== Character conception and overview ==
Mace Windu is one of the earliest named and created characters in ''Star Wars'' history, being the narrator of the original 1973 drafts of the original ''Star Wars'' film (later named ''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]'').{{cite web|url=http://human-threshold-systems.whitlarks.com/bpchp1p10.html|title=Stage Eight in The Star Wars and Harry Potter Series?|author=James Whitlark, Ph.D.|publisher=whitlarks.com|accessdate=2007-09-24}} Through the process of redrafting and copyediting, his character was removed from the original film and its two successors, however he was reintroduced in 1994 when [[George Lucas]] began writing the [[Star Wars prequel trilogy]].

When series creator [[George Lucas]] offered Samuel L. Jackson the role of Mace Windu, Jackson signed on, but with certain stipulations on the portrayal of his character. One of the conditions was that his character die in a spectacular death, rather than be killed off "like some punk."http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000168/bio

Also, according to an interview on ''[[The Late Show with David Letterman]]'' on [[May 13]], [[2005]] (as well as other interviews dating back to the promotion of ''Episode I'', and confirmed in behind the scenes footage released on the Episode II DVD) Windu's purple [[lightsaber]] was a personal request from Jackson to Lucas as a [[quid pro quo]] for appearing in the films, as well as a way of making the character unique and easily distinguishable. Jackson, a huge ''Star Wars'' fan, especially wanted his own color so that his character could be easily spotted and recognizable in the final battle scene of ''Attack of the Clones'' amid all of the other Jedi.

Mace Windu is a [[Jedi]] Master and one of the last members of the [[Jedi Council]] before the fall of the [[Galactic Republic]]. A [[diplomacy|diplomat]] by nature, Windu is the Council's primary liaison to the [[Supreme Chancellor|Chancellor]], although the [[Clone Wars (Star Wars)|Clone Wars]] cause him to question his firmest held beliefs. He is a senior member of the Jedi Council, second only to Jedi Master [[Yoda]] in authority.