Lucasfilm makes Knights of The Old Republic's Revan canon - again
And maybe The Force Unleashed's Starkiller?
One of the best Star Wars video game characters ever is now canon - again.
The Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary book references Revan from BioWare's wonderful 2003 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game, making the popular playable protagonist canon again after Lucasfilm wiped the extended universe slate clean back in 2014.
The book has a page on the Sith Troopers, which are organised into legions each named after "an ancient Sith lord". The third notable Sith Trooper legion is called Revan Legion, which makes Revan from KOTOR canon.
THERE MAY BE THE KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC SPOILERS AHEAD.
In KOTOR, Revan is a former Sith who suffers from amnesia and is brainwashed by the Jedi to serve their cause. KOTOR's big twist - and most famous moment - is when this is made known to the player late in the game, at a time when Revan is thought to be dead.
Perhaps Lucasfilm's move to make Revan canon should come as no surprise, given it hinted as much in The Last Jedi. Eagle-eyed viewers of that movie may have noticed a subtle nod to Revan in the film. Inside Luke's home is a red crystal. According to the book, Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary, this is a "fragmented Sith lightsaber crystal..." that forms a part of a "recovered Jedi Crusader pendant". Jedi Crusaders were a renegade faction of the Jedi Order that battled against the Mandalorians 5000 years before the Star Wars movies. Its founder was Revan.
Even earlier, an official book suggested a link between Kylo Ren's Lightsaber in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and KOTOR.
So, Revan is very much Star Wars canon now. But what about characters from LucasArts' 2008 game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed? Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary's Sith Legion table also references Darth Phobos and Darth Desolous, who were both first seen in The Force Unleashed, and were eventually defeated by the overpowered Starkiller. Is Starkiller now canon, too?
We're not quite there yet with Starkiller, but what's clear is Lucasfilm is big on The Old Republic era of Star Wars, and is dipping into BioWare's KOTOR games to flesh it out for its new and improved expanded universe. The next obvious question is, is Lucasfilm setting up a KOTOR movie?
Back in May 2019, it was reported a film based on KOTOR was in the works. At Star Wars Celebration in April 2019, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said: "Yes, we are developing something to look at," after being asked about KOTOR. "Right now, I have no idea where things might fall."
So, who should play Revan?