Highlights
- Star Wars Eclipse's claim to have no plot armor and the possibility of any character dying challenges Disney's commitment to consistency in the Star Wars canon.
- Quantic Dream's storytelling approach, which revolves around player choice and complex narratives, may clash with the rigid nature of the Star Wars canon.
- Despite being set in the High Republic era and potentially having minimal relevance to the main canon, Yoda has been teased for the game, and it is highly unlikely that his death would be possible since it would go against the series' established lore - meaning holes can already be poked in the premise.
Still years from release, Star Wars Eclipse has already presented itself as a game that will challenge Disney's commitment to consistency for Star Wars' canon going forward. A recent interview illuminated Quantic Dream's intention to create a game where no plot armor is too thick for its characters, stating that anyone could die in Star Wars Eclipse - that the story must go on regardless of how much a character's relationship with their mortal coil derails the narrative.
In September 2023, Quantic Dream's Vice President of Marketing Lisa Pendse sat down with IGN to offer some scattered details regarding its enigmatic new title Star Wars Eclipse. Among the addressed rumors and various tidbits was a quote that has since faced scrutiny by Star Wars fans, wary of Star Wars Eclipse becoming at odds with its overlying IP. "There's no game over. Anyone can die, anything can happen and the story sort of continues."
Quantic Dream's Style Runs Counter to Disney's Current Rules for Star Wars
Quantic Dream has made its name on games with complex branching dialog trees which shape the narrative around player choice. The studio had previously made it clear that Star Wars Eclipse would be far more than just an incarnation of Detroit: Become Human, but it is fair to assume based on the studio's track record, its new game will possess much of the same DNA. The 'no character is sacred' approach to storytelling strengthens that speculation, forecasting another game where player choice is paramount.
The major friction with that philosophy in design is the rigidity of the Star Wars canon. In 2014, ahead of the release of the new Star Wars trilogy, everything outside the original six films, their novelizations, and a smattering of other content was reclassified as Legends, deemed no longer a part of the official Star Wars canon. In addition, all Star Wars content moving forward would adhere to a tiered, but unified canon (Star Wars Infinity notwithstanding). This was done to iron out inconsistencies and contradictions, forming a less disjointed lore for the IP. With a game so nebulous that any main character could either live or die, it is easy to see why Star Wars Eclipse could run into difficulties.
Even Side Stories Bare Relevance to Star Wars' Main Canon
Set during the High Republic era of Star Wars, centuries before the franchise's most popular content, there is an argument to be made that Star Wars Eclipse is far enough removed to be largely inconsequential in the scheme of things. Its central protagonists and antagonists will clash in the annals of a timeline with a foregone conclusion, and on that basis, will have little bearing on the canon of Star Wars. Regardless of how fast and loose it plays with killing off central figures, the risk of contradictions cropping up is minimal.
Quantic Dream Wouldn't Kill Yoda, Right?
That is not to say that the cast of Star Wars Eclipse will be composed entirely of fresh faces. Early promotional material has already teased Yoda, and there are several other figures from the history of Star Wars that could make an appearance. It does not seem likely that Quantic Dream would reckon with killing off a cherished Star Wars icon, but at the crossroads of Pendse's statement and the confirmation of existing Star Wars characters in Star Wars Eclipse, all bets are currently off.
With Quantic Dream taking its time on Star Wars Eclipse, it could be as late as 2028 before fans finally get their hands on the game. A lot can change in five years, including Disney's current stance on holding Star Wars canon sacred. Star Wars Eclipse could be given similar alternative timeline liberties as the Star Wars Infinity series, or, perhaps far more likely, the notion that every character can die will be proven hyperbole. Either way, now that EA's exclusivity deal with Star Wars has ended, it will be fascinating to see the route that games in the franchise tread.
Star Wars Eclipse
- Franchise
- Star Wars
- Developer(s)
- Quantic Dream
- Publisher(s)
- Lucasfilm Games
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
