Although Disney originally didn’t care much about the Star Wars Expanded Universe and its numerous comprehensive narratives, Lucasfilm recently showed an inclination to canonize part of the tradition now that the Skywalker Saga has come to an end.
To this end, JJ Abrams incorporated several references to some of the legendary Sith Lords of the days of the Old Republic in The Rise of Skywalker, including fan favorite Darth Revan. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni took this further The Mandalorian and Star Wars Rebels, respectively, writing in Admiral Thrawn of Heir to the empire trilogy of novels. This narrative is generally held in high regard by fans and many of them believe, in fact, that it is one of the best Star Wars out there.
Now, according to a new report by Mikey Sutton of Geekosity, the future the projects will be based on elements from Timothy Zahn’s mentioned books, including Luke Skywalker’s future wife. In fact, Disney apparently plans to introduce the public to Mara Jade, the Hand of the Emperor who tried to kill Luke for his crimes against the Empire, and Doctor who and MCU star Karen Gillan is being seen for the role.
As fans will know, Mara Jade is an important character in the Star Wars Continuity of legends. Luke’s wife and student, not to mention the mother of his son, Ben Skywalker, she plays a key role in the formation of the New Republic. Considering the Sequel Trilogy narrative, however, it is safe to say that your story will have undergone some changes when it opens.
As for Karen Gillan, it’s hard to imagine Amy Pond, Nebula, or even anything in between taking on the role of Mara Jade, although she has already shown an incredible breadth in her acting skills before now. And if she really makes her live-action debut, then we can probably expect to see more of Luke Skywalker too, probably with another actor taking over the cloak, contrary to what we saw at the end of season 2. The Mandalorian.