It’s been years since the second game was released, but is it too late for a Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3 game?
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was developed and published by LucasArts and released in September 2008. It follows the story of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, Starkiller, and the role he had to play in the formation of the Rebel Alliance and the beginnings of the Galactic Civil War that the characters were dealing with in the original trilogy.
The tale about the beginning of the rebels, which later became a part of Star Wars legends (the non-canon extended universe of Star Wars), was entertaining to a lot of people, and the game became a Best Seller in the United States and Australia. It would go on to become one of the fastest-selling Star Wars games ever.
Players and critics alike praised Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for its brilliantly told story, the fantastic voice acting done by Sam Witwer and the rest of the cast, realistic physics, incredible art and memorable soundtrack. All these components working together would have made a brilliant game, but it was ruined for a couple of people by the linear gameplay and a couple of technical issues that players had to deal with.
A little over two years after the first game’s initial release, LucasArts brought the world Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and many fans were disappointed with it. The game felt rushed, and a lot of players became bored with the mechanics after a while. The game’s saving grace was its voice acting.
Let’s take a look at the game that bridged the first two Star Wars trilogies and why it may not be getting a third instalment.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3 Rumours
After the way Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 ended, many fans suspected that there would be a third game developed to close off Starkiller’s story officially, but after the poor reception of the second game and the 12-year-long gap, it is looking less and less likely.
Daniel Richtman, who has become well known for his Disney-based predictions, gave fans a little bit of hope when he informed his Patreon backers that a third entry, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3, was possibly in the cards. However, that hope has diminished since there have been no further details given about the game besides the fact that it may potentially exist and is in the early stage of development.
At this point, there is a lot of doubt about whether there will be a Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3. With the success of newer Star Wars games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the story of Cal Kestis (a Jedi in training), it is more likely that Disney will focus on the development of those games rather than going back to dig up and finish off the story of Starkiller.
If, however, the rumours are true and we are getting Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3, it may be a while before we get any more news about the game.
The Story In The First Two Games
Star Wars: The Force Unleased – The Beginnings of the Alliance
In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, we are thrown into the Star Wars universe a little bit into the Empire’s rule over the galaxy after the Great Jedi Purge. Darth Vader is travelling the galaxy in the process of dealing with the few remaining stragglers. He finds himself on the planet Kashyyyk, where the Jedi Kento Marek is hiding out. Vader easily cuts his way through the resistance that the Wookies put up and defeats the Jedi quite easily.
After Kento’s defeat, Darth Vader feels the presence of a second force user. They have significantly more power than Kento, and he suspects that it is Kento’s master. Instead, he discovers that it is Kento’s son when a youngling pulls Vader’s lightsaber from his hands.
After he defeats the boy’s father and then the Imperial Squadron that came with him after they try to capture the boy, Darth Vader takes him under his wing and trains him in the way of the Sith as his secret apprentice, who he renames Starkiller.
Later in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, we meet Starkiller as an adult. He has now finished with his training and is tasked by his master to go and finish hunting the few remaining Jedi in the galaxy so that when the two of them take down the Emperor and take over from him, there will be no one left to challenge their rule. He sets out with Juno Eclipse (an imperial pilot) and PROXY (a droid that has been programmed to destroy Starkiller).
Together, the three of them target the last few Jedi, including Kazdan Paratus, who has become a little strange after being isolated for years on the planet Raxus Prime; Shaak Ti, who has been hiding on Felucia and warns Starkiller that Vader will betray him; and Rahm Kota, a veteran of the Clone Wars who was once a leader of a militia. Kota senses during their duel that he will be part of Starkiller’s future and that Vader won’t always be his master. Then, he is blinded by his lightsaber and seemingly falls.
Once he has completed his task and succeeded in taking out all the Jedi, or so it seems, he returns to Vader, and the Emperor arrives on the scene. To prove his loyalty to his master, Vader deals with his apprentice without hesitation. After the ordeal, Vader has Starkiller recovered and revived before sending him on a new mission: find the enemies of the Emperor and start the beginning of a Rebellion. Starkiller is told that the Rebels will be used to their advantage when the two of them eventually move to overthrow the Emperor one day.
Starkiller gathers a team together consisting of Juno, who he has to rescue from the Imperials after she was branded as a traitor to the Empire and arrested; PROXY and Kota, who they find on Cloud City, blinded and just trying to get by. They end up having to rescue him from Imperial forces.
Together, the four of them travel to Kashyyyk in search of Bail Organa, a senator and contact of Kota’s. Starkiller finds his old home and meets the spirit of his deceased father, who is saddened by his son’s upbringing and how he was turned away from his religion.
To make sure that he can win over Bail Organa, he decides that his best course of action is to rescue the senator’s daughter, Princess Leia, and, upon her insistence, free the enslaved Wookies. After they learn from Kota that the senator was lost on Felucia, they travel to the planet to look for him and find him in the hands of Maris Brood, Shaak Ti’s former padawan who had fallen to the dark side after her master’s passing. He defeats her, sparing her life, and convinces Bail that he needs to join the rebellion against the Empire.
Darth Vader suggests to Starkiller that they take out a Star Destroyer facility that runs from Raxus Prime as it would show the galaxy how vulnerable the Empire is and would be the perfect way to convince more people to join the Rebellion. Juno learns that he is still working for Vader and tells him off for it but chooses not to say anything about her discovery to anyone else. Once they get to Raxus Prime, PROXY attempts to defeat Starkiller, but he defeats the droid, then goes on to destroy the facility and manages to pull a falling Star Destroyer out of use with the Force.
Bail arranges a meeting on Corellia with Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis (his fellow senators) so that they can formally organise a rebellion against the Empire. Still, they are intercepted by Darth Vader, who arrests the three senators and Kota, revealing that all the talk of starting a rebellion and overthrowing the Empire was just his way of further getting rid of people who would go against the Emperor. There had never been a plan to overthrow him.
In an attempt to give Starkiller time to escape, PROXY sacrifices himself and attempts to take on Darth Vader, and Juno rescues him. He learns that Vader is keeping the senators and Kota captive on the Death Star. Juno drops him off, and Starkiller, after saying goodbye to her, begins to make his way through the station until he reaches the throne room. Upon arriving, he defeats Vader and then stands to face off against Palpatine, but the Emperor has other plans for him and tries to get him to take down Darth Vader. Players are then given a choice.
They can either decide to deal with Vader (which ultimately leads to losing everyone and Starkiller waking up to find that he is being forced into a fate similar to Vader’s and will serve as the Emperor’s apprentice until he finds another) or save Kota (which will lead to Starkiller sacrificing himself so that Kota and the senators can escape and officially begin with the rebellion, using Starkiller’s family crest as their symbol).
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II – The Tale of a Clone
Six months after the events of the first game (following the decision to save Kota), in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, we find Darth Vader on the planet of Kamino as he watches the training of his former apprentice clone, but it is unable to defeat an illusion of Juno and Vader labels it a failure. The clone retains the memories of Starkiller and realises that Vader is going to get rid of him for his failure. Hence, he steals the Sith lord’s tie fighter and escapes the planet, hoping to learn more about his identity and the force he was cloned from. Vader wastes no time in hiring Boba Fett to kidnap Juno so that they can use her as bait to draw the clone back to Kamino.
The clone lands on Cato Meimodia, a planet that is under Imperial control, and rescues Kato, who is being forced into combat in a gladiator-like arena by Baron Merillion Tarko, the ruler of the planet.
Tarko does not trust the clone, so he orders his men to dispose of him. When the Starkiller clone defeats them, Tarko releases a beast to battle Kota and the clone, but the beast proceeds to destroy the arena after getting free of its restraints and then eats Tarko. It falls off the platform and grabs Kota, but the clone is quick to save him, and Kota calls Rogue Shadow (Starkiller’s ship) to them.
Once the two of them board the ship, the clone is insistent that he is not a real Starkiller, but Kota is adamant that Jedi cannot be cloned and extends him an invitation to join the Alliance. He refuses, wanting no part of the conflict, and then drops Kota off at the nearest spaceport before making his way to Dagobah.
Once he arrives, he meets Master Yoda. When he enters a cave that is strong with the Dark Side of the force, he gets a vision of Juno in danger on the Salvation (her medical frigate) and decides to go rescue her.
He and Kota board the Salvation, and the old Jedi tells him about how the resistance has grown and developed, but despite this, they have been reluctant to resist the Empire because they don’t want their fleet to be destroyed. He then gives the General information that he believes will give the Alliance the edge they need to take on Kamino.
The Salvation is under siege, and they find that Juno is no longer on board. PROXY informs them that she had been taken by Boba Fett and his experimental Imperial Force. The clone tries to locate her, but by the time he does, he is unable to stop Fett and quickly realises that this is Darth Vader’s way of trying to get him back to Kamino. The clone convinces Kato that an assault needs to be ordered on Kamino, so they do, only for the rebels to be met by an overwhelming Imperial fleer and a defensive shield around the planet. Starkiller tells Kota to order an evacuation and then proceeds to crash the Salvation through the shield.
While Kota and his ground forces go after the Kamino troops, the clone goes for Vader, who shows him that he has an army of failed clones. He is quick to take them out and then goes directly for Vader, and the two of them are locked in a stalemate until Vader gives the clone no other choice by threatening Juno’s life. Starkiller concedes, and Vader tries to get him to battle the rebels, but Juno attempts to take on Vader using Starkiller’s fallen lightsaber. Vader reacts by throwing Juno out a window, and the clone releases the full force of his power on Vader, much to his pleasant surprise. As Vader is trying to get the clone to deal with him, Kota arrives on the scene and tries to convince him to spare Vader so that the Alliance can learn Empire secrets and he can be trailed for his crimes.
Players are faced with a choice. End Vader (which will lead to a dark clone of Starkiller making himself known and putting the entire group in danger) or Spare him (which will result in Vader’s arrest as Starkiller moves to mourn Juno’s passing, though it doesn’t last long because she revives and kisses him. Leia congratulates Kota and Starkiller for their momentous victory against the Empire and then tasks Starkiller and Juno with transporting Vader to Dantooine. On the journey, the clone tells Vader that he is finally free of his influence, but Vader assures him that as long as Juno is still alive, he will always have control over him.
Players are then shown that Boba Fett is following their ship.
Sam Witwer as Starkiller
Sam Witwer was the perfect voice for Starkiller. When David Collins (the Audio Director for the games) saw the concept art for the character, he immediately noted the resemblance to his friend and asked him to send over his headshot and an audition reel. A few weeks later, Witwer was called in for a 45-minute audition.
His clear and deep understanding of the role he was going to play convinced the developers that he was perfect to play Starkiller in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. He brought in many ideas about the type of character Starkiller was and provided him with a sense of humanity that would make it easier for players to connect with him and route for the character in the game.
They could not have picked a better voice actor, and the amount of care he has for the character he plays is clear.
If there ever was a Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3, Sam Witwer would definitely need to return for the role.
What We Want To See In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3
Players had a problem with the linear gameplay of the previous two games. It would be good to see Star Wars introduce more of an open-world sandbox experience to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3, similar to what was introduced in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but perhaps further improved on, providing players with a massive physics playground and very little level-based gameplay.
Fans are also hoping for the introduction of co-op play in the next game, perhaps similar to what was done in the prison break game A Way Out.
Possible Story
The story in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3 is very likely going to start from the moment a brawl breaks out between Boba Fett and the members aboard the Rogue Shadow.
One of two things could happen. Darth Vader might succeed in defeating Juno, thus leading Starkiller on a path of destruction, or Vader and Starkiller are going to be forced to work together and do the very thing Darth Vader said they were going to do at the beginning: Overthrow Palpatine.
Either route could be very interesting when and if they decide to create a third game.
Starkiller’s need for revenge might end up being a bit cliché, but it would fit in with the reoccurring theme throughout the games of whether he belongs to the light side or the dark side. We could see him destroy the relationships and friendships he has developed over the course of his growing change and see someone eventually reason with him that the path he has taken isn’t the one Juno would have wanted for him.
If they decide to have him and Vader working together to defeat the Empire in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3, the dynamic between the two characters could be interesting. We could get some further insight into Darth Vader and possibly see him dealing with his past. It would be interesting to see a call back to Anakin and the bond he once had with his former padawan.
Why Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3 Was Cancelled
The second game was described by critics as a desperate grab for cash by publishers and “one of the most underachieving games of 2010.” The underwhelming response to it was a major disappointment for the people at LucasArts, but it comes as no surprise when you delve into the chaos surrounding it.
Haden Blackman was given three weeks to write and develop the story for the game, and the whole team was given 12 months to finish developing the game in time for it to be released to the public. It was a massive financial failure for LucasArts, and so Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3 was cancelled. Any further mentions of trying to develop a third game were completely shut down after Disney purchased the studio, only to close it and cause 150 staff members to lose their jobs.
The crash and burn of Star Wars: The Force Unleased II is a good example of why you can’t rush game developers to finish a game.
There is a lot that they can still explore with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3, and with a bit of dedicated time and effort, it could become the best game of the three, though there is a very slim chance of the third game being created.
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What are you hoping to see in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3 if they ever make one?
