In a recently published interview with Game Informer, actor Cameron Monaghan, who plays Cal Kestis in the upcoming EA title, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, spoke on the game's story, its thematic characteristics, how the team balanced it with the Star Wars canon, and how it differs from its predecessor.
Mostly, Monaghan emphasized how this story aims to be more complex than that of 2019's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, with more morally ambiguous situations, as well as challenging interpersonal conflicts. He stated that this was something he really wanted to explore with the character and something he'd spoken about with the team, ever since the first game released. He wanted to put Cal in challenging situations that would "push him to the point where he might break."
Though Monaghan wasn't too specific about what these situations would be, he did hint at some relevant factors. He explained that Fallen Order's story was about finding a surrogate family, while in Survivor, it's about having that family, but certain circumstances change and everyone has different opinions on how to deal with those circumstances. "What happens when you put strain on a family and on your relationships?" Monaghan pondered. "What does that look like for these characters?"
He also mentioned something that was partly understood from the game's reveal trailer back in December, which is that the game will have "a bunch of new characters." Monaghan stated that he likes these new characters and that some of them will "shift the dynamic of the story."
He added that Cal will be faced with challenges that do not necessarily have any right answers, which he believes creates a story "where we can still find adventure but also find something that is deeper, darker, more intricate, and complex."
When it comes to Monaghan's perspective of the story being part of the Star Wars canon, he expressed the importance of the story standing on its own two feet. He believes that anyone can jump in and play it, and they'll be able to grasp the story, even if they've never interacted with the Star Wars IP before. But, if they had, then they would get a deeper understanding of it.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor launches March 17 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.