It’s 2026, and the hype train for the next Star Wars Jedi game is already barreling down the tracks at lightspeed. After the runaway success of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, the franchise has cemented itself as the galaxy’s premier Souls-lite adventure series. But here’s the kicker: with each sequel improving on its predecessor by leaps and bounds, Respawn Entertainment now finds itself in a proper pickle. The spine of the whole affair is Cal Kestis’ Force abilities, and how the team handles them in the third outing is going to be a real make-or-break moment.

Let’s rewind a bit. Fallen Order dropped us into the boots of a former Padawan who could barely summon a Force push without breaking a sweat 💦. Cal had severed his connection to the Force, and the whole game was this beautiful slow-burn rebuild—scraping back abilities like a hungry loth-cat scrounging for scraps. It was classic Soulslike satisfaction: you start off as a nobody who can’t even parry a scout trooper, and by the credits, you’re pulling Star Destroyers out of the sky (okay, maybe not quite, but you get the vibe). Then Survivor came along and said, “Hold my blue milk.”

From the very first Coruscant rooftop, Cal was already a beast. All the Force powers he’d recovered in the first game were there from the jump—Push, Pull, Slow, you name it. Throw in the slick Ascension Cable and a handful of new lightsaber stances, and combat turned into a sandbox of elegant, Jedi-flavored violence. It was an instant dopamine hit, and honestly, going back to Fallen Order now feels like trading a swoop bike for a rusty speeder. Respawn knocked it out of the park, but they’ve also painted themselves into a corner. Now, every gamer worth their kyber crystal is asking the same question: What on earth does the threequel do with Cal’s powers? 🎮

The bread-and-butter issue is basically a tightrope walk between two unappealing options. Option A: Nerf Cal into the ground. Maybe he loses his connection again, or gets captured and stripped of abilities. The story could justify it, sure, but after the power fantasy of Survivor, this would sting like a Wookiee’s smack. Players stuck with the franchise because they love feeling like a legit Jedi Knight, not a perpetual trainee. Starting from scratch a second time would be a tough sell—an “I’ve already climbed this hill, guys” moment that reeks of artificial padding. Option B: Buff him even further. Make Cal a Force-wielding demigod who can crush AT-STs with a thought. Sounds rad on paper, but then you’ve got a balancing nightmare. Soulslike combat thrives on vulnerability and clever enemy design. If Cal can breeze through everything, the tension evaporates faster than a puddle on Tatooine.

There’s a third road, of course, and whispers are already filling the HoloNet about it: swap the protagonist. The end of Survivor left Cal and Merrin acting as guardians to Kata Akuna, a kid with her own tragic backstory and a whole lot of potential. Passing the torch to Kata would be a Jedi mind trick of brilliant proportions. It lets Respawn reset the power curve naturally without undercutting Cal’s growth. Imagine starting off with a new protégé who’s raw and untested, learning the ropes while Cal and Merrin serve as mentors. That way, the gameplay loop keeps its satisfying zero-to-hero spice, and the story evolves in a direction that doesn’t have to bend over backward to explain why a Jedi Master suddenly forgot how to Force push. Plus, having a brand-new hero could inject fresh mechanics—maybe a blend of lightsaber combat and Nightsister magick inherited from Merrin? 🌟

Whatever path Respawn chooses, the stakes are sky-high in 2026. The gaming landscape is packed with heavy hitters, and the Jedi series has carved out a unique niche blending cinematic storytelling with crunchy, deliberate combat. If the third game nerfs Cal, it risks alienating its core fans. If it over-buffs him, it loses the delicious friction that makes these games so memorable. Kata represents a wildcard, but even that pivot needs to be handled with surgical precision. One thing’s for sure: after Survivor set the bar so high, the next chapter can’t afford to be anything less than a home run. The Force is strong with this franchise—let’s hope Respawn doesn’t cross the wrong wires.