With a new story trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief as Greez Dritus and Merrin made an appearance, signaling that the entire Stinger Mantis crew will be returning in the upcoming game. It is clear from the characters’ new designs that some big changes have been made. These changes take for form of updated character models as well as personal goals as Cal and his friends embark on the next stage of their story.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be kicking off five years after the ending of Fallen Order when the crew decided to destroy the holocron containing the names of Force-sensitive children. The tie-in novel Battle Scars by Sam Maggs acts as a bridge between the two Star Wars games taking place roughly at the midway point and setting up the story for Jedi: Survivor. The events of the novel serve to further emphasize that there have been some major developments in the five years since players last saw the characters.
All The Stinger Mantis Crew Members Have New Designs For Jedi: Survivor
All the Mantis crew now have new designs while still being recognizable as the same characters players loved in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. As with Cal Kestis and Cere Junda in the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor reveal trailer, Merrin and Greez look very different from how they appeared in Fallen Order. From clothes and hair to demeanor and attitude, there are some significant changes to the game’s crew for players to discover. New character designs are an excellent way to visually express internal character growth or evolution.
Cal's Jedi: Survivor Look Shows His Maturity
The most noticeable difference is in the more mature appearance of Star Wars Jedi’s protagonist, Cal Kestis. First seen in the reveal trailer, Cal now sports a short beard and has thankfully ditched the ponchos in favor of more practical bomber jackets. As revealed by EA Star Wars on Twitter, Cal’s look will be highly customizable, with players able to mix and match clothes, and IGN has confirmed new hairstyles for Cal too.
This new look is meant to drive home to players that Cal is older now, with different goals beyond just surviving. Fallen Order showed him overcoming trauma to reconnect with the Force, but notably being driven by vengeance at times. In Battle Scars, Cal almost gleefully tears through tens of mercenaries and bounty hunters, behavior that is decidedly not Jedi-like. In the latest Star Wars Jedi: Survivor trailer, Merrin can be heard warning Cal about "the fire," the internal conflict within, which she is seen struggling with in Battle Scars, and players should expect to see Cal struggling with in Survivor.
Merrin's Journey To Jedi: Survivor Has Not Been Easy
Merrin’s updated look for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor sees her with a neat new hairstyle, which looks very practical and low maintenance, perhaps meant to symbolize her shift in priorities. Her clothes now seem to be a mixture of her Nightsister heritage with more "modern" clothes, sticking to the black and red theme but allowing her to better blend in. Battles Scars sees her questioning her role within the team and looking for her own identity, and this new look serves as great visual storytelling in that regard.
The tie-in novel Battles Scars focuses a lot on Merrin, although all characters get chapters from their point of view. In the book, Merrin is struggling with her Nightsister magick, and in the latest Jedi: Survivor trailer is seen using both her usual green magic and the Force. It seems Cal or Cere may have been training her in the intervening years between Battle Scars and Jedi: Survivor.
Cere's New Look For Jedi: Survivor Speaks To Her New Found Peace
Cere was the first member of the Mantis crew seen other than Cal in the early trailers, and her appearance is perhaps one of the more drastic changes. Cere is now bald and has what looks like several tattoos across her arms and head, although the meaning behind them is unclear. They could be linked to her personal journey, the beginnings of which are hinted at in Battle Scars.
In Battle Scars, Cere begins to become interested in reclaiming lost Jedi artifacts, and given that in the Jedi: Survivor reveal trailer, she was in what looked like an archive, she appears to be following this goal. In the trailer, she remarks on Cal’s activities regarding the Empire, hinting at the two Jedi are on very different paths. Cere seems to have found some peace after reconciling her actions after Order 66 and reconnecting with the Force. This new serenity will no doubt provide an interesting counterpoint to Merrin and Cal’s "fire."
Jedi: Survivor Will Show Greez's Physical Transformation
Finally, Star Wars Jedi players will be cheering at seeing fan favorite Greez. His absence from the trailers may have been because of a significant change to the character's design prompted by events in Battle Scars. Respawn and EA likely wanted to wait until the novel was released before revealing Greez’s new look.
Greez looks very different, just like Cere, as he sports much longer hair and a more relaxed style. The most obvious change to the Latero is his missing arm, which is lost in Battle Scars during a fight with the Fifth Brother and has since been replaced with a prosthetic. In the story trailer, Greez is living on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's massive new planet Koboh, which is set to serve as a hub in-game. He appears to have retired, although one of the early game missions is to locate him, and as seen in the trailer, he is very happy to reunite with Cal, greeting him with a massive hug.
Changes to character designs in games are always risky, but the ones for Jedi: Survivor work so well as they make sense within the universe. All the characters have had their visual appearance updated to reflect not only the passage of time but the personal journeys they have been on. It is made immediately clear to players that it has been a rough five years for the crew, and their new appearances in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor reflect that wonderfully.
Sources: EA Star Wars/YouTube, EA Star War/Twitter, IGN