Samuel L. Jackson really wants in on ‘Star Wars’ sequels

Remember Jedi Master Mace Windu from the "Star Wars" prequels? You know, the chrome-domed, force-powered warrior played by Samuel L. Jackson? Windu did a whole lot of sitting around and talking in the prequels - but not much else. It was an almost criminal waste of a talent like Jackson, who only got to wield Windu's neon purple lightsaber a few times before going out like a chump in "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith." Heck, even Windu's cartoon counterpart got to do cooler "Star Wars" stuff than Jackson did!

But maybe Jackson will get another chance to show audiences what Windu is made of thanks to Disney's impending "Star Wars" sequels — the first of which is due out in 2015. The star of the upcoming "Django Unchained" certainly sounds like he'd be up for it.

"Hell yeah!" the actor told E! News when asked if he would be interested in reprising his prequel role in the future "Star Wars" movies.

See also: What will 'Star Wars Episode 7' be about?

Although there is the slight issue of his character's apparent dismemberment and death at the end of "Episode III," Jackson seemed pretty sure that anything is possible in a galaxy far, far away. "I can come back as one-armed or a one-handed Jedi that's still around that didn't actually die," theorized Jackson. "I could do that or be a ghost hologram. I don't care."

Stranger things have happened in the "Star Wars" saga, as Jackson — an avowed fan of the series even before he became involved in it — rightly pointed out. "It's like, OK, Obi-Wan was dead when Episode IV started, so maybe everyone thinks I'm dead and we'll find out what happened to Mace Windu."

Director George Lucas did leave things open for a future Windu appearance in the finale to the prequels, having the Jedi Master "die" off screen after being pushed out a window. "Star Wars" characters like Luke Skywalker have survived worse.

And why not have Jackson reprise the role? The "Avengers" star is already a major franchise player for the studio, proving time and time again that he's a box office draw — the actor is was officially named the highest-grossing movie actor of all time by the Guinness Book of Records last year. It makes sense financially and would likely please a lot of fans, as Jackson's character was one of the few bright lights in the otherwise dull prequel trilogy. Although the sequels will likely be set decades after the prequels and make the character a very old Jedi indeed, you'd be hard pressed to find a fan who wouldn't want to see Mace Windu and Luke Skywalker hang out on the big screen.

Jackson isn't the only prequel star who has expressed interest in reprising their role for the sequels. Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, who played the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episodes I, II, and III, has said he'd be "happy" to offer his services if they needed the ghostly Jedi to make an appearance. Original Obi-Wan actor Sir Alec Guinness passed away in 2000, so if anyone were to take on the role again, McGregor would make the most sense.

But should Disney's sequels even acknowledge the prequels' existence? Many hardcore "Star Wars" fans still have a bad taste in their mouth from the recent Lucas-directed trilogy. Linking the films in significant ways -- like having Jackson's Windu and McGregor's Kenobi show up -- might alienate potential viewers who are already wary of Disney's takeover of the franchise.

See also: 'The Phantom Menace': What went wrong?

On the other hand, for younger fans whose introduction to "Star Wars" were those prequel films, tying them to the new sequels somehow is probably a wise move on Disney's part. The hardcore fans will always have the original trilogy, and thanks to George Lucas any new "Star Wars" movie is bound to be a hard sell for them.

For everyone's sake, we hope that if Disney does decide that Jar Jar Binks has to show up in the sequels, that he does so frozen in a block of carbonite.