Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has near-singlehandedly restored fans' faith in the future of Star Wars video games. Now, all eyes are on Respawn as they work on the forthcoming follow-up, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2, where hopefully, the developer will correct one of the original game's greatest narrative mistakes: the encounter with Darth Vader.
The misstep is understandable. Vader is a central pillar of Star Wars. The events of the Skywalker saga revolve around his character, and he is an icon for the entire intellectual property. Anyone can conjure an image of the Empire's imposing, black-clad enforcer with a simple imitation of his deliberate, mechanical breathing. Unfortunately for long-running, multifaceted franchises, pillars can be reduced to crutches—or crumble altogether—when they are over-relied upon. Such is the nature of Vader's "surprise" appearance at the end of Jedi: Fallen Order.
A Tale of Two Cameos
To illustrate what went wrong, one can compare Fallen Order's treatment of Vader to his appearance at the end of Rogue One. The scene where Vader's red lightsaber illuminates the shadowy corridor, with the Sith Lord proceeding to slaughter all the Rebel troops in his way is one of the character's finest moments in all of Star Wars. It establishes him as an implacable, game-ending threat, reinforcing what we know about the character's power and history.
In contrast, Vader's arrival in Fallen Order is messier. It is a predictable plot point which actually works against his gravitas. His abrupt arrival provides a rushed, easy end to Trilla's arc—Cal has no time to mourn or reflect on her death because he must flee for his life. The more serious flaw, however, is that Cere and Cal manage to escape without any serious consequences. Admittedly, Cere must dip back into the Dark Side to manage it, but the series' scariest dragon is still evaded.
Since Cal has already escaped Vader, the threat he poses is diminished. And if Fallen Order 2 allows Cal to continue to grow more powerful in the Force, that threat will continue to dwindle. The scene shows players that Vader can be beaten, even though they also know it will never happen. After all, Cal and co. cannot settle their score with Vader since his ultimate fate is determined in the films. Therefore, every subsequent encounter with Vader will be a frustrating, foregone conclusion to this effect. So what can Respawn do?
Assuming the Fallen Order sequel picks up in the same era following the first game's conclusion, the best possible move would be to have Vader delegate. Cal deserves an arch nemesis of his own, who poses a unique threat to his quest. And given the game's open-ended conclusion, that threat could manifest in a variety of different ways.
Original Alternatives
A new, original enemy who shares a personal connection with Cal similar to Trilla's connection with Cere would be a solid choice, provided the Fallen Order series sticks with him as the protagonist. One interesting option would be to have Cal face off against a former Padawan comrade. Fallen Order's Taron Malicos offered us a glimpse of what an evil Jedi survivor looks like, but a new character would not even necessarily need to be a full-on dark-sider, so much as somebody at cross purposes with whatever Cal is trying to do.
Another option would be to re-canonize the concept of a "Wound in the Force," and feature a more monstrous dark-sider like Knights of the Old Republic 2's terrifying Darth Nihilus. This would open the door to exploring the dark side beyond the purview of the Empire. Given the ever-growing number of Jedi who are known to have escaped Order 66, it seems inevitable that there would be more dark side practitioners with their own agendas as well.
Returning Favorites
Respawn could also appease fans' desires for more Fallen Order cameos. Vader isn't Star Wars' only great villain, and Respawn has some intriguing options, including a few characters from the franchise's retconned Legends canon. There have been whispers of reviving Mara Jade, initial Hand of the Emperor and eventual wife of Legends' canon Luke Skywalker. Reintroducing the firebrand as a foe for Cal would be a crowd-pleasing move that gives the universe a number of exciting options.
Another potential candidate would be a re-imagining of Darth Vader's pupil, Galen Marek, from the de-canonized Force Unleashed franchise. Galen, code-named Starkiller, could be purposefully groomed to take out Cal and his friends while Vader sees to other affairs. There is even a way that Respawn could make The Force Unleashed games canonical again.
It is interesting to note that both of these characters eventually turn to the light side of the Force. Neither Galen nor Mara would necessarily need to be redeemed or reformed at the end of their fight against Cal, however. Simply knowing that their legacy portrayals have the capacity to serve the light side of the Force could introduce more nuance and tension in their struggle against the crew of the Mantis.
Other potential tempting options for an antagonist include Darth Maul, and Grand Admiral Thrawn, though these characters are beholden to the same drawbacks as Vader, and by extension, Palpatine. One day, Maul will presumably meet his end fighting his greatest rival, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Thrawn is busy contending with the Star Wars Rebels crew for most of the Galactic Civil War. Cameos would be fine, but featuring characters whose fates are already tied to films or television as primary antagonists severely limit Respawn's ability to provide players with closure.
Ultimately, falling back on Vader or Sidious would be the least adventurous moves that Fallen Order 2 could make. Though almost nothing is known about Fallen Order 2 to date, and with no word on a release date for Fallen Order 2, there is plenty of time to speculate.
Eager players looking for clues may want to take the opportunity to comb Fallen Order for secrets and details players may have overlooked. Respawn may have tricks up their sleeves that fans will never see coming.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Outcast 2 is currently in development. A release date has yet to be announced.