Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, prequel novel, “Battle Scars” cover revealed

Earlier this week, we got the first look at and further details of the previously announced novel, Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars, written by Sam Maggs, which is set for release on March 7th 2023. The book is set in between 2019’s Jedi Fallen Order and 2023’s Jedi Survivor, which we’ll see at The Game Awards later this week.

The cover reveal, as seen above, and revealed on the Star Wars Website, shows our hero Cal Kestis and his new “family” of Cere, Merrin and Greez in the forefront and hints at the villain in the background, with the inclusion of the Fifth Brother. The Fifth Brothers’ appearance looks more modelled on his likeness in Star Wars Rebels, as opposed to the actor Sung Kang, who played him earlier in 2022 in Kenobi. This will be the Fifth Brothers’ first appearance in a novel, having previously appeared in two shows and several comics to date. 

The synopsis also revealed alongside gives us the first clue of the story of the book and what Cal has been up to after the events of Jedi Fallen Order:

Cal Kestis has built a new life for himself with the crew of the Stinger Mantis. Together, Cal’s crew has brought down bounty hunters, defeated Inquisitors, and even evaded Darth Vader himself. More importantly, Merrin, Cere, Greez, and faithful droid BD-1 are the closest thing Cal has had to a family since the fall of the Jedi Order. Even as the galaxy’s future grows more uncertain by the day, with each blow struck against the Empire, the Mantis crew grows more daring.

On what should be a routine mission, they meet a stormtrooper determined to chart her own course with the help of Cal and the crew. In exchange for help starting a new life, the Imperial deserter brings word of a powerful, potentially invaluable tool for their fight against the Empire. And even better, she can help them get to it. The only catch — pursuing it will bring them into the path of one of the Empire’s most dangerous servants, the Inquisitor known as the Fifth Brother.

Can the Imperial deserter truly be trusted? And while Cal and his friends have survived run-ins with the Inquisitors before, how many times can they evade the Empire before their luck runs out?

Thankfully, the synopsis mentions BD1, who is conspicuously absent from the novel’s cover. 

But the synopsis raises some questions, like will this supposed weapon play into the game? Will this quest lead to the state we see the Mantis in the Previously released teaser trailer? Is this weapon the weirdo in the tube from that same trailer?

What do you think? Does the synopsis for the in-between novel, Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars, sound interesting, and will you check it out? Let me know in the comment below!