With every passing year, the Star Wars galaxy grows bigger and bigger – the movies handing over to streaming series, animated shows, canonical novels and comics, and video games that all broaden the ongoing story of the galaxy far, far away. And with shows like The Mandalorian blending elements of every era of the Skywalker Saga together, and fresh series digging into relatively unexplored areas of the timeline (like Obi-Wan Kenobi bridging the gap between Revenge Of The Sith and A New Hope, and Ahsoka exploring the aftermath of Rebels), that Star Wars tapestry continues to become more detailed. For Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, the current narrative inspiration for the wider Star Wars universe comes not from movies, but from gaming.
Speaking to Empire, Kennedy spoke about the influence of video game narratives on the current slate of Star Wars stories. “It's funny, the more I've got to know how games are written, and that kind of persistent storytelling that goes on in a game environment where you're just constantly building upon a single story, that's much closer to what Star Wars is,” she explained. And that influence also means more elements from hit games like Jedi Fallen Order crossing over to live-action too – from the BD droid that popped up in The Book Of Boba Fett, to the Inquisitors (who also appeared in Rebels) playing a major role in Obi-Wan Kenobi. “There’s intention around [bringing in elements from games], because there's a huge investment by people in Star Wars along the way. We have fun identifying who carries forward, and what we reference, and the history. You always want to feel that there's a history behind everything that's happening in Star Wars. So there's a lot of conversation that goes around that.”
During Star Wars Celebration, the sequel to Jedi Fallen Order was officially confirmed with the title Jedi Survivor, arriving in 2023 and bringing the return of protagonist Cal Kestis. Could the character possibly turn up in Obi-Wan, given they’re both Jedi tales set around the same part of the Star Wars timeline? Stay tuned as the final few episodes continue to arrive on Disney+ every Wednesday.