Samuel L. Jackson Claims He Had Bad Motherf*cker On His Star Wars Lightsaber, Watch Him Ask Lucas To Make It Purple

Jackson long ago infamously explained why Mace Windu's lightsaber was purple to begin with, but now you can watch him ask.

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

purple lightsaber

It’s now possible that Samuel L. Jackson may return to Star Wars. The 64-year-old actor has long expressed interest in appearing in more Star Wars movies, however that would work. We all know that Mace Windu, the Jedi Master Jackson played in the Star Wars prequels, died mid-way through Revenge of the Sith, right? But as Mr. Jackson points out, we didn’t actually see him die, even though he took some force lightning in the face and fell out a window. So who knows, maybe Windu will stage a dramatic return, and if he does, we hope he brings his Bad Motherfucker.

Jackson long ago infamously explained why Mace Windu’s lightsaber was purple to begin with, and also claimed that iconic phrase from Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction was engraved on the lightsaber’s handle. But we’ve never seen the video of him actually asking George Lucas to make his lightsaber purple before. But now it’s online, and you can watch it below…

It was on the U.K.’s The Graham Norton Show on BBC One that Jackson first said the reason his lightsaber was purple, rather than one of the traditional blue, green, or red lightsaber varieties, was because he wanted it distinctive so he could easily find himself during the epic Petranaki Arena scene on Geonosis in Attack of the Clones.

That battle involved hundreds of Jedi Knights fighting the Separatist Droid Army, battle droids, and a handful of monstrous creatures. In a sea of Jedi lightsabers, Jackson told George Lucas that he wanted a different color lightsaber so he could be noticed in the Jedi fray. At first, Lucas said no, but he eventually gave in to Jackson’s request. It’s a good thing he did, because Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber is one of the most iconic Jedi weapons in the entire Star Wars Saga.

samuel l. jackson lightsaber

As for the “Bad Motherfucker,” this is a direct reference to Jackson’s role as recently enlightened hitman Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction. In that movie, the phrase was on Jules’ wallet. It’s hard to tell if Jackson is serious about having the phrase on his lightsaber, but if he asks you to be cool like Fonzie and hand it to him, we recommend you cooperate.

According to Star Wars mythology, Mace Windu’s lightsaber was made with the extremely rare crystal Electrum, which is found on the planet Huikane. The gold-color material was so rare that when it melded with the lightsaber, it turned purple instead of the typical lightsaber colors. The purple color is also symbolic of its user studying several forms of lightsaber combat, including the dark techniques of the Sith.

Samuel L. Jackson is a big Star Wars fan, so when he heard George Lucas was going to make a new Star Wars film back in 1997; Jackson asked if he could appear anywhere in the new film. Jackson would have been happy to just be a Stormtrooper in The Phantom Menace, but George Lucas created a new character specifically tailored to Samuel L. Jackson, thus Jedi Master Mace Windu was born. Originally in The Phantom Menace screenplay and comic books, George Lucas wrote that Mace Windu’s lightsaber was blue.