Fallen Order; News, Info, Hopes
Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order. A game currently being developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by EA, coming in Fall 2019. As most of the fandom is aware, EA’s handling of Star Wars is less than stellar, with most criticizing how they’ve handled the releases and content of Battlefront and Battlefront 2. However, Fallen Order will be different in that it will be a mainly single-player game as opposed to the multiplayer-heavy games that were Battlefront 1 and 2. Nonetheless, there is buzz, both positive and skeptical, surrounding the game. However, concerning content, there is little concrete information regarding content on the game besides rumors, which I will outline.
Regarding the content of Jedi: Fallen Order, all that is known is that the story will take place between ROTS and ANH, the “Dark Times” era, if you will. Furthermore, the protagonist will be a Padawan who survived Order 66, or the Jedi Purge as others call it, and trying to survive the subsequent post-Jedi Purge. Unsurprisingly, many rumors have popped up as to how the story will go, many sound false and unlikely, but there are a few that seem legit. Take, for instance, a Reddit post where one Redditor said they were able to go to a “Star Wars Marketing Presentation by Disney where they discussed all things Star Wars for 2019.” Regarding Fallen Order, the Redditor said this; “It takes place about 5 years after Revenge of the Sith and follows the main character whose name is Cal….He was a [Padawan] that survived the efforts to kill all of the remaining jedi. Not a ton of gameplay info but some of the other story lines are that he has a mentor figure who is a woman named Ceres. The only other thing I remember is them talking about other characters they would come across from some of the comics. The[y] mentioned the 9th sister and 2nd sister? Something about Inquisitors?”
While I naturally take this all with a grain of Crait salt, it is the best info we have on the game so far. Furthermore, Jason Ward of Making Star Wars described in his podcast, Now, This Is Podcasting! Fallen Order as being "true to canon, and content that we've seen in films and stuff, so we won't see anything absurd," such as "pulling down Star Destroyers and stuff." As many know, Jason Ward is an immensely reliable source when it comes to Star Wars news, so I trust his word. However, none of this is confirmed, so skepticism is needed. Now considering that there is little to nothing known about the game, I shall give my own thoughts on the game and what it means for Star Wars in-universe.
At the risk of (not really) sounding blasphemous, I can confidently say that I am most excited for Fallen Order in SW 2019 more than anything else coming out. Yes, that includes IX. Why? It comes down to the story/concept, title, and tie-in potential to the larger universe. The title itself, Fallen Order, is undoubtedly symbolic of the Jedi Orders’ status at this point in time, plus I think it sounds immensely wizard. Another cool part is the story itself. Playing as a Jedi Padawan who survived the Purge and is now trying to survive the ensuing hunt for the remaining Jedi? That sounds like a story ripe to be told in the SW universe in my eyes. It’s definitely a story I never thought I knew I needed and now I’m glad we’re getting it. Yes, I know the post-Order 66 story has been told many times in the comics and novels, but I personally can’t get enough of that story and time period! The last part as to why I’m psyched for the game, and this is unsurprising and common in SW, is the tie-in potential to the larger SW universe, mainly through the Vader comics between ROTS and ANH, written by Charles Soule. I can undoubtedly see the protagonist battling Inquisitors, attempting to rendezvous with other surviving Jedi, all the while hearing about the tales of Darth Vader, The Jedi Hunter. It all just sounds exceptionally wizard. Regarding my hopes for the game, I have only one.
My only hope for the game is that the protagonist is killed by Vader at the end. I legitimately cannot tell you how that thought originated; It just came to me one day and I just ran with it. I just think it’d be cool if it happened because it would show that, no matter what some Jedi did to survive, they were still cut down by the Empire or Vader. However, if the protagonist ends up surviving the story, there’s no doubt in my mind that he will play some role in the ST, more specifically in IX. One potential role could have him help Rey in restarting the Jedi Order in IX, potentially. I could also see the protagonist be a prominent survivor of the Jedi Purge, telling his stories to fledging Jedi in Rey’s Jedi Order so they know some of the verbal history of the Jedi during the Republic Era and not just through texts and/or Holocrons. The possibilities are ripe for storytelling and I’m undoubtedly excited to see what transpires with Jedi: Fallen Order.