Star Wars Jedi 3 stays on EA's slate as a 2027 release rumor circulates

EA has given an update on the next Star Wars Jedi game. Given what's happening around the company, it's one worth paying attention to. There's also a rumor that the game could arrive sooner than people think, plus talk of an older Cal Kestis. What interests me most is what Respawn does once it has to answer the question this series has been building toward: how does Cal's story end?

I'm already seeing people jump straight to Darth Vader killing him. Final game, final fight, roll the credits. To be honest, that might be the most predictable thing they could do. There's a much more interesting problem waiting for Cal after Survivor. If Respawn gets it right, this could be an incredible ending to a trilogy, and it could carry the studio into Star Wars Battlefront 3, which is confirmed to be happening too.

EA's October 21 statement names the next Star Wars Jedi game as an upcoming launch

The news comes from EA itself, in an October 21 update about the company's future. EA specifically mentioned Marvel's Iron Man and the next Star Wars Jedi game as two upcoming launches it is going to deliver. In the same statement, the company talked about focusing on fewer large action adventure projects.

That's important. When a publisher starts talking about narrowing its lineup, you want to know which games are not going to be on the chopping block. Jedi is one of the games EA chose to mention. That doesn't tell us when we'll play it, but it gives us something more substantial than somebody finding a lightsaber emoji in a developer's social media bio.

I don't want to let the wording run away, though. Upcoming doesn't automatically mean next spring. EA didn't announce a release date in that statement. It didn't give an official title or show gameplay. The update is that the next Jedi game remains part of its plans as it concentrates on fewer projects. That's encouraging, and with how quiet the game has been, I'll take it.

The 2027 release window is still a single rumor

The timing gets more interesting next to the rumor going around. A Star Wars source has reportedly claimed Jedi 3 is targeting a 2027 release, with marketing potentially starting before this year's Game Awards. That would put us in the window where a first look could come at any time.

There's a distinction that gets lost once these stories start bouncing around websites. "A bunch of articles repeating one claim is still just one claim." We don't suddenly have six people independently corroborating a release window because six websites wrote about the same post.

Then again, big AAA games usually have a 12 to 18 month marketing window, so if the claim were true, we should see something soon. For now, I'm treating 2027 as a rumor and treating the marketing timing the same way. There is something to watch for; there's no date yet. Do I want it to be true? Of course I do. I'm ready to see what they're doing.

An older Cal Kestis isn't confirmation of a jump to the original trilogy

When the first trailer shows up, I want to see more than Cal turning around dramatically with a new haircut. I want to see the person he's become, because that's going to tell us everything.

There was reporting back in June about comments from Tom Henderson suggesting an older Cal in the third game. I think those comments were tentative. They didn't establish some enormous time jump. If you've seen people treating older Cal as confirmation that the series is skipping straight to the original trilogy, I would say slow down. As a story direction, though, giving him more time to live with the ending of Survivor is the way I'd go.

Survivor's ending gives Cal people to make bad decisions for

Spoilers for Survivor from here. Cal ends that game with Merrin and a possible future on Tanalorr. On paper, it sounds like he finally has something resembling a way out. He spent years being hunted, losing people and fighting an Empire that keeps getting bigger. Now there's a place where he might be able to build something good.

Of course, I'm not trusting that setup. Not because I think every good thing in Star Wars has to explode, although the franchise does enjoy that hobby. It's because Cal now has people he can start making very bad decisions to protect.

That's what made Bode work for me. His betrayal wasn't just another boss fight. He showed Cal what can happen when protecting your family becomes the explanation for everything you do. Every lie, every betrayal, every person who gets hurt: you can justify all of it by telling yourself it's for somebody you love. It's the Anakin card, and Cal has already seen where that road goes.

Now put him in a position where he's responsible for all of them, where the safety of an entire refugee camp might depend on one decision he makes. Does he recognize himself starting to sound like Bode, or does he convince himself his situation is different? That's the version of Jedi 3 I want, because an older Cal doesn't automatically mean a wiser Cal. He could be stronger. He probably will be more experienced, and even more convinced he's the only person capable of keeping everybody safe. Give somebody like that a lightsaber and access to the dark side, and there's a problem.

Survivor already made that temptation part of the gameplay. You felt how powerful Cal could be when he stopped holding back. So how does the third game build on that without turning it into a consequence free upgrade? At some point, being angry enough to clear the room should cost him something beyond a concerned conversation afterward.

The final chapter doesn't have to end with Cal's death

EA has previously described this next game as the final chapter, which is why everybody is looking at Cal like he needs to get his affairs in order. But ending this story gives Respawn more options than killing its main character.

Cal could survive and still have something enormous to go up against. He could fail at the thing he spent years trying to achieve. He could finally accept that carrying the entire fight himself is destroying the life he's trying to protect. "There's ways to make an ending hurt that don't necessarily involve another funeral."

Vader as the final boss would have to be earned

I love how Fallen Order used Vader. His first appearance understood exactly what made him terrifying. Cal was not ready for that fight. You weren't studying a complicated attack pattern and waiting for an opening. You were trying to get out of the building with your organs still where you left them. Survivor then gave us another confrontation, and that worked because of everything attached to that character. It had weight.

If the series goes back to Vader for the climax of the third game, I don't know. Respawn has to earn it. You can't keep pulling the same lever and expect the same reaction. We know Vader's larger story, so there's a limit to what that confrontation can resolve. Cal's future is part of what we don't know.

I would hate for the conclusion of his trilogy to spend all its energy reminding us how important somebody else is. If Vader belongs in the story, use him. But I want the ending to leave me thinking about Cal's decision. What did he choose when everything was on the line? What did that choice cost Merrin? What did everybody learn from it?

Cal should keep his abilities, and Tanalorr should feel like home

There's also a gameplay issue. Survivor left Cal with a serious collection of abilities, and you have to let this man remember how to do his job. If we get an older, more experienced Cal, I don't want to spend the opening hours relearning basic skills because he bumped his head getting off the Mantis. Survivor did a good job of carrying much of his foundation forward. Keep building. Give us enemies and situations that challenge an experienced Jedi instead of making experience disappear, so the upgrade menu still has something to do.

I'm also interested in seeing Tanalorr become more than a destination. This is complete speculation, but if it becomes a refuge, let us see the pressure of making that work. People need help. People disagree. Some want to hide, others want to fight. Having something to come home to could make the rest of the game matter more, because every dangerous trip means leaving people behind.

The launch has to be clean this time

Respawn has to get the launch right. Survivor had a lot worth loving, but it had technical problems too. This is the conclusion. I want to be talking about the combat, the worlds, or whatever horrible decision Respawn has made me emotionally participate in. I don't want the first week to become a group project where everybody is trying to figure out which settings make the game behave.

If 2027 is the target, give this team what it needs to cook. If the rumor turns out to be wrong, I can survive waiting until the game arrives. EA has freshly reaffirmed the project, and there's an unconfirmed claim pointing to 2027 and potentially early marketing. Behind all that is a final chapter with far more potential than Cal getting stronger and fighting Vader again. My hope is that Respawn makes the danger personal. Cal has spent these games fighting to survive. Now he has to figure out what kind of life he's protecting.