The short teaser trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor gives potential players very few leads on where the story will go, but it does feature a mysterious dark side character who could be a resurrected ancient threat. In the trailer, Cal Kestis and BD-1 approach a bacta tank that appears to have been undisturbed for many years. Survivor's predecessor, Fallen Order, has already established a penchant for sending Cal into ancient ruins, and awakening a dormant Sith Lord would be an unexpected turn.
Throughout Fallen Order, primary destinations for the player include the ruins of an ancient civilization known as the Zeffo, named after the species' home planet. Deceased Jedi Master Eno Cordova hid a holocron containing the locations of Force-sensitive children inside a Zeffo vault on Bogano, prompting Cal to seek more ruins in search of the vault's key. The planet Zeffo lies in ruins because of the Empire conducting an excavation project in search of powerful artifacts created by the species. Zeffo sages had command over the Force, but corruption from the dark side largely lead to the civilization's downfall, and it remains unclear if any of the species survived after an exodus from the galaxy.
Fallen Order has already established that Cal has a knack for dredging up the past, but the dark side user featured in the trailer probably isn't as ancient as the Zeffo. Although unconfirmed, the character submerged in bacta appears to be a dark side user, evidence being the black tendrils seen on their shoulder. Close connection with the dark side is known to cause physical changes (most commonly a yellowing of the eyes), and breakdowns of the Jedi: Survivor trailer have presumed the person in the bacta tank and the red lightsaber wielder to be one and the same. Plants growing around the bacta tank support a theory in which this unknown character comes from a bygone era, kept in stasis on a forgotten planet.
Jedi: Survivor's New Villain Could Be From The High Republic
With so little information on this mysterious dark side user, it's difficult to determine where on the Star Wars timeline they might come from. The dark, overgrown facility implies they've been submerged for quite some time, and the bacta tank itself may be a clue. Bacta is a gelatinous medical substance used throughout the franchise, and was invented in the High Republic era. On the Star Wars timeline, the High Republic is a time period of just over two centuries that ends 50 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. Jedi: Survivor's bacta tank occupant doesn't necessarily have to be from the High Republic, but the presence of the medicinal liquid indicates that this person can't be older than approximately 300 years, even though it's unclear what year exactly bacta was invented.
Admittedly, it's also unclear if something akin to longterm bacta hibernation is even possible. Darth Vader is known to have used a bacta tank frequently in hopes that it would eventually repair his lungs, but potentially decades-long preservation is an entirely different matter. Game director Stig Asmussen has, however, teased that characters from different eras will meet during Jedi: Survivor's darker story, telling the official Star Wars website, "[Cal and the Stinger Mantis crew] are making connections with people that, in other times, might be considered unsavory." Asmussen goes on to say, "Some of that is portrayed in the trailer," potentially referring to the person in the bacta tank. It's a rather cryptic statement to parse, but during the Galactic Empire, a powerful dark side user likely wouldn't be unsavory, as long as they cooperate as part of an organization like the Inquisitorius.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's Subtitle Could Refer To A Sith
The game's title, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, quite plainly refers to Cal, survivor of the Great Jedi Purge and even an encounter with Vader, but the teaser's focus on the character in the bacta tank could mean the "Survivor" subtitle actually refers to multiple people. Luckily, from the High Republic to the time Jedi: Survivor takes place, there is plenty of room for Respawn Entertainment to invent a new Sith character. For a thousand years the Sith have been in hiding, abiding by the Rule of Two to avoid downfall by widespread infighting. There are theoretically any number of situations by which a Sith Lord could have survived and hidden in a bacta tank to await discovery.
The planet on which Cal finds the bacta tank appears desolate from the glimpses offered in the teaser - if the shots looking out of the Stinger Mantis cockpit are from the same planet. It tracks that a Sith bacta tank would be in an isolated ruin. Before the Rule of Two, when the much larger Sith Order fell, the Jedi attempted to essentially erase their enemy from history. It's possible that Jedi: Survivor's older Cal Kestis has found an ancient Sith installation, previously only known to the few dark side users that existed in the shadows of the High Republic. Such a place would be an ideal location for someone hoping to avoid detection while grievous wounds heal.
This theory is all speculation, but it does support some of the Empire's established motivations from Fallen Order. If Palpatine is ordering excavations of ancient Zeffo ruins, there's no reason to assume he wouldn't also be interested in the relics of the Sith. Having Cal delve into more buried tombs and temples provides gameplay continuity, and follows a similar narrative thread to that of Fallen Order's holocron needing to be kept from Imperial hands. Exploring ancient sites steeped in the dark side also provides an opportunity to further explore Cal's Force Echo ability, where troubling visions could be the impetus for the sequel's continued use of Clone Wars flashbacks.
Cal interrupting more Imperial excavations could also explain why he's drawn the attention of the senate. The teaser shows a squad of Stormtroopers bringing Cal's lightsaber to the office of a Pau'an senator. Hunting Jedi is a task typically reserved for Inquisitors, so Cal has likely been meddling in other Imperial affairs if he's being pursued by a senator. Vines growing around the bacta tank imply it isn't an Imperial installation, which are usually polished and sleek. If Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's dark side character isn't an Inquisitor, nor a fallen Jedi like the first game's Taron Malicos, it's possible they are a more ancient evil, maybe even a Sith Lord.
Source: Star Wars