"A Legend Remade"

We've all seen the trailer.

The KOTOR Remake is going to look very different than the original. The visuals, yes, but I'm referring to the plot, lore, and story. The game is being made for the canon timeline. It will not be a remake of the EU classic.

The Canon timeline and history of the Old Republic is already vastly different than EU history. Wars, characters, and events that happened in the EU never happened in canon. For example the EU Republic is 25,000 years old while in canon it’s only 1000. That’s 24,000 years of history, wars, and characters that don’t exist in canon. KOTOR took place in ~3900 BBY but was heavily influenced and impacted (via flash backs, ancient spirits, artifacts, references) to the Mandalorian Wars, Exar Kun War, Great Sith war, Great Hyperspace War, 2nd Great Schism, Rakatan Infinite Empire, Krath Holy Crusade, Unification Wars, etc.

All of which never happened in canon.

In order to properly fit KOTOR into a canon timeline 90% of the actual plot will need to be changed, and by the time they’ve made a canon version it will look nothing like the original with the exception of the names and designs of the characters...if they even choose to do that.

For example: Revan is a human male who looks Keanu Reeves, but that may change.

This has many EU fans very worried because a KOTOR story does not belong in canon. It would not fit....unless canon decides to retcon their entire continuity, which they’ve done before with the sequels. The common analogy is of a child playing with a puzzle set. The puzzle has holes shaped to a square, circle, triangle, star, etc. with matching wooden blocks to fit in side. The child tries to fit the rectangle block in a circle hole. It doesn’t fit, so the child grabs a mallet and forces the rectangle to fit by smashing it into the circle hole. Eventually the puzzle board shatters. The "child" is Disney. The "shattered puzzle" is continuity, and future events in the timeline are splintered.

Jordan Maison, a writer for Cineline wrote an article about a KOTOR remake back in January 23, 2020, saying:

They felt it wasn’t so much a remake, but a “sequel” of sorts. It would be a Knights of the Old Republic project that would integrate elements from the first two games in order to bring certain things into the current Star Wars canon. Not necessarily a remake, so much as a re-imagining.

This worries me. It would be one thing for Lucasfilm to come out and say "Hey fans, we're going to remake KOTOR with all new modern graphics, updated maps, and re-do the combat so it will play like a modern 3rd person shooter/slasher, but other than that, we're going to keep it true to the original with the same plot, characters, and background." Obviously, the game would not fit into Disney's canon, but the game would respect the original fan base, honor the characters, and sale exceptionally well. However, this is not what Lucasfilm is doing. It is very clear they are making an entirely new game, only similar in name and appearance. The actual plot will be nothing like the original simply because they are trying to fit it into the canon timeline, which is fundamentally different than the universe that the OG KOTOR and Revan were created for.

Lucasfilm WILL bastardize who Revan is. They will bastardize the era beyond recognition so they can push their own broken continuity and storyline onto fans and champion Revan as their own. They've done it time and time again. What makes you think this will be any different?

Here are a list of grievances that should concern you.

200 years before the movies, during the High Republic era, people were still figuring out how hyperspace works. 200 years before the movies they are just now figuring this stuff out! KOTOR is 3900+ years before the films. Hyperspace has been a thing for thousands of years. The galaxy has already largely been discovered and Republic hyperspace lanes have been well established for centuries.

Current Lucasfilm leadership has already made it clear that they don't care about continuity. For example, in Alphabet Squadron (a canon novel) one particular planet was stated to be the center of politics in the galaxy 200 years ago, yet in the High Republic series (200 years ago), the planet is practically nonexistent.

The entire project is bait. Yes, it looks awesome, but it's all marketing to make people buy and obsess over it.

Additionally, one of the developers in charge of the new game have been exposed. Old tweets have resurfaced and it is clear that she has no love for the original KOTOR. No respect.

When James Luceno was working on the Tarkin novel he did what every good EU author did when writing a book. Research. He'd research past material and lore to ensure the Tarkin he wrote in his book was consistent and in line with the stories that came before. However, once Disney bought SW they told Luceno to forget everything about Tarkin's background and history and scrap his research.

Timothy Zahn once explained that his Canon Thrawn and the original EU Thrawn were two different characters. He expressed how nice it was to "get to do things differently this time around", in reference to writing a new version of Thrawn.

Another text book example is Canon "Quinlan Vos"...who is "Quinlan Vos" only in name and appearance. Other than that, he's an entirely separate character with an entirely new origin, behavior,  beliefs and attitude. Ironically, John Ostrander, the original creator of Quinlan Vos in the EU was never given credit for inventing the character in future Disney publications. Such treatment by Disney proves just how off the mark a canon copy cat can be.

These are just a few examples, and consider; relative to KOTOR, Thrawn is a much more straight forward and simple character. KOTOR is an entire era. Just imagine how different things will be.

Furthermore, Bioware (the creator of KOTOR and SWTOR) is entirely absent from the project and Bioware is still producing and making new SWTOR content. How can Bioware be putting out original Revan content and not be included in the KOTOR remake project. Update 6.2 (Echoes of Oblivion/Vengeance) was released just last December, yet despite the fact they were just putting out new Revan content, they were never consulted by Lucasfilm. You know what this tells us? Disney does not care about staying true to the OG Revan. They won't even take the effort to ask Bioware (the original creator of Revan) and the SWTOR crew (who've been putting out Revan content to this very day) for assistance on their KOTOR remake. Disney and the executives at Lucasfilm clearly have no desire to stay true to the original. They want to recreate the era and characters in their own corrupt and illegitimate vision.

What's even more concerning, Drew Karpyshyn, the author of the Revan novel, hasn't said a word about the game......how......HOW does that make sense? You'd think he would have at least put out something on social media in response to the massive wave of casual fans drooling over a 10 second teaser.

Have we already forgotten that Disney shut down a fan remake of KOTOR just last year? Apeiron had been working on a remastered version of KOTOR with modern graphics. Though the project was fan mad, the modern graphics looked phenomenal. Unfortunately, Disney shut them down. While a handful of writers at Lucasfilm appreciate and support the EU, the executives in control of Lucasfilm never cared about "Legends". They've always stood against EU fans.

While the teaser's music, graphics, and aesthetic all hit and looked incredible, the game is not going to be the same. Canon's "Revan" and "Knights of the Old Republic" will not be the same. Those EU fans who cherish continuity, Revan, and the Old Republic? This game is not for them. The KOTOR "remake" is designed to appeal to the casual, ignorant, bandwagon, canon fans who happened along a YouTube video or article about KOTOR and Revan. The project is no different than the Bad Batch. It exists to milk the casual fans and push Disney Canon propaganda, with no respect for the EU and what come before. They are only using Revan to make money, they have no plans to revive and restore the classic stories and characters. If they did, they would have already done so by picking up where they left off. They would not have lied to fans who had been loyal for decades. They would not have abandoned countless unfinished stories.

The Positive

Of course, I hope the game will stay true to the characters and lore, but I've already explained how such an outcome is impossible, but not all hope is lost. The KOTOR remake will help introduce new fans to the EU. Many casual fans will see the KOTOR remake and take interest. They may watch a YouTube video on Revan and begin to ask questions. They'll want to learn more about the characters and lore. This game will open up that opportunity. As hardcore EU fans, we can help the casual canon fans understand the EU and share the passion we have for the universe we all love, whether it be by comics, books, or video games. Disney can have their money, but we'll be left with something greater. A growing community of passionate and curious EU fans interested in the great legends of the Old Republic. Revan, Lord Scourge, Meetra Surik, Darth Malak, Zayne Carrick, Ulic Qel-Droma, Exar Kun, Arca Jeth, Odan Urr, Freedon Nadd, Naga Sadow, Marka Ragnos, Tenebrae, Ajunta Pall, Tulak Hord, and countless others. After all, it is their stories and legacies that have kept us united and thriving as a community for the past 7 years. Why stop now?

Thoughts please? Agree, disagree?

I think that the game is going to be utter shit, there is no hope considering who is in charge of it.

The game won't be Canon