Star Wars has revealed a first look at the prequel novel for the upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Survivor video game.
One of the most successful Star Wars stories in recent years outside of the realm of Disney+ has been 2019's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
The game introduced audiences to Cal Kestis, a Jedi Padawan who survived Order 66 and finds himself squaring off against the Empire and its Inquisitors.
Earlier this year, the game's sequel title was revealed as Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. However, this newly launched franchise doesn't plan to limit its storytelling to games alone.
To tide fans over between now and the sequel's release, Star Wars announced a Cal Kestis book to connect the original game to its next chapter.
And now, more details about this prequel book have been revealed, along with its cover art.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Prequel Book Revealed
After announcing a book inspired by Cal Kestis was on the way, Star Wars just revealed new information about the upcoming novel, Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars, which is set between the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and the upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Survivor games.
According to the novel's description, Cal Kestis has formed a family-like bond with "Merrin, Cere, Greez, and faithful droid BD-1," the crew of the Stinger Mantis:
"Cal Kestis has built a new life for himself with the crew of the Stinger Mantis. Together, Cal’s crew has brought down bounty hunters, defeated Inquisitors, and even evaded Darth Vader himself. More importantly, Merrin, Cere, Greez, and faithful droid BD-1 are the closest thing Cal has had to a family since the fall of the Jedi Order. Even as the galaxy’s future grows more uncertain by the day, with each blow struck against the Empire, the Mantis crew grows more daring."
However, things take a turn when the team crosses paths with a stormtrooper deserter with "word of a powerful, potentially invaluable tool" to fight the Empire.
The problem? Their pursuit will set them on a collision course with "the Inquisitor known as the Fifth Brother:"
"On what should be a routine mission, they meet a stormtrooper determined to chart her own course with the help of Cal and the crew. In exchange for help starting a new life, the Imperial deserter brings word of a powerful, potentially invaluable tool for their fight against the Empire. And even better, she can help them get to it. The only catch — pursuing it will bring them into the path of one of the Empire’s most dangerous servants, the Inquisitor known as the Fifth Brother."
The question Battle Scars presents is whether "the Imperial deserter" can be trusted and "how many times can they evade the Empire before their luck runs out:"
"Can the Imperial deserter truly be trusted? And while Cal and his friends have survived run-ins with the Inquisitors before, how many times can they evade the Empire before their luck runs out?"
The book's cover art features Cal Kestis alongside the Mantis crew, but with the Fifth Brother against a background of red looming over the Padawan and his team.
Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars, written by Sam Maggs, arrives on March 7, 2023.
Why is Cal Kestis Jumping From Game to Book?
Due to Cal Kestis' popularity, choosing to explore more of his story in a different medium may prove to be a smart move on Lucasfilm's part.
Not only is it good for Star Wars publishing, but it will also help promote Survivor and possibly recruit more Star Wars fans to the games themselves.
Still, this isn't the first time one of this franchise's characters has appeared in a different Star Wars project.
The Fifth Brother who first made his debut in Star Wars Rebels also made the jump to live-action this year in Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+.
Also, Cal's trusty droid, BD-1 - or a BD unit like him - cameoed in The Book of Boba Fett.
Given this precedent and Lucasfilm's continued attempts to blur the lines between mediums, many expect Cal to cameo in a future Disney+ project one day.
But in the meantime, this Padawan's story looks to continue in Battle Scars before unfolding even more in the highly-anticipated Star Wars Jedi: Survivor in 2023.
