Star Wars Won’t Be Bringing Its Best Character To Live Action?
Star Wars actor Cameron Monaghan says he doesn't know of any plans to bring Cal Kestis to live action.
In recent years, fan reception to new Star Wars content has been decidedly mixed. However, fans really enjoyed the character of Cal Kestis in the Star Wars video game Jedi: Fallen Order and were hoping to see this character make his live-action debut. However, in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kestis actor Cameron Monaghan cast serious doubt on his character making the transition to live-action, saying: “What happens or where Star Wars wants to go from there is anybody’s guess, but I can say I love Cal and it’s been a joy finding him over the past few years. So we’ll see.”
While this isn’t a firm “no,” it does seem to indicate that Disney is not as enthusiastic about bringing this character into a movie or television series as much as the fans are.
Previously, Disney has taken baby steps in bringing the world of Cal Kestis to more Star Wars fans. The biggest step was when the Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ gave us a look at the headquarters of the intimidating Inquisitors. This was a location previously teased to readers of the Darth Vader comic before making its proper debut in the game Jedi: Fallen Order.
Due to the popularity of the character and Disney’s apparent enthusiasm for adding game elements into live-action as they did with the headquarters, fans were understandably hopeful that we would see Cal Kestis in Star Wars content outside of the games. In particular, Disney+ has shown a willingness to focus on fan-favorite characters by giving them their own series. This is true of characters like Boba Fett and Cassian Andor, and it really seemed like this was going to be Cal’s time to shine.
While it’s upsetting to hear there are no live-action plans for Cal Kestis (at least, none that Monaghan is aware of or ready to disclose), this doesn’t mean you have to wait very long to see him again. On March 23, gamers will be able to play Jedi: Survivor, a direct sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order. That game will further flesh out the story of Kestis and his unique place within this universe, and Monaghan mentioned in the interview that his top priority is providing a “satisfying arc” for fans of his character to enjoy.
Interestingly, the actor addressed the idea of the new game dealing with the dark side (so to speak) of his character’s development. He mentioned that Cal Kestis is a character shaped by years of war and conflict in the Star Wars universe and that this trauma has affected both the way that he sees the world and the way that he interacts with others. And Monaghan said that the sequel game will provide a chance “to explore a mature story” that is more “challenging” and “darker” than what we faced before.
While Cal Kestis fans would love to see him in live-action sooner rather than later, it sounds like his next Star Wars game will give them plenty to chew on. Plus, if this game proves to be as big a hit as the first one, we will be even likelier to get the character in a show or a movie. Let’s just hope Disney doesn’t wait so long that they have to use The Force (or at least, creepy computer magic) to de-age Cameron Monaghan into a youthful Jedi survivor!
