The PS2 adaptation of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith has a hidden, alternate ending that opens, “You underestimate the power of the Dark Side.” Anakin Skywalker leaps over Obi-Wan Kenobi, landing behind him to slide his blue lightsaber into his back before callously kicking him down the ashy hillsides of Mustafar. He lands in a spot where, in another reality, Anakin himself was the one who lay screaming with his limbs torn asunder. Later on, the Emperor praises his apprentice and hands him a red lightsaber before Anakin turns on his master, killing him as well. Startled, clone troopers point their weapons at the ready. Ultimately, however, they don’t fire as Anakin proclaims that the galaxy belongs to him. It’s not canon, but it sure is exciting.
‘Canon’ has become this horrendous box that confines creators, limiting their storytelling potential to established events and characters. To get a job working on Star Wars, you have to fit into this rigid universe and set of rules. There’s limited wiggle room unless you’re handed the reigns to an entirely new era such as the High Republic, and even then you can’t go balls to the wall without offending the die-hard fans who have spent their lives scrutinizing every single reference from obscure comics to filler episodes of The Clone Wars. There’s no way that writers, producers, or directors can sift through all of this content and still have time to make the film, show, or whatever it is they’re creating. It’s a daft expectation and why people like Dave Filoni are propped up on pedestals for ‘understanding’ Star Wars – no, he just has way too much time and does nothing else.
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I’m gonna say it – canon is boring. Sequels following on from one another are fun, as are spin-offs that expand upon these stories. However, ridiculously expansive universes have proven a headache to keep up with in recent years. I truly do miss the Wild West that was the pre-Disney era of Star Wars where fans just contradicted one another and it was up to you to pick your favorite interpretation of events. The Clone Wars was, at one point, all about the mass production of evil Jedi. It was absurd, but it was allowed to be made because creators were free to put their own spin on things, no matter how unique or outlandish it might be. A film eventually came out and did just that while becoming the accepted interpretation – the ‘canon.’ The Clone Wars was a conflict where one side was made up of clones, the other droids. It’s a bit boring if you ask me. Mass-produced evil Jedi are far more entertaining, but it ain’t canon so nobody gives a crap anymore. What’s ‘canon’ or not is dictated by the studios at the tippity top. So, it’s refreshing that Disney has come along and changed its tune for once with Star Wars Visions, a collection of anime shorts that won’t be considered canon at all. It’s completely independent, using the familiarity of Star Wars to form its own take on things with none of the baggage.
Yet, I hope it’s not all that Disney does. 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 was an expected story. You play as an Imperial Trooper doing dodgy stuff but then have an epiphany the second your Empire collapses. That’s some convenient timing. Rather than committing to the bit and keeping you as the morally dubious band of Imperials, you become the hero, and that doesn’t have much impact. At no point are we able to abandon the canonical narrative and use the game as a sandbox for inventive storytelling like in Revenge of the Sith. We’ve seen that movie, we’ve seen how it pans out and how it ends. The game then gives us an alternative, a what-if story: what if Anakin beat Obi-Wan? Turns out, he had his sights set on killing ol’ Palpatine and going power-hungry. Though, I guess being strapped into an all-black electric conductor suit dampens ambition, aye?
The Revenge of the Sith game mostly follows the canon but it also sprinkles in little tidbits like this alternate ending. Battlefront 2 could’ve done something similar. Imagine, for a moment, that there’s a possibility of losing the Battle of Jakku, the finale of the Empire’s story. From that, we could have a little montage, whether it be animated – akin to the alternate character endings from Injustice 2 and Mortal Kombat 11 – or rendered in-game. Perhaps, we’d see that winning the Battle of Jakku would’ve been a turning point for the collapsing Empire, a victory that gave them the upper hand once more, enough to crush the rising New Republic in their tracks. We could’ve seen Thrawn take over this new Empire or perhaps one of the Emperor’s first clones. It could’ve done anything – that’s the fun of not being canon. Dice could have just gone wild. Disney doesn’t want to ‘confuse’ fans by muddying the waters, but that’s ridiculous. Loki – another Disney property – has just proven that you can really go all out with fanciful elseworld stories that branch away from the ‘Sacred Timeline.’
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga embraced as much with its achievements. You get one hilariously titled “Nobody Expects…” for killing – sorry, ‘destroying’ – the Emperor with Kit Fisto. Knights of the Old Republic, being a BioWare RPG, had multiple endings. One gets chosen as ‘canon’ but we’re still able to play around with another. Jedi: Fallen Order, by contrast, is very strict in its linear storytelling. We get to choose the color of our lightsaber, and that’s about it. You can’t even turn the tides on Darth Vader and beat him in a ridiculously tough duel, one that clearly shows you shouldn’t be pushing for it, to unlock an alternate ending. Gaming is the perfect medium to play around with ‘canon’ by going above and beyond the expectations that films are seemingly bound to, as much as animated shows are a neat vehicle for that leeway.
Canon is a constriction on creativity and results in these shared universes feeling so samey and repetitive because no risks are being taken beyond what we already know and expect. It’s why Doctor Who is so appealing to me. Each new creator can come in and do whatever they like. There are rules that have been laid out in the past but even these are broken by the people that helped create them.
Doctor Who’s canon can be summed up by the fact that Atlantis has been destroyed three different times in its history, while the Doctor has regularly broken the rules of time that they themselves refuse to break in certain episodes because of the repercussions that, in some instances, simply never come. It’s a wibbly-wobbly mess of ‘who cares?’. It’s not abiding by the silly notion of canon. So long as its storytelling is somewhat linear, the writers can do whatever they want.
Imagine being asked to write a book by a publisher. It’s a chance to let your mind go to imaginative places that are unthought-of and so sublime that it’s a fantasy compared to the real world. However, there’s a caveat. The publisher gives you a fifty-year-old thick book of rules, stipulations, and history that you have to work within the parameters of. You can’t go against it, you can’t bend it, you have to work within these rules, while still telling a story that’s new and fresh. Your creativity is naturally going to be stifled, leading to these bog-standard, repetitive narratives that are so predictable. Gaming is a perfect vehicle to let creators go above and beyond that idea. RPGs, for instance, are all about choice. I hope video games start to explore outside of canon more so that we can experience what Star Wars can be when the creators are left to play around in this sandbox. That’s what worlds like this should be, putty to mold, not a Christmas tree to add ornaments onto.
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