The Star Wars franchise has no shortage of iconic villains, with Darth Vader leading the charge as one of the best antagonists in movie history. Vader's joined by a cavalcade of other villains, ranging from irredeemable tyrants like Emperor Palpatine to more tragic adversaries like Kylo Ren, and plenty in between who commit contentious acts under the guise of just trying to make their way in the galaxy. Respawn's Star Wars Jedi series has a good assortment of these villainous archetypes.
A third Star Wars Jedi entry has been tentatively confirmed but not officially announced by either Respawn or EA. But when it does inevitably rear its head, it'll probably put a spotlight on its villains once again, at least one of which is bound to repeat a long-running series trend.
Why Star Wars Jedi’s Threequel Needs a Fully Explorable Coruscant
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor let players visit a fairly limited and linear Coruscant, and its sequel should make it into the ultimate jedi playground.
Fans Might Already Know One Thing About Star Wars Jedi 3's Villain
The Star Wars Jedi Series Has a History of Tragic Villains
Throughout Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, player-character Cal Kestis is being hunted by Darth Vader's Inquisitorius, an organization of fallen Jedi sent to hunt down Force-Sensitive individuals. One Inquisitor that seems particularly passionate about finding Cal is the Second Sister, who was once known as Trilla.
It's eventually revealed that Trilla had a pretty tragic backstory. Once a Jedi Padawan, Trilla and her master Cere Junda narrowly escaped the mass Jedi killings of Order 66. Together, Trilla and Cere hid a group of younglings from the Empire's clutches, but they couldn't hide forever. Cere was captured first, and following excruciating torture, she gave the Empire the location of Trilla and the younglings. Trilla was then captured and tortured herself, and fear soon turned to anger, resulting in her rebirth as an Inquisitor.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Dagan Gera isn't quite as tragic, with his turn to the Dark Side coming after the Jedi Council put a stop to his training of Padawans on Tanalorr. But Jedi: Survivor's real tragedy comes in the form of Bode Akuna, the shocking final antagonist of the game.
A Jedi Knight who worked for the covert Republic Intelligence sector during the Clone Wars, Bode Akuna also managed to survive Order 66. In the years following, Bode found a wife and had a child, but his wife was ultimately killed by Inquisitors. For a while, Bode worked as a mercenary-for-hire, using the money to keep his daughter safe. But the danger was too great.
Eventually, Bode Akuna struck a deal with his former Republic Intelligence colleague, Lank Denvik, who was now working as a chief supervisor in the Imperial Security Bureau. Bode harbored no love for the Empire, but doing their dirty work kept his daughter safe. When Bode first hears of Tanalorr, he thinks it's his way out, and although he grew fond of Cal Kestis and the rest of the Stinger Mantis crew, he needed to put his daughter first, setting in motion Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's explosive final act.
Star Wars Jedi 3's Villain Will Probably Follow Suit
Given that it's been a core component of the first two Star Wars Jedi games, it seems very likely that a third Star Wars Jedi installment will feature at least one villain with a tragic backstory. If it follows its predecessors' formula, then it's likely that tragic villain will also be some kind of Force-user, possibly another former Jedi who survived Order 66 by the skin of their teeth and who's had to spend the last few decades on the run, always looking over their shoulder.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- April 28, 2023
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Respawn Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Franchise
- Star Wars
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Soulslike, Sci-Fi
