Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and its 2010 sequel famously had plenty of input from series creator George Lucas, offering up some of the most extreme depictions of force powers that the galaxy far, far away has ever seen. However, it's now been revealed that its protagonist almost made his way into the new canon.

When Disney bought the Star Wars property in 2012, the company quickly decided to remove most of the expanded universe from the canon in order to create a clean slate for the future. Among the stories that were cut was Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

However, its morally ambiguous protagonist Galen Marek — better known as Starkiller — nearly made an appearance in the upcoming fourth season of the animated series Rebels. He would have apparently been one of the Inquisitors, Darth Vader's personal army of force-sensitive Jedi hunters.

Star Wars Rebel characters in Infinity 30 -- Rebels lineup

This would've made a lot of sense, based on the close relationship between Starkiller and Vader that played out in The Force Unleashed and its sequel. The fact that the character's voice actor, Sam Witwer, also plays Darth Maul and Emperor Palpatine would've also made it a convenient crossover — and it was Witwer that revealed this tidbit in a Twitch stream that took place earlier this week.

Ultimately, it was decided that Starkiller would be a stretch for Rebels, and so he remains in limbo among various other beloved characters from the expanded universe. In truth, the incredible abilities he displayed in his video game appearances would probably make him a more important force in the Star Wars universe than one Inquisitor among many.

Still, it's interesting to note that Disney isn't necessarily averse to having video game standouts cameo in new Star Wars content. This isn't confirmation that we'll see the likes Kyle Katarn, Dash Rendar, or Darth Revan show up in The Last Jedi, but we can dare to dream.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is available now for the PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii.

Source: Polygon