Fans of the hit video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order have had an exciting year. We’ve known for some time that a sequel to the game was in development, but we finally got our first look in May when the debut trailer for Jedi: Survivor dropped, revealing an older and more assured Cal Kestis, and a mysterious dark-sider suspended in bacta. The game takes place 5 years after Fallen Order, meaning that the Mantis crew has likely been through a lot between the two games.
It was barely a month later when fans were treated to another surprise from the Star Wars: Jedi franchise. Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars, written by author and game writer Sam Maggs, was announced on August 19th, 2022. We were told that the book would feature the main cast from Fallen Order, and that it would fill in some gaps between the main entries–but until now, we didn’t know anything else.
Today, the official cover for the novel was revealed, as well as an official synopsis that tells us a bit more about the adventure that awaits the Mantis crew. Check out the cover and plot synopsis below:
"“Cal Kestis has built a new life for himself with the crew of the Stinger Mantis. Together, Cal’s crew has brought down bounty hunters, defeated Inquisitors, and even evaded Darth Vader himself. More importantly, Merrin, Cere, Greez, and faithful droid BD-1 are the closest thing Cal has had to a family since the fall of the Jedi Order. Even as the galaxy’s future grows more uncertain by the day, with each blow struck against the Empire, the Mantis crew grows more daring.On what should be a routine mission, they meet a stormtrooper determined to chart her own course with the help of Cal and the crew. In exchange for help starting a new life, the Imperial deserter brings word of a powerful, potentially invaluable tool for their fight against the Empire. And even better, she can help them get to it. The only catch — pursuing it will bring them into the path of one of the Empire’s most dangerous servants, the Inquisitor known as the Fifth Brother.Can the Imperial deserter truly be trusted? And while Cal and his friends have survived run-ins with the Inquisitors before, how many times can they evade the Empire before their luck runs out?”"
It seems like Maggs’s novel already contains all the ingredients for a great Cal Kestis story: the charming Mantis family, Jedi missions, identity struggles, and a brooding Inquisitor. While this isn’t the author’s first delve into the galaxy far, far away, fans are eager to see how Maggs handles the characters of the Star Wars Jedi franchise in her first full length Star Wars novel.
I’m keen to learn how to Fifth Brother will be utilized in this story, as we really don’t know much about the character despite his numerous appearances, the last of which being Obi-Wan Kenobi. The scowling dark-sider is certainly overdue some character development.
Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars arrives March 7th, 2022.