Star Wars fans have been holding out hope for a live-action Mara Jade appearance since the character first appeared in Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire in 1991. That hope skyrocketed when Lucasfilm announced that it had cast Keri Russell in the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. And while her official character name is Zorri Bliss, a recent Star Wars leak suggests there’s much more to Zorri than meets the eye. [Warning: Article contains possible spoilers for Star Wars: Episode IX.]
According to a Star Wars leak from Making Star Stars (as reported by Inverse), “Keri Russell filmed with Mark Hamill but [we] don’t know how this fits. This was potentially filmed in August and not on the snow planet.” Now, as with any other leak or rumor, nothing is confirmed until Lucasfilm say so. But… If Keri Russell filmed with Mark Hamill, then there is likely a strong connection between “Zorri” and Luke Skywalker.
Star Wars leak hints at Zorri/Luke connection
There are any number of possibilities for this connection, but let’s debunk one right away. Inverse suggests that Zorri could be Luke’s daughter. That is most likely wrong for many reasons. First, the article relies on the actors’ actual ages to suggest a father/daughter relationship. That ignores the fact that the Luke Skywalker character is far younger than Mark Hamill’s actual age. So unless Keri Russell’s character is similarly far younger than the actress’s actual years, Luke would have had to have been eleven years old when Zorri was born. So…. Sorry Inverse, but this Star Wars leak does not point to Zorri as Luke’s daughter.
However, Zorri could still have a much greater connection to Luke… and Rey. In the Rise of Skywalker trailer we see a ship approaching a mountain installment at night. That ship bears a striking resemblance to the one that left Rey behind on Jakku. What if the ship was not Rey’s parents’ ship, but rather Zorri’s? And she left Rey on Jakku at Luke’s behest?
Is Zorri Mara Jade after all?
Other recent rumors tie Rey to Emperor Palpatine, whether he targeted her for her Force-sensitive abilities, or created her via cloning. The prevailing theory is that whoever left her on Jakku did so to hide her from the Emperor. If this Star Wars leak is true, that person could very well be Zorri… or rather Mara Jade.
(Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.)
Yes, I’m still holding out hope that Keri Russell’s Zorri Bliss is, in fact, Mara Jade herself. The recent rumors suggesting that “Zorri” left Rey on Jakku tie right in to a theory I proffered a long time ago… that Mara left her there for protection. I’m not saying I’m right… but if this all shakes out, you can say you heard it here first.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens December 20, 2019 everywhere.
Sources: Inverse; Making Star Wars
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Why?!? They’ll bastardize a great character. Mara Jade was designed to be Luke Skywalker’s foil. So this would be an in-name only type deal.
Just let Keri Russell be given whatever bad script they give her and Keri act the **** out of it. Thus making the writing far better than it really was.
Let Mara Jade remain the right woman for Luke Skywalker who helped him rebuild an amazing new Jedi Order, and her absence with this new character taking her place be why Luke failed so miserably in the sequels. Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker where both flawed individuals who’s weaknesses and strengths complimented each other and filled in each other’s flaws. Mara was too practical and Luke was too idealistic, but both weren’t too great at the other until decades after they taught each other those skills.
If this new girl also had a kid with Luke, or a romance, so what. Like had tons of those before too. Mara won the fandom by a landslide vs all the others, she’ll beat out this lady too (if that’s what they’re going for with their scenes together).
Let the sequels die. Accept the original Expanded Universe as the true continuity.