Somewhat surprisingly, Asmussen stated that the decision for Cal to be a male was due to Rey, the protagonist of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. According to Asmussen, “We talked about different gender. We arrived where we were because at the time, Rey was the thing for Star Wars, and so it made a lot more sense for us to have a male protagonist.” It seems the ultimate factor in the decision was to differentiate Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order from the current crew and set-up of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker (when it releases this fall around the same time as the aforementioned game).
Asmussen also addressed why Respawn didn’t go with an alien protagonist either, which is something not seen outside of games with customizable characters like Star Wars: The Old Republic or Jedi Academy. Asmussen stated that “Ultimately we didn’t go with an alien race because we felt like – no pun intended – that would alienate a lot of people. We wanted to make sure there was a real human connection to that character we have in the game.” But Asmussen did go on to say that it would have been “really cool” to have an alien protagonist in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
While players will be taking on the role of Cal Kestis throughout the game, the Star Wars universe is vast, and Cal will be visiting new and returning planets alike. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will likely showcase a ton of alien races throughout the game, even if they can’t be played, and hopefully, it will rise above the aforementioned Wookiee criticism.
It’s worth mentioning that, while Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has had its fair share of criticism, there’s still a ton of hope behind the next Star Wars game, as it appeared on GameStop’s 10 most pre-ordered games of E3 2019 list.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will launch on November 15 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Game Informer
