Summary
With well over four decades worth of movies, TV shows, comic books, novels, and video games to take into consideration, the currentStar Warscanon can be a tad complicated to understand, especially for those fairly new to the franchise. While Disney eradicated the vast majority of the expanded universe after its acquisition, more and more classic concepts and characters are starting to make their way into the official canon, whether it’s throughshows likeThe Mandalorian, movies likeRogue One, or video games like the upcomingStar Wars Outlaws.
Centered around brand new character Kay Vess,Star Wars Outlawswill drop players into the Galaxy Far, Far Away once again, though this time they’ll apparently have more freedom than ever to explore it at their own pace. WithStar Wars Outlawsbeing an RPG of sorts, players will presumably run into a number of characters along the way, a few of which have already been confirmed. And there’s one already-confirmed scoundrel in particular that’s got many fans spouting some wild theories.
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Star Wars Outlaws Could Be About to Canonize Kyle Katarn
First introduced in1995’sStar Wars: Dark Forces, Kyle Katarn makes his expanded universe debut as a simple mercenary, hired by the Rebellion to put a stop to the Dark Trooper program. Though he comes from humble beginnings, Kyle Katarn eventually becomes a galaxy-wide hero, becoming a Jedi after the fall of the Empire and going on to train a new generation of Jedi with Luke Skywalker himself. And while Kyle Katarn hasn’t been seen inStar Warsmedia properly for well over a decade now, he might be about to make a long-awaited reappearance.
In the first story trailer forStar Wars Outlaws, fans can spot a character that bears a very close resemblance to most iterations of Kyle Katarn. Simply called Jaylen, this character appears to be an associate of Kay Vess, waiting for her on board her ship. Though he’s seen for only a few seconds, his resemblance to Katarn is uncanny, with Jaylen wearing a tan, double-pocketed shirt, a brown shoulder pad, dark pants, and sporting a near-identical haircut and beard trim.
This close resemblance to Katarn has led to many fans theorizing thatStar Wars Outlawswill make the Legends character canon once more, and that isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility. In the Legends universe, Kyle Katarn does spend much of his life as a mercenary, after having defected from the Empire when he learned that they killed his parents. Living among criminals, it would make complete sense that Kyle Katarn would end up working alongside Kay Vess at some point during his life. And though he becomes a Jedi later in life, that’s not untilafter the events ofReturn of the Jedi, which takes place after the events ofStar Wars Outlaws.
IfStar Wars Outlawswas going to bring Kyle Katarn back into the canon, it would need to make a few slight changes to his original tale. When Kyle Katarn is first introduced inStar Wars: Dark Forces, he’s tasked with stealing the Death Star plans. Thanks toRogue One, this would have to be stricken from Katarn’s past. Similarly, much ofDark Forcessees Kyle Katarn finding and stopping the Dark Trooper program, which would also have to be removed asThe Mandalorianestablished that Moff Gideon was in charge of creating the Dark Troopers. Of course, it’s pretty unlikely thatStar Wars Outlawswill canonize Kyle Katarn, but until the game comes out, fans will continue to hope.
Star Wars Outlawsis coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2024.
