“[That name] was only supposed to be a nickname or call sign, not a proper name from the beginning,” a former LucasArts employee told Game Informer in 2015, with another developer who worked on The Force Unleashed recounting how the team tried to convince Lucas to give Starkiller a “Darth” moniker, a title that would give their game’s main character “more credibility.” Although Lucas didn’t often bestow the coveted “Darth” name to characters unless they were in the movies (with a few exceptions), he agreed with The Force Unleashed team. But what these developers didn’t expect was that his suggested “Darth” names would be so terrible.
“He threw out ‘Darth Icky’ and ‘Darth Insanius,’” the Force Unleashed developer told Game Informer. “There was a pregnant pause in the room after that. People waiting for George to say ‘just kidding,’ but it never comes, and he just moved on to another point.”
Star Wars is of course known for a tradition of ridiculous space names but “Darth Icky” was where the development team felt the line should be drawn. According to Game Informer, the team convinced Lucas that they should wait until a sequel to finally give Starkiller a “Darth” name, putting the matter to rest. The subject was never revisited, per the outlet.
Whether Lucas was ultimately happy with Starkiller and The Force Unleashed is another story. A developer at Red Fly Studio told Game Informer in 2015 that before the team went to pitch their idea for a Darth Maul video game to Lucas, they were told “not to mention Starkiller” during the meeting. According to the outlet, Lucas preferred to only refer to Starkiller as “that guy.”
It’s no surprise, then, that even at the time, The Force Unleashed was apparently never considered a canon story within Lucasfilm, instead existing outside of the continuity set up by the movies and TV series. But even if Lucas later wanted to throw the game in the rancor pit, it’s never truly gone away. This week, it’s even getting a re-release on the Nintendo Switch.
Sam Witwer, the actor who portrayed Starkiller in both The Force Unleashed games, as well as Darth Maul in The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series, has fond memories of working on these games.
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