Might-have-beens: A Ben Skywalker video game?

Ben Skywalker (Legends)Here’s a bullet I’m glad we dodged back in the day: Jordan Maison at Cinelinx reports of an Episode VII game idea that was floating around Lucasfilm in late 2004.

Episode VII: Shadows of the Sith would have put you in the role of an adult Ben Skywalker,” Haden explained, “who was walking the line between the light and dark sides of the Force, unleashing new Force powers never-before-seen in games or movies as he investigated a new threat to the galaxy (a Solo…).

The now decanonized Ben Skywalker was born close to the middle of the New Jedi Order series, in 2001’s Edge of Victory: Rebirth. At the time the idea was in play, The New Jedi Order series had ended with The Unifying Force almost a year before, with Ben still a toddler. His next appearance was the Dark Nest trilogy, which began with The Joiner King in July 2005.

The Solo could have been either Jacen and Jaina Solo, or the offspring of either. (Jacen did have a daughter, Allana, who was born during the Dark Nest trilogy.) It’s possible this idea fed into Legacy of the Force, which did turn Jacen into a Sith, but given the state of Lucasfilm collaboration at the time and the broadness of the idea, I wouldn’t bet on it.

Note again: This was just a pitch/concept, which makes it an interesting might-have-been, nothing more.

The idea of Episode VII being a game just doesn’t sit right at all… But if the game had made it to production I doubt that would have remained the title. Still, it’s interesting to imagine what we might have gotten if this had been in play for the increasingly disappointing final years of the Legends novels.

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