Highlights
- Star Wars Outlaws is an upcoming RPG that allows players to explore the Star Wars universe at their own pace, encountering various characters along the way.
- Fans have noticed a character in the game, Jaylen, who bears a striking resemblance to the Legends character Kyle Katarn, leading to speculation that he may be reintroduced into the official canon.
- If Kyle Katarn were to be canonized in Star Wars Outlaws, certain elements of his original storyline would need to be adjusted, such as his involvement in stealing the Death Star plans and stopping the Dark Trooper program.
With well over four decades worth of movies, TV shows, comic books, novels, and video games to take into consideration, the current Star Wars canon 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 through shows like The Mandalorian, movies like Rogue One, or video games like the upcoming Star Wars Outlaws.
Centered around brand new character Kay Vess, Star Wars Outlaws will 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. With Star Wars Outlaws being 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.
Star Wars Outlaws Could Be About to Canonize Kyle Katarn
First introduced in 1995's Star 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 in Star Wars media properly for well over a decade now, he might be about to make a long-awaited reappearance.
In the first story trailer for Star 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 that Star Wars Outlaws will 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 until after the events of Return of the Jedi, which takes place after the events of Star Wars Outlaws.
If Star Wars Outlaws was 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 in Star Wars: Dark Forces, he's tasked with stealing the Death Star plans. Thanks to Rogue One, this would have to be stricken from Katarn's past. Similarly, much of Dark Forces sees Kyle Katarn finding and stopping the Dark Trooper program, which would also have to be removed as The Mandalorian established that Moff Gideon was in charge of creating the Dark Troopers. Of course, it's pretty unlikely that Star Wars Outlaws will canonize Kyle Katarn, but until the game comes out, fans will continue to hope.
Star Wars Outlaws is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2024.
