After years of nudging Lucasfilm toward bringing a fan-favorite Star Wars character to live-action, rumor has it that the company is finally taking the hint.
Cal Kestis, a Jedi Padawan first making his appearance in Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order game, is one of the few new additions to the galaxy far, far away canon that most fans can get behind. Cal is stout-hearted, kind, and charismatic, all of which have helped elevate him into a likable protagonist in the Empire vs. Rebellion timeline.
His journey from a student in hiding to a fully-fledged Jedi Knight in Fallen Order is some of the best Star Wars storytelling you could come across these days, and that’s saying something. Cal continued his tale in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which saw him take on even more challenges as he struggled to remain out of the Empire’s ever-confining grip.
And the best part? Cal is not a digital creation, but is modeled after American actor Cameron Monaghan, who also lent him his voice. That means if and when Disney wills it, Cal could join the burgeoning cast of Star Wars characters in live-action, following in the footsteps of Ahsoka Tano and Grand Admiral Thrawn as well as most of the rest of the Star Wars Rebels cast.
While the timeline is a bit of a fixer-upper for Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau (since the so-called Mandoverse takes place years after the Battle of Endor and the Jedi video game series years before), a new report claims that Monaghan is soon making his live-action debut in one of the upcoming Disney Plus television shows.
This rumor could make sense from a certain point of view. Respawn recently announced that a threequel is in development at the game studio, which will bring Cal’s saga to a close, at least in the interactive medium. So if the character survives this final step of the journey, he’s free to jump on any story and crossover with any character. Of course, if he survives, it begs the question of why he was absent during all those years of the Rebellion’s fight against the Empire. Then again, we’re presuming that this rumored live-action debut is going to take place in the ongoing timeline as opposed to a standalone offshoot taking place sometime after the games, or even between the second and the third entries. (Let’s not forget it’s entirely possible for Cal to appear in Andor season 2 as well)
At any rate, this could be an exciting development for the franchise. After the abysmal failure of The Acolyte and the mixed reactions to both The Mandalorian season 3 and Ahsoka, Cal Kestis’ live-action debut could give Star Wars the boost it desperately needs in the way of popular protagonists. Think of how awesome it would be if Cal and Luke crossed paths and the former got to finish his training under the Jedi Master. Now imagine how brilliant it would be if Luke, Cal, Ezra, Ahsoka, Sabine, Mando, and Baby Grogu banded together to fight Thrawn. Whoever said Star Wars could never have its own Avengers: Endgame event? Give it to us, Disney. We dare you.
Published: Sep 26, 2024 04:02 pm