Mace Windu Is Getting a New Star Wars Graphic Novel — And It Goes Back to His Earliest Jedi Days

Mace Windu is heading back into the spotlight, and this time the story is going way back.

Dark Horse’s next original graphic novel in the Hyperspace Stories line is Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories—Mace, a new paperback by Justina Ireland with art by Georges Duarte and PH Gomes. Publisher listings peg it at 88 pages, priced at $19.99, with a September 1, 2026 release date.

That alone would be enough to get some attention.

But the more interesting angle is where this story sits in the timeline.

This One Takes Mace Back Before The Phantom Menace

Early details on the book say the story takes place before The Phantom Menace and follows Mace Windu shortly after becoming a Jedi Knight. The setup sends him on what begins as a diplomatic mission, which, in classic Star Wars fashion, does not stay simple for very long.

That is a smart lane for a Mace story.

Most Mace Windu conversations still orbit the same few things: Samuel L. Jackson, the purple lightsaber, his fall in Revenge of the Sith, and the endless “is he somehow still alive?” cycle that Star Wars fans simply refuse to retire. Going back to his younger Jedi years is a much better hook than trying to squeeze one more familiar Clone Wars-era story out of him.

It gives the character room to be something a little different.

A Younger Mace Could Be the Best Version to Explore

That is really the appeal here.

Mace Windu is one of the most recognizable Jedi in the franchise, but he is also one of the ones who can feel the most boxed in by his own reputation. We know him as the stern master, the elite warrior, the Council powerhouse, and the guy who always looks like he has already run out of patience. A story about a newly knighted Mace has the chance to show a different version of that character before all the familiar myth has fully hardened around him.

And honestly, that version may be more interesting.

There is something appealing about seeing Mace before he became the man who could shut down a room with one expression and a sentence that sounded like it had already passed judgment on everyone in it.

The Creative Team Gives This Real Potential

The book is written by Justina Ireland, with art by Georges Duarte and PH Gomes, and cover art credited to Michael Cho in early coverage of the announcement. Those details have been repeated across the initial reporting and retailer listings.

That is a solid foundation for this kind of release.

The Hyperspace Stories line has become a useful place for Star Wars to tell tighter, character-focused stories without pretending every release needs to be a galaxy-shaking event. A Mace Windu original graphic novel fits that model pretty well: recognizable character, clean premise, strong lore hook, and enough freedom to explore a corner of the timeline that has not been strip-mined to death.

That is usually where some of the better Star Wars side stories live.

This Feels Like a Good Shelf Book for Jedi Fans

There is also a very practical reason this one works.

At 88 pages and $19.99, this is not being sold like some giant prestige omnibus or oversized collector brick. It looks more like the kind of compact Star Wars release that fans can grab without turning it into a three-month commitment.

And for a character like Mace, that is probably the right move.

He does not need an entire sprawling continuity event to justify another story. He just needs a sharp premise, the right creative team, and a setting that lets him do something other than stand in a Council chamber looking deeply unimpressed.

If you already know this is your kind of Star Wars book, you can pre-order it on Amazon right here.

The Jedi Master Still Has Some Unexplored Ground

The funniest thing about Mace Windu is that he is both hugely iconic and still oddly underexplored.

Everybody knows who he is. Everybody remembers him. But there are still eras of his life that feel surprisingly open, especially compared to characters who have had every spare hour of their timeline mapped, novelized, animated, and reverse-engineered into a comic miniseries.

That makes Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories—Mace feel like a smart addition to the shelf rather than just another random franchise extra. It is using a familiar character, yes, but not in the laziest way possible.

And that already puts it ahead of a lot of tie-in logic.

If the book delivers on the premise, this could end up being one of those smaller Star Wars releases that quietly turns out better than expected: a focused story, a strong character hook, and a chance to see Mace Windu before he became the legend everybody already thinks they know.

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