Summary
OneStar Warsfan thinks they know a great way to bring popular Legends character Kyle Katarn into the franchise’s new canon. But how well would it work? Would his character need to change entirely just to fit in now?
Even after all this time, Kyle Katarn remains a pretty beloved element of theStar Warsuniverse. Not too shabby considering he’s been non-canon for years now. Having previously starred in the iconicDark ForcesandJedi Knightseries of video games, it’s no wonder why fans want the gruff-voiced former Jedi back in the fold. But ever sincethe greatStar Warscanon reset, it’s been tough to find space for him to make his comeback. That is, at least, possibly until now.
Userbromeme- in theStar WarsCantina subreddit introduced their idea for how Kyle could conceivably enter the new series canon without requiring any of those pesky retcons. Their idea seems to focus primarily on Kyle’s Jedi side rather than his adventures as a mercenary with his partner Jan Ors or even his former life as an Imperial officer. In this proposed addition, he would still be working for the Rebellion but ultimately go off on his ownonce the New Republic is formed. During that time, he’d train with Luke Skywalker for a brief period before returning to his own life, occasionally helping out at Luke’s academy. Then he’d come back to aid in the Resistance’s fight against the First Order, just like every other notable figure inStar Warshistory.
It’s an interesting idea and even brings back plenty of concepts from Kyle’s now non-canon past. This includes helping out at the academy, which would be a satisfying nod to his role in theJedi Knight III: Jedi Academyvideo game. But other fans had different ideas for how they think he would better fit in the new canon. For one, many pointed out that Kyle’s original story was now largely covered by other characters inAndorandRogue One: A Star Wars Story, as Kyle originally took part in stealing the Death Star plans that ultimately led to the station’s destruction. Despite that large chunk of his story now unsalvageable, there’s still room for a bit of finessing.
“I would love to see Katarn return, unfortunately much of his story has been claimed by Andor, but it would be cool to see him in some capacity.”
“We already got Kyle Katarn’s story in the form ofRogue One, and the Sequel Trilogy. He’d be completely redundant at this point because his roles and important actions in legends have already been filled in Canon”
“Exactly. The only way to bring him back and have him be anything like the man we knew, at this point, would be to change the time he lives in - post-Sequel, or back into the Old or High Republic. Then they can do the whole poetic rhyming thing, harkening back toAndor,Rebelsand whatnot, in the new setting.”
Kyle is one of several characters who fit that “Han Solo-esque” character archetype for when fans want a cool and gruff smuggler-type but Han himself isn’t around. This also includesShadows of the Empire’s Dash Rendar, who humorously re-entered canon himself as a bit of a joke character in the journal bookSolo: A Star Wars Story: Tales from Vandorby Jason Fry. Interestingly, some have claimed thatJaylen is channeling Kyle Katarn inStar Wars: Outlawstoo, further pushing the idea that Kyle himself is very much his own character worth seeing again.
How, when, or even if Kyle Katarn returns toStar Warscanon is still anyone’s guess. But given how his games have seen some resurgence in popularity lately, maybe that uncertainty is soon to dissipate. After all, one can only keep a beard that epic under wraps for so long.
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Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space, including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other mediums like comics, video games, TV shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.
