character stand out from his fellow Jedi in the field of battle. As you may be aware, the color of Windu’s stylish weapon was suggested by the actor himself, but did you know that the exact moment when Jackson made his request was actually captured on camera?
Over on Reddit, the moment was brought to the attention of the fandom once again thanks to a highly circulated upload from user EKRB7. In a behind-the-scenes video – which you can watch here – found amidst the bonus features of the Attack of the Clones home release, Jackson can be seen asking director George Lucas who he has to talk to about the color of his saber. Lucas responds by explaining the standard color coding of the Star Wars franchise:
“Good guys are green and blue, bad guys are red. That’s just the way it works.”
At this point, Jackson suggests a break from tradition, asking Lucas, “No purple lightsabers?” And while the filmmaker doesn’t offer a definitive answer then and there, he does take the idea into consideration, telling Jackson, “You might get purple.” The video then ends on a freeze frame of Jackson’s beaming face.
A purple blade isn’t the only unique trait of Windu’s saber, of course. In a reference to Jules Winnfield’s wallet in Pulp Fiction, the prop department also inscribed the letters “BMF” on the handle. Sadly, no known footage exists of the exact moment when this detail was suggested.
In any case, it’s been a while now since we last saw Jackson wield the purple blade, though he did have a brief voice cameo in the recent Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
What’s more, the star has repeatedly gone on record saying that he’d be game to reprise his role. So while Lucasfilm has yet to confirm anything, feel free to hold out hope that Disney can squeeze him into one of the various live-action TV shows they currently have in the pipeline.