Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order director Stig Asmussen has explained the reasoning behind the upcoming title featuring a male protagonist, despite a female being the face of the current Star Wars movie trilogy.
Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, is the focus of the latest trilogy, which comes to an end this December, when The Rise of Skywalker is released. However, the inbound game brings a new character in the form of Cal Kestis, who is played by Cameron Monaghan.
Folks may have expected Rey to be the game’s main character but, according to Asmussen, Respawn Entertainment was keen on providing contrast. In accordance, it was decided that a male protagonist should be the focus.
“We talked about different gender,” he told Game Informer on their latest podcast. “We arrived where we were because at the time, Rey was the thing for Star Wars, and so it made a lot more sense for us to have a male protagonist.”
Asmussen also revealed that he would have preferred it if the protagonist were alien instead. He admitted, though, that it would probably discourage people from buying the title as there would be no real human connection.
“Ultimately we didn’t go with an alien race because we felt like – no pun intended – that would alienate a lot of people,” he explained. “We wanted to make sure there was a real human connection to that character we have in the game.”
The E3 unveiling last month has added to the excitement ahead of the launch later this year, but the gameplay admittedly left some disappointed, as slashing certain opponents with a lightsaber only leaves smoldering marks and doesn’t dismember.
Word is Disney does not want humans having body parts chopped off. The company has no issue with droids or other beings getting decapitated or losing other treasured limbs but human dismembering is apparently off limits.
