Jedi: Fallen Order writer ‘didn’t like’ Last Jedi’s execution

Jedi: Fallen Order writer Chris Avellone has offered his critique of the latest Star Wars movie.

The veteran writer and designer, who most notably helmed Obsidian’s Knights of the Old Republic 2, said that while he enjoyed “some bits” of The Last Jedi, overall he “didn’t like the execution” of its story.

“I thought that portrayal of Luke Skywalker was very weak,” he told VGC. “I thought they gave him a scapegoat role that wasn’t merited and didn’t fit with his character, in my opinion.

“I like the fact that they were playing around with it, but at the same time I didn’t like the execution and I thought it could have been handled a lot better or differently.”

He added: “I also thought it was a case of comedy goes too far, side characters and massive detour plots were rapidly introduced… I liked what they were trying to do, I just didn’t like how it was executed.”

Avellone is a writer on Respawn’s upcoming Jedi: Fallen Order, his second Star Wars game after writing and designing fan-favourite KoTOR 2.

Avellone said he’s found returning to the franchise “very smooth” and he thinks fans will appreciate some of the “unusual” directions Respawn has taken with Fallen Order’s plot.

“Getting back into it was very, very smooth,” he said. “When I was working on KoTOR 2, getting into the Star Wars universe was very rocky because I didn’t like Star Wars and I didn’t like the fact that we were doing a Star Wars project. I was like, ‘I left Black Isle for this?’

“But then after a few weeks of researching, watching the movies again, I rediscovered my nine-year-old self and was really excited.”

He added: “With Fallen Order, it was more about which bits of Star Wars I needed to catch up on. Mostly that involved the Clone Wars TV series, which I’d never watched before because I thought the pilot was terrible. But once you get beyond that, the episodes and the arcs start getting really, really good.

“I probably never would have watched Star Wars Rebels for the same reasons, but I grew to love that too,” he said. “Beyond catching up, it was like putting on a comfortable shirt you’re familiar with. It was easy to slip back in.”

Avellone’s KoTOR 2 script, which was praised for its story exploring the middle ground between the light and dark sides of The Force, is now considered non-canon following Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars in 2012.

However, the writer said there was little chance of him returning to its themes with Fallen Order.

“The themes were established when I came onto Fallen Order,” he explained. “KoTOR 2 tells its own story and I feel like Fallen Order was an opportunity to explore new themes and go in a very unusual direction, because there is some stuff in there that I was not expecting.

“I think Fallen Order is going to offer a Star Wars experience, but there are also some interesting new perspectives that I think players will appreciate.”

Jedi: Fallen Order has a release date of November 15, 2019 on PS4, Xbox One and PC.