Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will land 2023 to Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and PC

A Jedi Without a Lightsaber… Again

Spoiler warning! Spoilers for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s ending follow – if you haven’t beaten that adventure yet, this isn’t the article you’re looking for.

Tying into the lack of the crew’s presence in the trailer, we mostly see Cal going it alone in the reveal. At one point, Cal comes to blows with a masked figure wielding a red lightsaber, and seemingly loses his lightsaber in the process.

Anyway, the Survivor reveal gives us a strong sense that Cal is on the backfoot, but for a series that has already delivered such great lightsaber combat and EA’s promise of expanding on those mechanics, presumably he won’t be without such a signature weapon for long. That could lead to a theoretical trip to Jedha or another location known for its kyber crystal supplies, as he visited Ilum in the first game to forge his lightsaber with a new kyber crystal.

As for that lightsaber? Well, it ends up in the hands of someone of power working for the Empire. Though Cal loses his lightsaber in the midst of the trailer, the reveal actually opens with a shot of Stormtroopers carrying a suitcase to a secure location, and we later see that suitcase open, in the mitts of this figure.

The pointy teeth and skin suggest this is a pau’an, and it’s natural to assume this would be the Grand Inquisitor hunting Cal down, his appearance is different enough from that character’s live-action and animated appearances to signal it isn’t him, and in fact StarWars.com labels him as an imperial senator. Still, this antagonistic force is clearly interested in hunting down Cal Kestis. And that’s no surprise, given Cal has been outrunning the Empire for years as a known Jedi, and in particular his run-in with some powerful foes in Jedi: Fallen Order. This imposing figure’s voiceover intones the entire trailer, saying “Tell me Cal Kestis, why lead when they won’t follow,” questioning what Cal’s next move will be as he creepily ogles Cal’s lightsaber.

Here, we may get another hint at Cal and the rest of the Mantis’ current plight, if the crew is indeed the “they” this figure is referring to. He could be alluding to some sort of division of purpose among the group amidst the increasing, imposing force of the Empire. As we know from the end of Fallen Order, rather than choose to pursue the locations of other potential Jedi in the galaxy, Cal destroyed the Holocron containing that information to keep those children safer, allowing them to choose their own paths. That information would have been valuable to the Empire, but also left the Mantis crew on their own – it’s possible not everyone in the ensuing years agreed with Cal’s call, or there may be other issues brewing during such an oppressive time in the galaxy.

As we see from this figure’s brief scenes, whether he’s working directly with the Inquisitors who have previously hunted Cal, he’s not at the Fortress Inquisitorious. We know that he’s somewhere on Coruscant, as that city skyline looks like the perfect place to fly through while barely hanging onto a droid. Either way, the Inquisitorious is undoubtedly also going to continue to be an antagonistic force against Cal.

As we mentioned earlier, it seems Cal is quite alone for the moment. But the last remaining mystery of the trailer could indicate one potential ally in Cal’s continuing quest.

Who’s in the Tank?

Throughout the trailer, slow pans of a character in a bacta tank are interspersed along with the rest of Cal’s tribulations, before ultimately ending with Cal standing before said person in the tank, amidst an otherwise spare and desolate room overgrown with flora. Cal is looking up at this white-haired character, seemingly otherwise alone in this room. It’s also worth noting he does have his trademark lightsaber (that he loses at some point in the trailer) on him in this moment. He’s also seemingly sporting a blaster in a holster, which is not something Cal typically carried on him in Fallen Order. Maybe Respawn is pulling from some of its expertise with shooters like Apex Legends and Titanfall and giving Cal some more ranged options.

We only get brief glimpses of a close-up at them, and while they give off some major Cloud Strife vibes, it’s quite possible this is a brand new character, though someone Cal may be turning to for help at his darkest moments, whether he wants to or not. After all, Cal’s antagonist asks, “What is your next move, Jedi?” just before the trailer pans to this mysterious new figure, and the ominous room, coupled with Cal’s seeming dismay on his face as he observes the figure, could mean it’s not someone he’s particularly happy to turn to. Respawn game director Stig Asmussen did tell https://www.starwars.com/news/swca-2022-star-wars-jedi-survivor-interview that Cal will be “making connections with people that, in other times, might be considered unsavory.” This figure has mysterious, inky black veins running across their shoulder, potentially signaling some sort of corruption or injury that required them to be inside this bacta tank. They may be someone essential to Cal, well, surviving, in Jedi: Survivor, and could very well be a survivor of some kind themselves, but perhaps they’re someone who tests Cal’s commitment to his survival – this could potentially be a Sith or someone else who follows the Dark Side, resulting in the grim look on Cal’s face.

Unfortunately, the breathing mask, lighting, and flowing hair obscures the character’s face a bit, so it’s hard to guess their exact identity, but the scene and trailer overall convey the dark moment Cal finds himself in, leaving mysteries about what’s happened to the Stinger Mantis crew, how he plans to keep outrunning the Empire, and more. We’ll have to wait to find out what returning faces join Cal along the way, which new ones prove to be true allies, and how he plans to continue surviving against the Empire closer toward Jedi: Survivor’s launch next year.