Star Wars: George Lucas Didn't Allow One Jedi To Come Back From The Dead
Unsurprisingly considering the name itself, "Star Wars" is full of death. Since the saga began in 1977, main characters and nameless soldiers alike have met their ends in various ways. However, only a small handful can boast that they've managed to come back from their perceived demises. Numerous Jedi have come back in spirit form after their deaths, and some, like the clone trooper Echo (Dee Bradley Baker, who enjoys voicing a different Bad Batch member the most), were assumed dead only to have narrowly avoided such a fate. One name in particular could've come back from the dead, but "Star Wars" mastermind George Lucas vetoed the concept.
At Star Wars Celebration 2023, it came to light that "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" director Dave Filoni wanted to retcon Jedi Master Plo Koon's (Matt Sloan) Order 66 death in "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith." "I once pitched George the idea that Plo had a parachute and that he bailed out of his fighter before it crashed. Then George said he would only continue the scene and make Plo's death more painful, I think his parachute was going to catch fire and he falls on something sharp," Filoni jokingly said of his attempt at revising the Kel Dor's death in the best prequel trilogy movie, "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith." With that, the idea was shot down, much like the Jedi himself (via TheForce.net).
Despite this, Filoni did try to bring Plo Koon back from the dead, albeit just to fool the cast of another "Star Wars" series he was working on.
Dave Filoni technically revived Plo Koon post-Order 66
Canonically speaking, Plo Koon hasn't returned from his "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" death, and it's not hard to figure out why. As he pilots a starfighter above Cato Nemoidia, the 442nd Siege Battalion is given the order to eliminate all Jedi. Master Plo is promptly shot down, with his ship exploding in a ball of fire. That's about as definitive a death as one can depict, hence why George Lucas didn't see a need to bring the character back during the age of the Galactic Empire. Still, Lucas' decree didn't stop Dave Filoni in a roundabout way.
On the Disney+ featurette "Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian," Filoni recalled the "Mandalorian" Season 2 episode "Chapter 16: The Rescue," where Luke Skywalker (Max Lloyd-Jones, Mark Hamill) makes a surprise appearance. To throw those involved in the production off the scent, as to not spoil such a huge surprise, concept art, the episode's script, and production dailies used Plo's name and likeness. The few who did know the truth had to keep their lips sealed for months on end as well. The secrecy paid off, with Luke's return surprising fans worldwide and capping off Season 2 on a major high note — just before the fan-upsetting "Mandalorian" Season 3.
Bearing in mind just how much respect and admiration Dave Filoni has for George Lucas, it stands to reason Plo Koon will remain dead going forward in honor of his past demand.