If anyone watching the Disney Plus Andor series is also a fan of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, they were in for a rare treat during last week’s episode. In the fourth episode, there is a sequence that takes place on Coruscant, in a room full of valuable artifacts. In the back of many camera cuts, fans could explicitly see Starkiller’s armor from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. This armor went completely unnoticed by the scene’s characters, but was left on screen for a long enough period of time to be unmistakable as a reference to the game.
Further, Starkiller’s actor, Sam Witwer, has since corroborated its legitimacy in a social media post. If fans watching Andor are unfamiliar with the game, the armor’s appearance would have been unremarkable to them. However, this armor’s appearance surprises a lot of fans because The Force Unleashed is considered part of Star Wars’ non-canon lore. Therefore, there are some fairly exciting implications that could be surmised from this reference in Andor regarding the potential future of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
The Force Unleashed’s Acknowledgment in Andor Might Mean a Lot
The decision to include Starkiller’s armor in Andor may not have been made lightly. By including it, it must have been known that fans’ speculation would erupt and that fans would begin to presume what this might mean regarding Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Despite two successful installments, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has since been shelved as an IP after its third installment was canceled.
However, Andor has seemingly just made Starkiller’s armor canon. In doing so, Disney may be suggesting that there are plans to reprise Star Wars: The Force Unleashed’s franchise. This would be fantastic news if eventually announced, especially when considering how Star Wars: The Force Unleashed would look and play in today’s modern era of games.
It would be interesting to see if hack-and-slash lightsaber combat returned alongside janky Force physics, or if a new installment would bring with it a new suite of gameplay mechanics. Moreover, it would be difficult to imagine Star Wars: The Force Unleashed returning without Witwer’s Galen Marek, and seeing how his character could develop in a future entry would be incredible for fans who want closure on his traumatic narrative.
Starkiller’s Armor May Only Be a Playful Reference
That said, fans should not get their hopes too high up at the moment. It would surely be disappointing to a lot of fans, but it is important to consider that Starkiller’s armor may only be a playful reference in Andor. Disney may have simply wanted a recognizable armor silhouette to appear. However, the fact that Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was not recently considered canon in any way makes this a more dubious decision, with reason to believe it could allude to something significant.
Still, besides how hopeful this may seem for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, fans should temper their excitement until any further announcements are made. It may be a stretch, but Star Wars: The Force Unleashed’s Switch port may have also spelled a franchise reprisal. Many Star Wars games are reportedly in development right now, and it seems as though a lot of them are original IPs.
It is always possible that Starkiller could appear in one of these games as well, with the most recent speculation wondering if Starkiller may return in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. One of the many intriguing parts of Starkiller’s character is that he could theoretically be cloned again and again throughout different generations. Either way, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed’s acknowledgment in the contemporary canon is exciting.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is available for Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360.