What is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order?

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — What IS IT?

by Dylan Blight

At EA’s EA PLAY conference today, Andrea Rene sat down for a moment in the crowd with Vince Zampella of Respawn to ask about the Star Wars game they’ve been working on since 2016. We’ve known it existed, but had seen nothing beyond some behind-the-scenes footage from E3 years ago. Vince shared a few tidbits: the game is targeting late 2019 (barring delays), the title is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and it’s set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

Initially, rumours of an Old Republic–era game circulated because the behind-the-scenes video showed a Jedi fighting what many assumed was a Sith (based on the red lightsaber). However, over the years Lucasfilm has evolved Star Wars and stretched things outside simply “Jedi vs. Sith.” Just look at Snoke from the sequel trilogy — a powerful Force user, but not a Sith — and Kylo Ren — powerful, yes; a Sith, he is not.

So how can we be playing as a Jedi post–Order 66? And who would we be fighting in the game? Darth Vader? Unlikely.

What will you be fighting?

There seems to be one solid choice that makes sense as to what you’ll be fighting in Fallen Order — the Inquisitors.

In 2014, Inquisitors were introduced in the animated series Star Wars Rebels as a major threat to an escapee of Order 66 and former Jedi, Kanan Jarrus (real name Caleb Dume), along with his padawan, Ezra Bridger.

The initial season of Rebels had the crew of the Ghost hunted by one Grand Inquisitor, and as further seasons rolled on more Inquisitors arrived to track down Kanan and Ezra. Later in the show — and in comics like the Darth Vader series — we learn the Inquisitorius was a program created by Palpatine and eventually placed under Darth Vader’s command. The Inquisitors were made up of former Jedi or Temple Guard, with two main goals: track down any surviving Jedi who escaped or went into hiding after Order 66, and identify Force-sensitive children (and Imperial personnel) to turn to the Empire’s cause.

The Inquisitors would make formidable adversaries and offer — for lack of a better term — very cool boss fights in a third-person action-adventure. Most wield double-bladed lightsabers (à la Darth Maul) with spinning hilts, and they’ve even used that spin to “helicopter” glide across gaps.

We know of as many as twelve Inquisitors (there could be more). The order died out by the time of A New Hope — with few or no Jedi left to hunt — and as Grand Moff Tarkin puts it to Vader, the Force is merely part of an “ancient religion” that seems to have faded from the galaxy.

If we’re playing as a padawan who escapes Order 66, they’re the perfect fit for primary antagonists — with Stormtroopers as fodder and Inquisitors as marquee boss encounters. You can’t have a padawan duel Vader and live; that’s a ten-second fight.

Who will we be playing as?

I can see people hoping to play as Kanan Jarrus from Star Wars Rebels, but it doesn’t make sense. As much as I’d love Kanan in a game, he already has an origin told in the comic The Last Padawan — funny title now — which explains how he ditched his Jedi teachings, went into hiding for years, and never touched his lightsaber until meeting Hera Syndulla and joining the Ghost.

If Kanan could escape as a padawan, it makes sense another could have, too. But since we know we’re getting lightsaber combat, this new character would be taking a different path than Kanan — choosing not to hide their Jedi past. An interesting (if reckless) choice.

Across comics, books, and animation, the list of characters who survived — or initially survived — Order 66 has grown beyond Obi-Wan and Yoda. Early survivors who were later killed included Jocasta Nu (Chief Librarian of the Jedi Archives), among others. Survivors of the purge entirely included Kanan; former padawan to Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano; padawan Ferren Barr; Quinlan Vos; Jedi Master Uvell; Master Yoda; and of course Obi-Wan Kenobi. I don’t expect any of them to be the protagonist here, but Quinlan Vos showing up would be interesting — he’s a wild card Jedi the Order relied on at its weakest moment, and he could be introduced without much backstory while still being very different from other survivors.

I hope this helped you picture what the game could look like. We might get a first look in December at The Game Awards, but more likely April 2019 at Star Wars Celebration. Sooner the better, though!