You're not late to the party. This is an ongoing discussion.
I agree, I'd love to see Mara Jade. I've been a fan ever since I read the Thrawn trilogy as a teenager. I have a book called "Allegiance" by Timothy Zhan, it takes place during the years between Star Wars and Empire and it has some of her exploits as the Emperor's Hand. I think he also wrote a sequel to that one, but I don't have it yet. It makes sense to have Mara in the new films, as she is/was Luke's wife. (I think she died at some point) If they're going to focus on his children, you can't do that without showing his wife.
