Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order has been available for just shy of two months. Critics and fans alike consider it the best single-player Star Wars title in a long time and a game that truly encompasses the Jedi experience. Commercially, it was the fourth biggest release of 2019, even though it released with less than two months to go in the year. It also had the fastest-selling digital launch for any Star Wars game in its first two weeks of release. No matter how you look at it, the game is a tremendous success, one that might not have happened had Lucasfilm gotten their way.
According to game director Stig Asmussen, Lucasfilm was on board with him and his team doing a Star Wars game, but they weren’t hot on the idea of it being about a Jedi. Their initial reaction was to suggest a shooter game centered around bounty hunters. Asmussen protested, arguing that a shooter would be new territory for the team they had assembled for the product. Asmussen felt that they couldn’t produce a satisfactory product if they followed that plan.
After further conversation with Asmussen (and likely some heavy convincing on the developer’s part), Lucasfilm eventually budged, opening up to the idea of a game about force users. They were still hesitant to incorporate Jedi. The game that was eventually released has Jedi right there in the title, so obviously Asmussen won over the executives, but the uphill battle he fought really goes to show just how protective Lucasfilm is of its property.
What Asmussen learned from his time spent with Lucasfilm was that they hold the Jedi in high regard. If someone comes along with plans to produce a Star Wars product, getting the go-ahead to do that project is one thing, but getting permission to produce Jedi material is a whole different ballgame.
It’s obviously great that they were eventually able to come to an agreement and it’s unlikely that anyone at Lucasfilm is unhappy with how Fallen Order turned out. And while it would have been a massive bummer if the game hadn’t happened, Star Wars fans should be happy that the company is so selective when it comes to how their product is depicted. Within the confines of the universe, the Jedi are sacred, and that reverence would be slowly chipped away at if they allowed too many creators to take a crack at the concept. Consider the prequel films, for example, and how many fans consider the brand to be irreparably tarnished as a result.
