LEGO Game Expands The Force Awakens Lore, Respawn Entertainment Working on New Star Wars Game

New details have dropped regarding LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ brand-new story content which expands the film’s lore with levels where you hunt down Rathtars with Han and Chewie, as well as a story following Lor San Tekka prior to the film’s events, while the entire cast returns to voice their characters! Also, Respawn Entertainment (another EA studio) announced today they’re working on a new untitled Star Wars project. More on the LEGO TFA‘s new bits of story and some background on Respawn below!

Check out the trailer, where you get to hear Harrison Ford, as Han Solo, say, “…Wookiee cookies for Chewie.” With lines like that, and many more spoken by the original cast, you know these are going to be a blast!

Here’s the list of the six new bits of story being created exclusively for LEGO TFA (via THR):

Rathtar Hunting – Follows Han Solo and Chewbacca’s voyage to capture the ravenous Rathtars.

Lor San Tekka’s Return – Uncovers secrets behind Lor San Tekka’s journey to the Jakku Village.

Poe to the Rescue – Details Poe Dameron’s daring rescue mission to save Admiral Ackbar.

Crimson Corsair – Explores how the notorious Outer Rim pirate, the Crimson Corsair, foiled the plans of the First Order.

Trouble Over Taul – Follows the events leading up C-3PO’s acquisition of his new red arm.

Ottegan Assault – Reveals a puzzle piece to how the Resistance and the First Order find Lor San Tekka on Jakku.

Graham Goring, lead writer/story designer for TT games, the company behind the LEGO series of video games, spoke with both The Hollywood Reporter and TIME regarding the new content. Here are some choice quotes:

In regards to the canonicity of these new stories, “Well, it’s not really canon. If you watch the movie, it’s not like they’re not little Lego people. I think the word canon is a strong one to use.” But let’s say a new short story/comic/novel decided to adapt one of these stories, the adaptation and how it tells the tale would be canon. Until then, think of these as fun extensions to the film.
What it was like to write dialogue for the new scenes:

It is kind of crazy that, basically, everyone is back to reprise their roles. It is amazing. If you’d told me ten years ago that I’d be writing dialogue for Han Solo, and it would be performed by Harrison Ford, I’d be all, ‘get out of town and keep going out of town in very strong terms.’ [Laughs]

In the Ottegan level, you get to play as the First Order, namely Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma, as they’re hunting down Lor San Tekka just prior to the film. It’s interesting to note that while in the initial announcement of the game they made it sound like the new content would bridge the gaps between Return of the Jedi and TFA, in reality these are more closely associated to the “Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens” content, where they lead up into the film and don’t necessarily bridge 30 years of in-universe history. As Goring puts it, “All of these new adventures feed into the start of the movie. They kind of show where each character was just before the start.” Expectations officially tampered on getting some crazy level revealing Luke and his Jedi Order.

Overall though, LEGO TFA looks to be a fun game and I can’t wait to play it when it awakens on gaming systems near everyone June 28! UPDATE: Here my impressions from its demo.

The other bit of news released today revolves around another EA developer (who has exclusive rights to Star Wars games for 10 years) unveiled to be working on a Star Wars project. Respawn Entertainment was founded in 2010 by two leads responsible for the Call of Duty franchise resurgence at developer Infinity Ward. Respawn’s first game released in 2014, titled Titfanfall, and it brought high-octane movement to First Person Shooters by giving everyone a jump-pack (here’s a trailer). The company is currently working on a follow-up with one team, while a second internal team, being led by Stig Asmussen, is working on the third-person action adventure Star Wars game. I mention Asmussen because he formally worked for Sony Santa Monica Studios, where he was Art Director and eventually Game Director for entries in Sony’s successful and highly regarded third-person action adventure God of Wars series; he knows his way around third-person action games so I can tell you with certainty now it’ll likely be fun to play…at the very least. He wrote a blog entry over at Respawn’s site about his excitement to be working on the project. No more details were revealed for the game.

I’m slightly surprised they announced this at all, considering the near-radio silence on Visceral Games’ third-person action adventure SW project. I don’t believe they’d mention this new project if they weren’t going to finally start revealing something on a different project. And while EA won’t be attending this year’s E3 in June, someone like Sony (who seems to have a deal inked with EA for occasional exclusives or first rights to show new SW games) could still reveal Visceral’s title as part of their conference. If not there, the next best guess is at Star Wars Celebration Europe in July. Let’s hope…

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.

LEGO Game Expands The Force Awakens Lore, Respawn Entertainment Working on New Star Wars Game

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