It’s weird to think of actor Cameron Monaghan, who got his start as Ian Gallagher in the Showtime series Shameless, as anything other than Ian Gallagher. And yet over the last 5-10 years, Monaghan has begun to come into his own. First, as the man who would become the Joker in Fox’s Gotham, which ended its run back in late 2019, and later on when he joined a gaming galaxy far, far away. Of course, this is referring to 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order game from Respawn Entertainment, and EA. Most pertinent to the topic at hand, Monaghan will reprise that same role in the sequel entitled Star Wars Jedi Survivor when it releases on March 17th, 2023.
In the meantime, though, fans can look forward to getting their hands on the tie-in book, Jedi: Battle Scars, by author Sam Madds, which releases a week earlier than the game and is expected to fill in the 5-year gap between the two titles. Furthermore, Random House – in partnership with Respawn – recently released the cover art, which when paired with the new “reveal” trailer that aired during the Game Awards has led many to speculate about potential plot threads as well as character arcs. It should be noted that a majority of this isn’t based on the cover art, though. Either way, here are the top 8 things that Battle Scars needs to explore before Jedi Survivor.
The Effect of Trilla’s Death on Cere
Throughout the story of Fallen Order, Cal Kestis travels the galaxy on the Stinger Mantis (more commonly referred to as “the Mantis”) luxury yacht trying to rebuild the Jedi Order accompanied by his adoptive family; ex Jedi Knight Cere Junda who acts as Cal’s would-be mentor, a 4-armed alien pilot named Greez, Cal’s beloved adopted droid BD-1, and the Nightsister Merrin.
All the while they are primarily pursued by the villainous Second Sister whom Cal eventually discovers was an ex-Jedi Padawan named Trilla. The rub in this particular scenario? She is Cere’s ex-padawan who was abandoned at the height of Order 66, leading to her shutting herself off from the force. Later on in the game’s finale, Cere “lets” the force back in and helps Cal infiltrate Fortress Inquisitorious and convinces Trilla to rejoin the light. Unfortunately, though, she is almost immediately killed by everyone’s favorite Daddy – Darth Vader.
From this point forward, the guilt weighs very heavily on Cere’s conscience… And to be honest, it’s kind of evident based on the concerned look she is sporting on the cover. To further back this up, Cere can be seen in the newly released trailer for the upcoming game taking a more pacifist approach. In that trailer, Cere is shown taking on a librarian role (similar to that of Jocasta Nu in Star Wars canon). Long story short, we just want to see what happens next since this seems like something of a vast (but not entirely surprising) character departure.
The Potential of Cal’s Encroaching Dark Side Struggle
As is the case with all Jedi Knights, Cal Kestis’ overarching status throughout Fallen Order is one of ensuring justice and stability throughout the entire galaxy. However, as we have gotten more information about the upcoming Jedi Survivor alongside new footage, it has become increasingly evident that Respawn plans to amp up the darker parts of the Star Wars universe. This is supported by both some of the interviews that Cameron Monaghan has done as well as in the newer trailer for the new game.
In Jedi Survivor’s latest trailer, we see a less passive Cal who is more about taking action than anything else. As time goes on, this is a pretty understandable change since we expect to see Cal struggling to wrestle with what would be a potential call to the darker side of the force. An argument could also be made that that transition isn’t overnight, so we hope to see it slowly approached in Battle Scars vs something overly sudden and drastic. We can only hope that Cal’s best boy BD-1 will be enough to bring him back to the light.
Information About Potential Tool For Anti-Imperial War Efforts
The synopsis of Battle Scars mentions several stories, including one of specific note related to an Imperial defector who hires Cal and company to get him into more neutral waters. It also mentions that this same person knows a rumored “powerful tool” that will hopefully give the Mantis crew a bit of an edge.
If we were to take a guess, this particular tool is almost certainly something of greater significance regarding the wider Star Wars universe… perhaps even somehow connecting to the initial creation of the Death Star, tying it to Galen Erso and Rogue One. Unlikely yes, but who knows?
However, more likely would be for this so-called “tool” to not be an actual weapon whatsoever (unlike the gigantic Star Forge shown above from the iconic KOTOR series, which has still yet to become actual canon) and instead for it to be a tool potentially connected to the High Republic era. If we go off some of the press material released by Respawn thus far, it may be exactly that. This would in turn potentially connect it to the mystery man shown in the Bacta tank, which we will discuss next.
The Case of the Missing Identity of Bacta Tank Man
Amongst the most frequented questions regarding Jedi Survivor, concerns the identity of the scraggly figure suspended in a Bacta tank that we see featured in both trailers. Aside from being a force user, he is a character shrouded in secrecy (no doubt intentional) and remorse. And if rumors are to be believed, he is potentially from the High Republic era, which in turn would mean he is rather ancient. There is also a rather nefarious vibe from him, with some fans saying that it is Taron Malcos (whom Cal fought on Dathomir during Fallen Order’s plot).
Meanwhile, other fans are less convinced theorizing that it may be Darth Revan, who has yet to officially become canon yet (although it would be a very welcome addition) or perhaps even Starkiller from the fan-favorite Force Unleashed games. At this point, though, we would be pleased with any kind of metaphorical breadcrumbs so that we can dive head-first into Survivor’s promising narrative.
Additional Survivors of Order 66
Throughout the first game, it becomes apparent that Cal Kestis is living with ghosts. He lives with the guilt that his master Jaro Tapal died saving his life, as well as holding on to the belief that there are no other survivors of Order 66. But, given what we know of this period as well as how it potentially coincides with both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka being alive in the Star Wars canon – it wouldn’t be surprising if we find Cal crossing paths with Jedi legends of yore. Say nothing of the fact that Cameron Monaghan has mentioned that we should keep an eye open for potential “crossovers.”
Fifth Brother On The Prowl
Within Star Wars canon, the aforementioned Inquisitorius act as Emperor Palpatine’s elite Jedi hunters, all of whom are armed with not only force abilities but lightsabers of their own. Of course, the only caveat there is that most were at one time Jedi Padawan before being kidnapped by the Empire. As such, they are numbered 1-10 with the posthumous Trilla who was also the ex-padawan of Cere, eventually becoming the Second Sister.
However, in Fallen Order, Ninth Sister was also in pursuit of the Mantis crew but was viewed as less formidable given her more brute force fighting style. Eventually, during her fight with Cal on Kashyyk, things seemingly come to a head when she is seen falling off a cliff. Then, in the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi show, we see Fifth Brother (played by Sung Kang) and Third Sister (played by Moses Ingram) actively trying to track down the whereabouts of the legendary Jedi, of which any self-respecting SW fan should know they are unsuccessful.
When Third Sister is taken out of commission, then theoretically, the reigns would have been passed onto Fifth Brother. But since we never actually see him in action, his similar bulky build makes us think he would not be all that imposing. And since Battle Scars’ cover depicts him as a bit more formidable, we want to see how that comes to pass.
Children of Dathomir?
During one of the recent interviews that Cameron Monaghan did for Survivor, he hinted that Cal Kestis may very well wind up encountering household names within the Star Wars universe whom we know to be alive (albeit hiding) at this point in fictional time. While much more likely to have Jedi in mind there, it should be noted that there may be some on the antagonistic side of things: Darth Maul who shares quite a bit in common with someone near and dear to Cal and co; Merrin.
First, we should mention the Tin-Foil part of this theory. According to Reddit, the author of Battle Scars Sam Madds, posted on social media that she was “up to something” regarding Merrin. Take that at face value, but aside from her being a potential low-key love interest for our hero, her backstory within Fallen Order is barely approached on a noticeable level. This feels intentional but that is neither here nor there.
Nevertheless, a glance at her would show that she is a Nightsister, who is in a dark magic clan of sorts on Dathomir with the Nightbrothers of which Darth Maul is a part. Furthermore, we know the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate to be very active at this time (as shown in the Solo movie), of which Darth Maul is the curator. But honestly, we just want more Dathomir at this point because that was a blast to explore in Fallen Order.
Them Damn Battle Scars
Last but not least, we have Cal’s titular battle scars, which for lack of better words are quite literally “on the nose.” While it should be noted that there is evidence to suggest that Cal has had these scars all along, this is something that we at Twinfinite hope to be among the main plot point(s) of the book (bad puns notwithstanding). Whether this is more of a flashback type of story or something newer remains to be seen, but we imagine it is important and worth noting.
The hope would be that it is substantial enough that it adds to the narrative of Survivor (and by default Cal) itself. It could potentially be the aforementioned Fifth Brother, Mystery Bacta Tank guy, or someone else entirely. Or if that Crimson Dawn scenario pans out, maybe this brings to light that Cal and Darth Maul had history… Or hell, maybe it’s the result of an incident regarding BD-1 and some super sharp fan blades? Just throwing it out there.
All jokes and sarcasm aside, those are the top eight things we want Jedi Battle Scars to explore leading up to Survivor. Besides that, we have a bunch of Star Wars-related content both old and new, including our review for Fallen Order from back in 2019 to tide you over. Or maybe this quiz testing you on your background SW character knowledge. Otherwise, be sure to be on the lookout for Battle Scars when it releases on March 7, 2023, via Random House. As always – may the force (or Schwartz) be with you.
