Why Star Wars: Force Unleashed’s Rebel Origin Story Still Matters

Why Star Wars: Force Unleashed’s Rebel Origin Story Still Matters

The story of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed puts players in the shoes of an incredibly powerful young Jedi found by Darth Vader on Kashyyyk. Instead of slaying the young boy, he decides to train him into one of the most powerful Force users the galaxy has ever seen. The powerful apprentice was dubbed Starkiller and was kept secret from Emperor Palpatine. Starkiller believed it was his duty to help Vader overthrow the Emperor but was eventually betrayed by his teacher. Star Wars: Force Unleashed reveals more of Starkiller’s background the further players progress through the story, with it eventually being revealed that his true name is Galen Marek, and that he was the son of two powerful Jedi. After Vader’s betrayal, Galen’s mission changes, and his choices end up having ramifications that end up causing the events of Star Wars Episodes IV-VI.
During Galen’s journey through Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and its DLC, characters from the Star Wars films make several appearances, including a young Princess Leia. But it’s Galen’s meeting and rescue of influential senators like Bail Organa that would eventually be the spark that ignites the Rebel Alliance that would ultimately triumph over Palpatine’s rule. However, the storyline of the Rebellion’s origin told throughout TFU was eventually considered a non-canon. Disney bought the rights to the Star Wars franchise in 2012 and subsequently reset the Expanded Universe, wiping it from canon and creating a new continuity from the foundations of the films and the 2008 Clone Wars animated series. The new origin of the Rebellion was later told in Star Wars Rebels, but that doesn’t mean that The Force Unleashed should be ignored.
Force Unleashed Was One Of George Lucas’ Final Star Wars Projects

What makes Star Wars: The Force Unleashed so special in the franchise’s original canon is that according to CNET, George Lucas himself considered the game’s story to be a chapter in the overall storyline that began with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The story of Starkiller in Star Wars: The The Force Unleashed remains one of the last to be personally signed off on by the franchise’s creator. Lucas believed that video game technology had finally reached a high enough point where he trusted it was the best way to tell his story – a story that would fill in some needed gaps and tell the tale of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, whose actions would lead to the downfall of an empire.
George Lucas went repeatedly on the record to say that he considered the majority of Expanded Universe material published to have inhabited a “different world” to those depicted in his films and TV shows like The Clone Wars, such as in this interview with Starlog magazine. While he didn’t personally write the story of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (which was handled by Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford, and Cameron Suey), he clearly had involvement in it for him to consider it a core part of his Star Wars saga. The fact a Star Wars game falls on the canon timeline doesn’t make it any more or less valid than one that doesn’t, but as one of the final contributions Lucas made to the saga prior to the Disney buyout, The Force Unleashed occupies a unique space as both a pivotal Star Wars video game and a piece of Legends material.
The Legacy Of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Although it didn’t receive the same kind of acclaim as games like Knights of the Old Republic or Jedi Outcast, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a game audiences and Lucasfilm itself keep coming back to. More than 10 versions were developed across multiple different gaming consoles, and more than a dozen years after it was first released, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is on Switch. The original game also sold well enough for a sequel, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, to be made in 2010, although Lucas was apparently much less involved and the game itself was poorly received. Either way, Starkiller continues to pique interest, with The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian co-creator David Filoni having considered bringing the character back as an inquisitor in Star Wars Rebels. Such a move ultimately didn’t come to fruition, but there may be future opportunities to see the character reintroduced into the new canon, especially given that Starkiller’s actor, Sam Witwer, has gone on to play a key part in multiple Star Wars shows as Darth Maul.
All of the above reiterates the importance of LucasArts’ penultimate single-player Star Wars title. With the popularity of the character and the passion fans continue to have for 2008’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a full-blown remake for modern consoles could end up as big of a success as the upcoming Knights of the Old Republic remake. With a few adjustments to help the character fit into the current canon, featuring the powerful Galen Marek in a newer Star Wars game or series would be extremely exciting, and put a fresh twist on one of LucasArts’ more interesting projects.
Sources: CNET, The Escapist, Starlog

#Star #Wars #Force #Unleasheds #Rebel #Origin #Story #Matters

Why Star Wars: Force Unleashed’s Rebel Origin Story Still Matters

The story of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed puts players in the shoes of an incredibly powerful young Jedi found by Darth Vader on Kashyyyk. Instead of slaying the young boy, he decides to train him into one of the most powerful Force users the galaxy has ever seen. The powerful apprentice was dubbed Starkiller and was kept secret from Emperor Palpatine. Starkiller believed it was his duty to help Vader overthrow the Emperor but was eventually betrayed by his teacher. Star Wars: Force Unleashed reveals more of Starkiller’s background the further players progress through the story, with it eventually being revealed that his true name is Galen Marek, and that he was the son of two powerful Jedi. After Vader’s betrayal, Galen’s mission changes, and his choices end up having ramifications that end up causing the events of Star Wars Episodes IV-VI.
During Galen’s journey through Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and its DLC, characters from the Star Wars films make several appearances, including a young Princess Leia. But it’s Galen’s meeting and rescue of influential senators like Bail Organa that would eventually be the spark that ignites the Rebel Alliance that would ultimately triumph over Palpatine’s rule. However, the storyline of the Rebellion’s origin told throughout TFU was eventually considered a non-canon. Disney bought the rights to the Star Wars franchise in 2012 and subsequently reset the Expanded Universe, wiping it from canon and creating a new continuity from the foundations of the films and the 2008 Clone Wars animated series. The new origin of the Rebellion was later told in Star Wars Rebels, but that doesn’t mean that The Force Unleashed should be ignored.
Force Unleashed Was One Of George Lucas’ Final Star Wars Projects

What makes Star Wars: The Force Unleashed so special in the franchise’s original canon is that according to CNET, George Lucas himself considered the game’s story to be a chapter in the overall storyline that began with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The story of Starkiller in Star Wars: The The Force Unleashed remains one of the last to be personally signed off on by the franchise’s creator. Lucas believed that video game technology had finally reached a high enough point where he trusted it was the best way to tell his story – a story that would fill in some needed gaps and tell the tale of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, whose actions would lead to the downfall of an empire.
George Lucas went repeatedly on the record to say that he considered the majority of Expanded Universe material published to have inhabited a “different world” to those depicted in his films and TV shows like The Clone Wars, such as in this interview with Starlog magazine. While he didn’t personally write the story of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (which was handled by Haden Blackman, Shawn Pitman, John Stafford, and Cameron Suey), he clearly had involvement in it for him to consider it a core part of his Star Wars saga. The fact a Star Wars game falls on the canon timeline doesn’t make it any more or less valid than one that doesn’t, but as one of the final contributions Lucas made to the saga prior to the Disney buyout, The Force Unleashed occupies a unique space as both a pivotal Star Wars video game and a piece of Legends material.
The Legacy Of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Although it didn’t receive the same kind of acclaim as games like Knights of the Old Republic or Jedi Outcast, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a game audiences and Lucasfilm itself keep coming back to. More than 10 versions were developed across multiple different gaming consoles, and more than a dozen years after it was first released, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is on Switch. The original game also sold well enough for a sequel, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, to be made in 2010, although Lucas was apparently much less involved and the game itself was poorly received. Either way, Starkiller continues to pique interest, with The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian co-creator David Filoni having considered bringing the character back as an inquisitor in Star Wars Rebels. Such a move ultimately didn’t come to fruition, but there may be future opportunities to see the character reintroduced into the new canon, especially given that Starkiller’s actor, Sam Witwer, has gone on to play a key part in multiple Star Wars shows as Darth Maul.
All of the above reiterates the importance of LucasArts’ penultimate single-player Star Wars title. With the popularity of the character and the passion fans continue to have for 2008’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, a full-blown remake for modern consoles could end up as big of a success as the upcoming Knights of the Old Republic remake. With a few adjustments to help the character fit into the current canon, featuring the powerful Galen Marek in a newer Star Wars game or series would be extremely exciting, and put a fresh twist on one of LucasArts’ more interesting projects.
Sources: CNET, The Escapist, Starlog

#Star #Wars #Force #Unleasheds #Rebel #Origin #Story #Matters