Director A.J. Edwards recently did an AMA on Reddit, and may have spilled the beans a bit early. When asked if there was any truth to the rumors of him directing a Star Wars spin off film, his response was: “Talking about it, not able to say a lot yet,” but then followed up with, “It will focus on Mace Windu.”
This is odd for a couple of reasons. First, Edwards has just recently made his directorial debut, and being immediately handed a Star Wars film seems like a huge leap. Second, he just blurted out a major spoiler, after saying he can’t talk about it yet. That’s a pretty big reveal to just casually throw out there.
About the character himself; Windu is an interesting character, but there are so many other much bigger characters who people would love to see get a solo film. Also, Windu was killed in Episode III, so it would have to be a prequel set years and years ago, and not able to take place in the universe JJ is currently building.
JJ Abrams is directing Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII), Rian Johnson is developing Episode VIII and Episode IX, and directors Josh Trank (Chronicle) and Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) each working on their own stand alone films. A third stand alone film has been announced, with no additional information yet. There have been rumors of Han Solo, Yoda, and Boba Fett each getting their own stand alone film.
Mace Windu, a Jedi Master of the High Council, was originally written into the original trilogy, but through the process of rewrites and edits, he was removed. Lucas saw his chance to reintroduce his character when writing his prequel trilogy. Windu was portrayed by Samuel L Jackson, and has the distinct purple lightsaber, which he reportedly asked for, in order to stand out.
The first Star Wars spin off film is set for a 2016 release.