Considering both the canon and Star Wars Legends material not yet tapped into, there is a lot that the budding series EA is building around Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order can work with. Fans see this at the end of the original Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order game when Cal Kestis decides that the safest option is for him to destroy the holocron, an action that opens his future up to innumerable narrative possibilities. The most enticing of these narrative threads are the ones that can lead to brighter storylines and instill players with a greater sense of hope.
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The benefit of these types of stories can be seen in the success of The Mandalorian, one of Star Wars’ most recent installments. Fans watch hardened characters grow through both funny and bright story telling that finished arcs without leaving anyone in a pit of despair. The positive emotions fans feel after these stories is extremely important; after all, Star Wars is a series built on hope. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 needs to keep building on that idea of hope.
Living After Order 66
There is also nothing wrong with providing these stories that are not entirely focused on the death and destruction of the Jedi during Order 66. The event is very traumatic for all of those that survived, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order does a good job exploring that. Both Cal and Cere Junda’s personal trauma relating to the events is given major attention throughout the game. Fans are offered a glimpse into the mind of a Jedi that wasn’t successful at evading the Empire through Cere.
Cere is special in that she is someone who had been entrusted with the life of her Padawan and other Force sensitives, but ultimately was not able to hold off the dark side and strength of Darth Vader. Cal’s story pulls him through from the other perspective as a Padawan who’s master sacrifices everything. Jaro Tapal gives up his own life and pushes Cal into a future where he will have to survive on his own.
Both Cal and Cere react to these traumas in similar ways by disconnecting themselves from the Force, but Cal’s story shows just how much he has grown since being a Padawan. He shows that he is ready to fight the dark side, and it is here that the next installment in the series can really focus on building up the idea of hope. The timeline here offers an opportunity to pull on the original trilogy and move past some of the events and story lines fans have already seen. Similar to how Rogue One: A Star Wars Story filled in the blanks on the rebels plan to destroy the Death Star, the next Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order should explore connections to major events and characters.
Visiting Old Jedi and Exploring a Space Unknown
If the continued expansion and exploration of the canon Star Wars universe has showed fans anything, it is that there were far more Jedi than have been shown and even more Force sensitive individuals that could be tapped into. The Force itself permeates within all living beings in the Star Wars canon, and this is true whether or not they are able to tap into its extraordinary abilities. This allows for the introduction of Force sensitive characters that haven’t been seen before. Fans of the series have witnessed entities in the past wield incredible powers through the Force without being directly affiliated with the Jedi or the Sith, but there are also the possibilities of those who haven’t mastered it. How do those that have a connection to the Force use it outside of an official school?
With interstellar criminal organizations and deep black markets, the ecosystems in the time of the Empire are expansive. The danger and excitement will always be available in Star Wars, but it will be important that a new Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order game shows fans even more of the galaxy. It will also be critical that these new stories show the balance of the Force moving away from the dark side of the force towards the light. There is no need for Cal to go back on his actions in the finale of the first game and attempt to directly seek out force sensitive people. It’s his connection to the Force that makes it only a matter of time before he finds more of them or they are able to find him, much like Cere did.
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The same can also be said for Jedi that survived the purge. Not only do many of the Jedi Knights go unaccounted for, an aspect of Star Wars that continues to be a convenient story device, but there are Masters and Jedi Council members that evaded the Empire’s Inquisitors. Both Coleman Kcaj and Oppo Rancisis are known to have been extremely accomplished at hiding from the Empire. As high-ranking members of the Jedi Order that evaded inquisitors, it seems unlikely that they would have completely cut themselves off from the Force the way that Cere did. Meeting these two surviving Jedi Masters amidst the rapidly crumbling Empire and growing rebellion could add much needed depth to the time that passes between the building of the rebellion and full Galactic Civil War. Of course, this is just speculation, but it would be interesting to see.
Bringing back these two old masters would also allow for the passing of the torch that Star Wars is constantly displaying. Their introduction to Cal could set him on an important journey whether it be the main narrative’s focus or a subplot. The inclusion of Master Coleman and Master Oppo could also shed some light on how far Jedi Masters and those at their level of power were willing to go just to survive. Exploring how one or two council members were able to survive and remain mostly undetected from the Empire would build up hope that scattered across the many star systems of the galaxy were more Jedi in hiding waiting to be contacted and even more Star Wars stories to tell.
Beyond the Dark Times
There is also the opportunity for the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order game to move past the dark times and still embrace the story of the dark side. With only about half of the galaxy under the control of the Republic or Empire at any given time, there is a lot of space for Cal to explore. While his character now resides as part of the main Star Wars canon, it is inevitable that he will need to either die or find a way to live outside of the more significant events of the rebellion. Characters like Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan have been worked into storylines just after the fall of the Empire, and in this same vein, Cal could explore the Unknown Regions.
A story like this could almost certainly mean Cal making a visit to Exegol and learning of the ultimate threat that Darth Sidious poses. While moving this way could be difficult for the team behind the game and depends on what the entire Star Wars franchise plans to do, there are still ways to show what was happening. It is unlikely that the curtain of the Unknown Region would be completely drawn back, and in Cal’s time, there is even less likely to influence any of the story lines in the main series directly. This possibility still creates a great opportunity for Star Wars video games to begin moving into this unknown area of space with the franchise’s current canon. Again, this is all speculation, but Cal shouldn’t just remnant stagnant whenever the new game releases.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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