The reboot ofFablefrom Playground Games draws closer every day, but every passing day without official word on the game’s contents leaves more room for fans to speculate. At this point, it’s still entirely unclear what relationshipFablemight have with its predecessors. Playground Games might want to put its own stamp on the series by reusing nothing from the original games, but the use of theFablename implies that the reboot will have roots in the old games. That could very well mean that the newFablegame brings back a previous villain like the notorious Jack of Blades.
Fans of the originalFabletrilogy likely remember Jack of Blades as the firstFablegame’s main antagonist. Jack of Blades was a mysterious extradimensional being determined to wreak havoc in Albion and reclaim the power that he held before his defeat at the hands of William Black. TheFablereboot’s relationship with Albion, Jack of Blades, and otherFablelore isn’t clear, but if it’s meant to be a reboot of the first game, then fans could very well find themselves battling Jack of Blades once again. The firstFablegame provides a wealth of lore that Playground Games could use to buildits own version of Jack of Blades.
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Jack of Blades in the Fable Universe
Jack of Blades stems from a world called the Void and predates the humans of Albion by millennia. In his prime, Jack was part of the Court along with two other Void beings called the Queen of Blades and the Knight of Blades. Legend has it that,long before the events ofFable,the Court entered Albion and demanded fealty from the people of Albion, bringing tremendous disasters to the human world every time humanity refused. The Court’s reign of terror lasted until William Black defeated them all with the help of the Sword of Aeons. While the Knight and the Queen were seemingly destroyed, Jack managed to live on by binding his soul to a mask.
Ever sincethe days of William Black, Jack managed to enact his vengeance on Albion by taking control of anyone who put on his mask. Various past atrocities in theFableworld are attributed to Jack, although he sometimes pretends to be a hero. During the events ofFable,he seeks out the Sword of Aeons as a means of restoring his former power, but good-aligned players can put an end to Jack’s misdeeds. In the originalFable,players defeat him in his humanoid form before destroying the Sword of Aeons, but inFable: The Lost Chapters,players can have one final battle with Jack where he transforms into a dragon. After this second battle, players can destroy Jack’s mask, seemingly defeating him forever.
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Reviving Jack for the Fable Reboot
Right now, there’s no tellingwhere the Playground GamesFablegame standsin relation toFablecanon. Playground hasn’t even specified whether it takes place in Albion or not. However, assuming it does, there are a number of ways that the reboot could adapt Jack’s story. Naturally, Playground could start over from the firstFablegame, giving Jack an even richer role and backstory than before by building onFable’s foundations. The reboot could also be about Jack returning to life to avenge his second destruction. After all, a godlike being like Jack may not have truly been killed by the events ofFable.
Even if Playground doesn’t bring back Jack of Blades, it could build a villain around his story concept. A vengeful supernatural being with ties to theFablereboot’s distant history would encourage players to learn more about the world around them while keeping the story’s stakes high.Fabledoesn’t have to bring back Albionin order to have its own list of otherworldly tyrants. It could be quite some time before Playground Games reveals theFablegame’s plot, so no matter which way Playground decides to go, fans of Jack will just have to wait and see what his relationship to the reboot is.
Fableis in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
