Website Cinelinx recently interviewed former LucasArts creative director Haden Blackman to find out about a particular Star Wars game that was pushed aside when Disney acquired the rights to Lucasfilm — Star Wars: Episode VII…
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It’s no secret in the Star Wars community, that there are several Star Wars video game that never saw the light of day. George Lucas has infamously worked on many projects, only to leave them on the board, never to return, with probably the long-lamented 1313 being chief among them. Cinelinx recently reached out to former LucasArts creative director Haden Blackman and asked him about another game that has been catching the eyes of many a treasure hunter, Star Wars: Episode VII. Yes, that’s right, before The Force Awakens dominated the box-office, there was another Episode VII, and it too had a Ben Skywalker (not Solo, but close enough).
The full name of the game is Star Wars Episode VII: Shadow of the Sith, and it featured Ben Skywalker as he learned to walk the path between the Light and the Dark Side of the Force, using powers no Jedi had used before. Sound eerily familiar?
"“Episode VII: Shadows of the Sith would have put you in the role of an adult Ben Skywalker,” Haden explained, “who was walking the line between the light and dark sides of the Force, unleashing new Force powers never-before-seen in games or movies as he investigated a new threat to the galaxy (a Solo…).”"
Blackman goes on to talk about finally having to put Shadows of the Sith on the backburner and moving forward with the Force Unleashed. There was a Darth Maul video game that was scrapped as well (another tragic victim of the Disney acquisition), but was briefly resurrected after The Force Unleashed II. He also talks about 1313 using different code names like Underworld or Scum & Villainy…boy, if only either of those had actually taken.
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As a huge fan of The Force Unleashed, and as a huge fan of Knights of the Old Republic, I would have loved to been able to play through a storyline with a Gray Jedi like Ben Skywalker as he faced an EU-like villain like Jacen Solo. Of course, switch the names and faces around, and you’ve basically got Rey (Skywalker?) vs Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), so there’s that. Regardless, it’s always neat to see what could have been possible, had things gone differently…although, I think the Star Wars franchise is in great hands with Disney.