Disney Shut Down Star Wars 1313 And Made The Mandalorian Instead
When the Disney/Lucasfilm merger was finalized in 2013, there was significant tumult around Star Wars projects that had been in the works. Fans were dealt a blow when word came that Disney was shuttering the venerable LucasArts game company.
That meant around 150 employees were laid off and both of the company’s in-the-works projects — Star Wars 1313 and Star Wars: Final Assault — had been canceled. It was part of an overall restructuring of all things Star Wars as Disney geared up for the new trilogy and the inevitable associated media avalanche.
It was particularly disappointing in the case of Star Wars 1313, a very promising-looking third-person shooter that was described as “Uncharted meets Star Wars.” It would have cast players in the role of a bounty hunter blasting his way across the seedy underbelly of the city planet Coruscant.
Check out the trailer for Star Wars 1313 below and join us in mourning what could have been.
Reporting at the time noted that there was a slim chance that either or both of the games could be outsourced and completed by other publishers, but Kotaku’s sources say that’s extremely unlikely.
But as with many things in Hollywood, and especially in Star Wars, good ideas often don’t go to waste. That was the case with Star Wars 1313. The bones of that game essentially ended up becoming The Mandalorian, the series that kickstarted the Star Wars franchise on Disney+.
The core concept of Star Wars 1313 revolved around exploring the seedy criminal underworld of the Star Wars galaxy through the lens of a bounty hunter protagonist, initially intended to be Boba Fett.
This gritty, morally ambiguous tone and focus on the bounty hunter lifestyle directly align with the premise of The Mandalorian. Leaked concept art and gameplay footage from Star Wars 1313 showcased environments, character designs, and gameplay mechanics strikingly similar to those in the live-action series.
From the look of the Mandalorian bounty hunter to the dingy, neon-lit underbelly settings, it’s clear the creators of The Mandalorian drew heavy inspiration from the ill-fated Star Wars 1313 project.
Was it a bummer when 1313 was canceled? Sure, but we possibly got something much, much better instead.
