Over the years, the Star Wars franchise has extended outward from the original trilogy and created an entirely new canonical universe outside of the initial storyline of the Skywalkers. However, every new addition to the lore, like 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, adds more wrinkles to some of the core concepts of the series, most notably with the surviving Jedi in the Star Wars galaxy.
The ending of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order seemed to allude to one key franchise problem, and it may be time to look at this conflict with the lore. Specifically more and more Jedi appear to exist during the Dark Times than previously believe, which the movies try to imply are limited only to the Obi Wan, Yoda, and the Skywalkers. With all the new additions to the franchise, the number of Jedi have begun to pile up and suddenly the galaxy is full of lightsaber wielding heroes.
Most of the Star Wars universe often wants to focus on the Jedi thanks to the fantasy space wizards and their religion being the most beloved part of the series. Of course, newer outings like the Disney Plus show The Mandalorian have proved that diverging from the typical Jedi storyline can still be successful, though the perfect storm of having Jon Favreau helming a talented cast and crew doesn’t hurt. Regardless, Respawn Entertainment is set to take on a whole new story involving another group of Jedi who survive through the Dark Times of the Empire and should avoid falling into a common trap of the franchise.
The result of being so focused on the Jedi, even creating new Masters for shows like Rebels or revealing past members of the Order to be alive in order to deliver compelling twists throughout these narratives is that it becomes less compelling and less of a twist. So, with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order considered canon, at least as far as Disney is concerned with its new extended universe, it lands in a similar situation where the Jedi are in hiding, but there are way more than much of the lore would imply. The prequels alone and the reactions of many of the survivors that appear in the original trilogy imply that there hadn’t been enough to attempt reorganizing or mounting an effort against the Empire.
Some of the comics and graphic novels, especially those following Darth Vader and his Inquisitorius, have addressed this discrepancy before by creating an entire taskforce with the soul purpose of hunting and killing Jedi. However, this seems to only reaffirm that the era saturation is seemingly larger than it had seemed before this separate group of Jedi hunters had been introduced. That being said, Respawn does have the chance to rework this issue in the narrative with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2, though it may lead to a much darker tone than the original.
It’s clear now that the primary antagonists for Cal Kestis and his crew will likely continue to be the Inquisitorius in the next Fallen Order title, as they are the group best tasked for taking the ragtag group of heroes down. So, if Respawn wants to make the most of these imposing villains and the colorful main cast of the game, it may be important to take a new direction for the Jedi that remain from their previous mission. Instead of attempting to find force-sensitive children and raise them to be the next generation of Jedi, Cal and Cere should be working together in order to gather the surviving members of the old order.
This could naturally lead to some emotional moments, with Cere finding her old companions from before the empire and Cal possibly meeting friends of his master or other surviving Padawans who have grown in similar ways. Seeing that the main cast has already undergone their own personal arcs to overcome their doubts, the struggles of how the new Empire-led galaxy is shaping their lives could be the continuing focus. From there, Fallen Order 2 can fix its Jedi issue by taking a dark turn with how these interactions eventually play out, specifically when it comes to trying to keep them safe from the Inquisitors.
One of the most direct ways to explain why there aren’t enough Jedi left to reorganize and prepare a counter offensive against the Empire is to have Cal and crew fail in their next goal to bring the old order back together. This can best be achieved by showing events in which the Inquisitorius succeeds in eliminating Jedi in vast numbers and dealing a crippling blow continues to scatter the already desperate forces. It could help Fallen Order take notes from other games to deliver on a more compelling narrative that not only captures the player’s attention, but tugs on them in ways that Star Wars stories haven’t done much in the past.
This might be a bold new direction for Fallen Order 2, especially in the Disney era of Star Wars, where darker storylines that center around a lot more death is a harder sell to a younger audience. However, the franchise has often skirted around the idea of mass deaths of this degree, simply choosing not to show it and leaving it implied. It’s this exact attitude on killing off entire planets full of innocents or broadly enacting Order 66 that has made for this opportunity for so many Jedi to survive in the first place.
The new mentality to wipe out the remaining Jedi shouldn’t be limited to new arrivals, but should be a constant threat for Cal and crew throughout Fallen Order 2. This might require a death in the game to make the threat on the characters persist throughout instead of only for an emotional beat towards the end. Considering the small cast, this would likely put Cere as the most likely to take the fall for the sake of the others, but even if the death is predictable, it can still be powerful.
At the moment, it isn’t even certain where Fallen Order 2 will pick up or what new motivation Respawn has set for Cal Kestis to continue his decades long struggle against the Empire. Players could be getting anything from a tried and true revenge story to a brash attempt to cobble together the numerous Jedi that have spread across the galaxy. However, if the next title really wants to leave a mark, then it may want to touch on the inaction of the surviving Jedi, with an effective method being to trim their numbers considerably.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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