After The Bad Batch Season 3, Could Asajj Ventress Be Star Wars’ Mara Jade Replacement?

Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 included an incredible update on Asajj Ventress, which very well may signal that she is taking on Mara Jade’s role in Star Wars. Mara Jade is no longer canon, but she remains an incredibly popular Legends character. After serving the Emperor as his assassin, Mara Jade turned away from the dark side of the Force and joined Luke Skywalker, both as his wife and as a Jedi Master in Luke’s Jedi Order.

Audiences have long hoped that Mara Jade would be one of many characters who transitioned from Legends to canon, alongside Grand Admiral Thrawn. However, so far, she has yet to emerge in Star Wars movies and TV shows. However, Asajj Ventress’ recent Star Wars arc may sadly mean Mara Jade isn’t entering the canon—instead, Ventress herself may be Mara Jade’s canon replacement.

Asajj Ventress Follows A Very Familiar Pattern

Ventress’ return in The Bad Batch season 3 was thrilling and unexpected. She was last seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars during the arc when Ahsoka was on the run after being falsely accused of murder. While she seemed somewhat ambivalent about the dark and light side of the Force at that point, having become a morally ambiguous bounty hunter, she did help Ahsoka, marking a clear shift in her allegiances and perspective. Even so, it wasn’t clear whether she’d been fully redeemed.

What made Ventress’ return even more shocking, though, was the fact that she’d died in the canon novel Star Wars: Dark Disciple, written by Christie Golden. In that story, Ventress worked alongside Jedi Quinlan Vos on a mission to assassinate Count Dooku (surprisingly initiated by the Jedi Council themselves). Over the course of their mission, the two fell in love; however, at Dooku’s hand, Vos fell to the dark side. In the end, Ventress sacrificed her life to save Vos’ life.

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Each of these factors aligns Ventress’ Star Wars story thus far with Mara Jade’s in Legends. Just as Mara Jade began as Emperor Palpatine’s assassin, Asajj Ventress began as Count Dooku’s assassin in The Clone Wars. Moreover, both had redemption arcs heavily influenced by love. In Mara Jade’s case, that was of course Luke Skywalker. In Ventress’ case, it was Quinlan Vos. Arguably, Ventress was already on that path; however, Vos’ turn to the dark side threw into stark relief how insidious the dark side is, and Ventress even worked to turn Vos back.

The most significant shift in Ventress’ path thus far occurred in The Bad Batch season 3, when she shockingly appeared with yellow lightsabers. Given lightsaber colors and their meanings, this suggests that Ventress has embraced the light side of the Force, and, as she worked to test Omega’s possible aptitude with the Force, she seems primed to appear next as a Jedi. With Star Wars already confirming that Ventress will return, Ventress’ next appearance in Star Wars could solidify her as Mara Jade’s replacement.

Mara Jade’s Story Sets Up Asajj Ventress As A Hero In The Dark Times

Given the similarities between Mara Jade and Asajj Ventress’ stories and the path Ventress is currently on, Star Wars may be on its way to establishing Ventress as a hero. Despite Mara Jade’s dark history, she was able to be redeemed and become an incredible Jedi. Surely, this path is also available to Ventress, who has arguably done much less damage than Mara Jade even did in terms of evil acts. This would also be the perfect period for Ventress to be established as a hero, as her appearance in The Bad Batch took place during the Dark Times.

In fact, a turn toward the light side of the Force would be the ideal arc for Ventress, especially during this period in the Star Wars timeline. One of the most targeted groups under Imperial rule was Force-sensitive children. Ventress, with her traumatic history of being taken as a child and then saved by a Jedi only to watch him die in front of her, would be especially sensitive to the experiences of these children.

Although Ventress’ future in Star Wars is yet to be revealed, it seems quite possible that she will return as a hero, if not a Jedi. While not every character must be redeemed, Ventress has long been on this path, and it would be a turn that made sense for her. Particularly given her similarities with Mara Jade, Asajj Ventress may be set up to become Star Wars’ next hero following on the heels of Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Star Wars: The Bad Batch is an action-adventure animated series set after the events of The Clone Wars, following Clone Force 99 (a.k.a. the Bad Batch.) Finding themselves immune to the brainwashing effects of Order 66, the Bad Batch become mercenaries for hire while outrunning the empire, now seeing them as fugitives of the law.

Cast

Dee Bradley Baker , Michelle Ang , Noshir Dalal , Liam O’Brien , Rhea Perlman , Sam Riegel , Bob Bergen , Gwendoline Yeo

Release Date

May 4, 2021

Seasons

3

Writers

Jennifer Corbett , Dave Filoni , Matt Michnovetz , Tamara Becher , Amanda Rose Munoz , Gursimran Sandhu , Christian Taylor , Damani Johnson

Directors

Brad Rau , Steward Lee , Nathaniel Villanueva , Saul Ruiz

Showrunner

Dave Filoni

Creator(s)

Dave Filoni , Jennifer Corbett

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