All the info on Respawn's Jedi: Fallen Order sequel that's worth saving to holocron.
There are a few different ways for a big-budget game like a Jedi: Fallen Order sequel to get announced. Usually, it's through a flashy trailer at some big industry event, accompanied with a press kit, a PR blitz and a tentative release date. That hasn't happened yet for the sequel to Respawn's solid Star Wars Sekiro-like, but we do have recent and repeated confirmation that it is on the way.
Back in August of 2021, EA CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed during an investor earnings call that the publisher is "continuing to invest" in the Fallen Order series. More recently, EA confirmed in this blog post that it's got three Star Wars games in production, including a Fallen Order sequel. Specifically "the next game in the action adventure Star Wars Jedi series".
There's been no official announcement of release dates, or even the official title of the game. Given the mention of the "Star Wars Jedi" series, rather than invoking the Fallen Order title, it could be named something else entirely. Only time will tell. Depending on when production began on the sequel, we might see it as early as this year, if they began production immediately, and plan to re-use the engine and at least some art assets. If not, then expect 2023 at earliest.
One of the few details we do have on this elusive sequel is that Respawn Entertainment (developers of the first game and Battle Royale cash-cow Apex Legends) will be heading up production of the Fallen Order sequel and a new Star Wars FPS. Respawn is also assisting new studio Bit Reactor on development of a new Star Wars strategy game.
Director Stig Asmussen will be heading up the Fallen Order project. He was in charge of the first game, and a long time ago at a studio far, far away, he was director on several God Of War games. Respawn is currently hiring to fill out its teams for these and other projects.
Welcome to the conjecture zone! We've got a lot of ideas, but not much evidence. So, we know that the first Fallen Order takes place 14 years before the Battle of Yavin (the attack on the first Death Star), and shortly after that spot of nastiness with all the clone troopers and the Jedi. Assuming it's a direct sequel following Cal Kestis' further adventures, we should be seeing more of this era of high oppression.
Being a devout Jedi, it wouldn't really behoove Cal and friends to head off into deep uncharted space to hide out from the Empire. It seems as solid a guess as any that they'll end up embroiled in more pre-Rebel Alliance conflicts, although nothing major enough to shake up established canon.
If the sequel plans to make use of the first game's supporting cast, I feel fiery partisan fighter Saw Gerrera might provide the limiting factor. He made a solid showing in the first game, and went on to fight the empire for another fourteen years. There might be some degree of time skip, but I doubt it'll be anything past a decade, and most likely shorter.
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Assuming that this is a direct sequel, any Fallen Order followup has a surprisingly vague trajectory set for it by the events of the first game. Disgraced young Jedi Cal Kestis has been re-knighted and reconnected to the Force, and has been set up for further adventures but with no hint as to where they might lead.
In the finale of the first game, he leads a daring mission on an underwater Imperial fortress to recover a database of known force-sensitive children across the galaxy. Rather than put these children at further risk by recruiting them as Jedi, Cal turns his lightsaber on the Holocron containing the data, literally cutting off that story arc's potential.
This leaves us with surprisingly few plot hooks, beyond a freshly established personal beef with Darth Vader himself, who makes a brief appearance during the finale to ruin Cal's day and give him and fellow Jedi Cere a thorough beating before their narrow escape.
It's likely that we'll be following the further adventures of the Mantis crew; Cal, Cere, captain Greez and Nightsister Merrin. Further run-ins with Vader seem probable, considering that Cal sports a nice round saber hole in his chest after his previous round with the Sith heavyweight. I feel it'd be a disappointing dramatic arc if they never crossed sabers again.
But that's enough speculation for now. If there's to be any big, new Star Wars announcements made, they'll be happening a few months down the line, most likely on May the 4th—our corporate-mandated Star Wars day.
