New Star Wars Villains Confirmed for Jedi: Survivor

Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment has finally revealed the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Set five years after the events of the first game, Jedi: Survivor continues the adventures of Cal Kestis, one of the only Jedi left in the entire galaxy, and his found family of rebels. Despite winning a vital victory against the Empire and the Sith at the end of Fallen Order, life in the galaxy far, far away has only become more dangerous since we last saw these characters, and in the new game, “Cal must stay one step ahead of the Empire’s constant pursuit” if he hopes to survive, according to the official synopsis.

During Star Wars Celebration weekend, EA released the first trailer for the game, which hints at the challenges that lay ahead for Cal and friends, including new, powerful enemies. You can watch the trailer below:

The trailer not only teases that dark times await Cal and his little droid companion BD-1 but also that there are Imperial villains in very high places working to bring about his downfall…

Imperial Senator

“Tell me, Cal Kestis, why lead when they won’t follow? Why fight when you can’t win? What is your next move, Jedi?” says a mysterious Pau’an character in the trailer. We watch as stormtroopers bring Cal’s lost lightsaber to his office on Coruscant.

Since the game is confirmed to take place around the same time as Obi-Wan Kenobi and a few years before the start of the Rebels animated series, you might assume this sinister-looking Pau’an is the Grand Inquisitor picking up the chase after Cal defeated the Second Sister, but you’d be wrong.

StarWars.com revealed that this is actually an Imperial senator who “makes a dangerous deal” in the game. Whatever that deal might be, it seems to have to do with the Jedi’s weapon. But how did Cal lose his saber in the first place?

New Inquisitor?

The trailer also introduces fans to a new hooded dark sider who briefly showcases their skills with a lightsaber, disarming Cal during a duel. We know virtually nothing about this new baddie, but their proficiency in the dark side of the Force suggests that they’re a new Inquisitor we’ve not met before in Star Wars canon. Since Inquisitors one through 10 are all accounted for, is this the Eleventh Inquisitor? Or a replacement for the Second Sister? Will we see them first introduced on Obi-Wan Kenobi at some point?

There are lots of questions, but fans are already forming some theories. One theory suggests that this is the new canon version of Starkiller, the protagonist of the old Force Unleashed games. A fan-favorite dark side character played by actor Sam Witwer in the non-canon Legends continuity, the character could get rebooted for the new canon like other villains of his ilk have in the last few years by Disney. (See Thrawn for an example.)

But this seems to be a fan theory based on zero evidence, willed instead by a desire to see the character back in Star Wars. Either way, we’ll likely learn much more about this antagonist in the months to come.

Who Is in the Bacta Tank?

Then there’s the person floating in the bacta tank at the very end of the trailer. Cal and BD slowly approach the tank, which is surrounded by overgrowing fauna, suggesting the character inside has been sleeping in there for a long time. Is this bacta tank meant to keep this character locked inside? Scars on their shoulders could imply that this is another dark sider. But is this a straight-up villain or someone Cal needs to free in order to complete his new mission?

“They are in dark times, and Cal and the crew are doing whatever it takes to stay alive. That might mean that they are making connections with people that, in other times, might be considered unsavory,” game director Stig Asmussen teased in an interview with StarWars.com.

Whatever the answers to these mysteries, it definitely looks like Jedi: Survivor will be unlocking a few new corners of Star Wars lore when it releases in 2023.