You can’t really blame Samuel L. Jackson for believing strongly that his Star Wars character didn’t really die. He didn’t go out in the most dignified manner.
Answering a question about whose idea it was for Mace Windu to die in Revenge of the Sith, Jackson ended his answer with “In my mind, I’m not dead. Jedis can fall incredibly high distances and not die.”
He doubled down on that belief on the Entertainment Weekly satellite radio show, repeating the idea that Jedis can fall really far, adding, “And there’s a long history of one-handed Jedi. So why not?”
Jackson revealed that the only person actually involved Star Wars he’d talked to about it was George Lucas. “George is like, ‘I’m okay with that. You can be alive,” said Jackson.
No clue if that was just George being polite, doing another retcon, or just not caring about messing with Star Wars anymore, but Lucas’ support of the theory makes it a lot more valid. Just imagine a pissed-off, one-handed Mace Windu hiding out on his equivalent of Dagobah or Tatooine. It’s a lovely image.