When we first met Cal Kestis in 2019’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, he was only a younger Padawan. A redheaded child draped in an unflattering poncho, Cal would develop right into a full-blown Jedi by the top of the sport. It was a basic Star Wars arc in online game kind, however one which left gamers wanting extra. It’s nice that we bought to see that progress, however who may resist the thought of a sequel the place his newly woke up powers can be absolutely unleashed?
Cameron Monaghan, who reprises his position as Cal in subsequent yr’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, had that very same itch. The Gotham and Shameless star was already enthusiastic about the place Cal may go subsequent earlier than Fallen Order was even out. Monaghan’s ambitions weren’t targeted a lot on what sorts of cool lightsaber tips Cal may choose up between video games, however relatively how one can convey extra complexity to one in all Star Wars’ latest Jedis.
“In the first game, he had a naivete and a wide-eyed nature that I love about Cal,” Monaghan tells Digital Trends. “But I think tha,t situationally, if you’re in such a desperate place for so many years and fighting and being a soldier and a tool for resistance, at some point, it’s going to start to change the way you see the world around you.”
I sat down with Cameron Monaghan forward of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s grand reveal at this yr’s Game Awards. The actor defined how Cal has modified within the five-year time skip between video games and shared contemporary particulars on the sequel’s new companion character, Bode Akuna. Monaghan defined the balancing act that comes with making an attempt to remain targeted on a personality’s private journey when working inside a a lot bigger, expanded universe — and he supplied some reward for Andor too.
Back earlier than a sequel was greenlit, while you have been ready to see if Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order would get one, what did you wish to do with Cal Kestis in the event you bought a second run with him?
When we have been making the primary recreation, we had inklings that we might possibly wish to do extra with it if it was profitable. I’ll always remember once we had the wrap get together for the primary recreation and Stig Asmussen, the pinnacle of Respawn, was like, “What do you want to do?” I had this loopy second the place I used to be like, “Wow, I really wish I was more prepared for this!’”
But I used to be in a position to give a broad strokes reply: I needed to see Cal numerous years on from the primary recreation and see him mature and have a special outlook. A extra advanced, darker, extra challenged character. In the primary recreation, he had a naivete and a wide-eyed nature that I like about Cal. But I believe that, situationally, in the event you’re in such a determined place for therefore a few years and combating and being a soldier and a software for resistance, sooner or later, it’s going to begin to change the best way you see the world round you. I needed to discover what that regarded like for Cal.
He’s been via some stuff, and I believe over the past two years, we’ve all been via some stuff, man!
The massive query I actually needed to ask was: What does it imply to be on the sunshine aspect of the drive? Especially what occurs when you’ve gotten conditions that you would be able to’t essentially win and also you’re confronted with a problem the place there’s not essentially a proper reply. What does that imply to be a superb particular person? Those have been the broad strokes we stated that evening, after which our unimaginable writing workforce sat on it. They additionally had comparable emotions about what they needed to do, so that they cooked that up for the subsequent yr or so and we began filming from there.
Having seen the trailer, it appears like there are much more characters this time. How have a few of these relationships introduced out new sides of Cal?
We see numerous allies – some are acquainted, some are new. Specifically, we have now a personality named Bode Akuna that we introduce early within the recreation, who turns into an fascinating ally. In some ways, it’s the primary time we get to see a brother for Cal. [He’s] a companion who has been on an analogous journey as him and has made totally different choices alongside the best way, however I believe that they each perceive and respect one another for it. And the actor who performs him, Noshir Dalal, is a really gifted performer who brings this glorious dynamic and power. That’s one in all my favourite issues with this new recreation, the dynamic between Cal and Bode.
There are a bunch of nice new characters, in addition to conditions and environments that inform and alter the general vibe.
The first recreation was type of in a vacuum, however now Cal is a part of Star Wars canon. He’s talked about in novels, and there’s a way that he’s a part of the world. Did that change the way you ready for the character?
No. The indisputable fact that Cal exists in different media was at all times instructed to me from the start as a risk. I believe that it’s nice to have the ability to discover him in a e-book or comedian, however in the end human beings don’t consider themselves as a scenario outdoors of what’s the current. At any second, from one to the subsequent, we’re usually making an attempt to choose what our subsequent transfer is and use the issues we’ve been experiencing prior to tell what that call goes to be.
I believe it’s essential when taking part in any character — no matter in the event you’re in a media universe — you possibly can’t be like, “What is a Star Wars character going to do?” You should say, “What is Cal going to do? What is his story so far, and what are we trying to do with that?” So that was a very powerful factor. Just making an attempt to be current and create a efficiency that feels real and fast from one second to the subsequent.
There is a lot nice Star Wars media taking place proper now, like Andor. What makes the Star Wars Jedi sequence so particular in that panorama?
I’m an enormous fan of Andor and what they’re doing. They’re clearly displaying this aspect that’s ground-level, grounded, this fast perspective. I believe that with any story, the query is at all times: what’s the perspective? We’re seeing this story fairly instantly via Cal’s eyes and along with his tales. I at all times needed there to be this sense of journey and this wonderful construct of scale, and to verify we retain the enjoyable and pleasure, however not let that eclipse what, to me, is the emotional middle: the connection he has along with his adopted household of types.
Something particularly this story brings is an emotionally difficult middle the place we’re exploring some difficult questions — questions this character has to face and what that’s going to indicate to him. He’s going to make choices that I can’t watch for individuals to speak about. I genuinely wish to see what individuals’s perspective goes to be.
There’s a really new search for Cal in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. How does that replicate the change we’re going to see within the character right here?
Cal is older, as am I! And as we proceed to grow old, we shift and we modify. He’s been via some stuff, and I believe over the past two years, we’ve all been via some stuff, man! I believe we needed to visually mature the character and replicate what’s going on internally with him. When we discover him at the beginning of our story, he hasn’t had the prospect to discover a razor shortly. You can inform it’s determined as a result of he’s bought the stubble, which apparently I do now too.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will probably be launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on March 17, 2023.
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