Full Series The Force Unleashed and it's role in Rebels

Vorax · Apr 6, 2015

I rather liked one of the early storylines for TFU which featured Leia and Master Ti as her bodyguard:

The first draft of the story took many months of development before it was ready to be presented to George Lucas. In the initial story, much of the setup remains the same as in the final game. The tale opens several years after Episode III, with the Empire nearing the height of its power. The Apprentice is assigned with hunting down and killing any Jedi who have escaped the Jedi Purge, and receives his training and missions directly from Vader, who claims to be grooming the Apprentice to help him defeat the Emperor and take over the galaxy. The Apprentice has no contact with other Imperials - Vader warns that if the Apprentice's existence is discovered, the Emperor would kill them both. But the Apprentice is not entirely alone - he has a sadistic droid sidekick who ferries him around the galaxy and repairs the Apprentice after each mission. From this point, the original and final storylines diverge sharply. After a number of successful missions, the Apprentice is sent to the planet Alderaan to kill a Jedi, revealed as Master Shaak Ti, who is serving as the bodyguard for the Royal Family and specifically charged with watching over a very young Princess Leia. The Apprentice confronts and kills Shaak Ti, an act witnessed by Leia. The Apprentice can't bring himself to kill the girl, despite the fact that she has seen his face. He flees Alderaan, but is soon brutally ambushed and seemingly killed by Darth Vader - and a shadowy "dark Jedi" working alongside the Dark Lord.

In a metaphysical "netherworld of the Force," the Apprentice encounters the spirit of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who guides the Apprentice from the brink of death and becomes his mentor and advisor. When the Apprentice regains consciousness, he finds himself safely aboard his starship and learns he was rescued from Imperials by his loyal droid sidekick. Unfortunately, the droid was forced to keep the Apprentice in stasis until he could find the right parts for the necessary repairs. The Apprentice is horrified to learn that roughly ten years have passed since his apparent death.

Fueled by a desire for revenge, but also guided by the spirit of Qui-Gon, the former Apprentice begins a mission to topple the Empire. During this quest, the protagonist learns that Vader was secretly training two apprentices simultaneously: the main character the mysterious dark Jedi who helped in the ambush. Vader had sent them on similar missions to gauge who was more ruthless and competent. Although Vader had no knowledge of Princess Leia's true heritage, he viewed the protagonist's inability to strike her down as a failure, which prompted his attack on his former apprentice. In the ten years that have passed, the dark Jedi who stood at the Dark Lord's side during the ambush has become Darth Vader's true apprentice, and the two are now preparing to overthrow the Emperor together.

The hero's quest also leads him to the fledgling Rebel Alliance. When the former Apprentice first meets Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and other founders of the Alliance, the group is just a political ideal rather than an army. The Apprentice agrees to help the Alliance in exchange for information and because it provides him with an opportunity to strike back at Vader and the Empire. However, he also starts to form bonds with Bail and his daughter - who doesn't recognize the rebuilt Apprentice as Shaak Ti's murderer.

The story reaches its climax when the hero intercepts a transmission from the Dark Lord to his new apprentice. Vader has uncovered proof that Bail and Princess Leia are leading the Rebellion, and he sends his apprentice to kill the Organas. The hero agrees to protect Leia, knowing that this will both pit him against Vader's new lackey and perhaps atone for the death of Shaak Ti.

The final clash between the hero and Vader's new apprentice takes place amid the battle referenced in the text crawl for A New Hope. Leia receives the Death Star plans, and the protagonist must help her escape by defeating Vader's new apprentice. After this climatic battle, Vader arrives. Rather than immediately attack, Vader claims that he only betrayed the hero because he wanted him to become even more powerful by embracing hatred, and seeking revenge and becoming "truly Sith." Vader offers the hero the change to become his apprentice once again. The hero is faced with a choice: stand with Leia and confront Vader, allowing the Rebels to escape; or join forces with Vader to destroy the Alliance. What the player chooses at this pivotal moment determines the outcome of the game and the fate of the galaxy.
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-The Art and Making of Star Wars Force Unleashed

Lucas's main issues was that he was uncomfortable with the use of Leia in a starring role, and he explained that Vader doesn't learn of Leia's affiliation with the Rebel Alliance until Episode IV. Lucas also wanted them to be more vague about the timeline of the game of when it took place. He did not approve of the game ending with the battle referenced in Episode's IV's crawl. He mainly encouraged to create new characters to fulfill pivotal and archetypal roles in the story. But he did not reject the concept of using Qui-Gon Jinn guiding the apprentice but he stressed a need for a flesh and blood Jedi mentor as well. He also wanted toe droid sidekick to be more for comic relief and wanted an actual female love interest for the hero.

DANNASUK · Apr 6, 2015

TFU had so much potential; not all of it should be trashed - Rebels needs to incorporate some of it. The idea of Vader manipulating the rebels behind the scenes and leading to the Rebel Alliance was a really good story. Alas, seems it will be trashed.

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Full Series The Force Unleashed and it's role in Rebels

Vorax Jedi Grand Master

DANNASUK Force Ghost