The content of this article was canceled. This article covers a product that was canceled or replaced by another product.

Star Wars Episode VII: Shadows of the Sith was a proposed video game concept by W. Haden Blackman, then–Creative Director of LucasArts, for development at the studio. The game would have featured the Jedi Ben Skywalker as the protagonist as he discovered new Force powers and faced off against a member of the House of Solo.

The project did not make it past an initial pitch phase in 2004, but the broad concepts for the game were reused in the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Blackman later attempted to retool the idea into a new video game with a similar title, Shadow of the Sith, but it too ultimately did not see further development.

Plot summary[]

An adult Ben Skywalker walks the line between the light side and dark sides of the Force and unleashes new never-before-seen Force powers as he investigates a new threat to the galaxy, a member of the House of Solo.^[1]

Development[]

In late 2004, members of video game development studio LucasArts spent six months developing and focus testing over two dozen different video game concepts. W. Haden Blackman, then-Creative Director of the studio, created the basic concept for Shadows of the Sith and worked with a team to develop a pitch for the title, including a brief description of the gameplay and story, a few pieces of concept art, and a logo.^[1]

The gameplay for Shadows of the Sith would have featured all-new Force powers that would have been a departure from what was previously seen in released Star Wars films and video games. The story would have followed the pre-existing character Ben Skywalker,^[1] son of Jedi Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker, who originated in the Star Wars Legends novel series Star Wars: The New Jedi Order.^[2] Throughout the course of the game, Skywalker would have learned about and began to wield the newly designed Force powers as he faced off against a member of the Solo family.^[1]

Shadows of the Sith, along with many of the games pitched in 2004, ultimately was not chosen for further development.^[1] In November 2008,^[3] the logo for the game was revealed in the reference book Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts, alongside graphics for other unrealized game concepts.^[4] Some ideas surrounding the Force powers in Shadows of the Sith were eventually retooled for use in the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. In 2008, as The Force Unleashed reached the end of its development cycle, Blackman attempted to revisit the game concept, this time with a new storyline set in the "far future" with the title Shadow of the Sith. That project too never completed development, as Blackman departed from LucasArts in 2010.^[1]

Continuity[]

While the Star Wars Legends continuity does feature Ben Skywalker facing off against the Sith Darth Caedus, once known as Jacen Solo,^[5] it is not confirmed if the Solo featured in Shadows of the Sith would have indeed been the same individual or if the video game would have tied into any of the pre-existing Star Wars Legends stories.^[1] The concept of a seventh episode in the Star Wars saga would eventually come to pass with the release of the film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens in 2015.^[6]

Credits[]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

• Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• Plot Details for Cancelled Star Wars Episode VII: Shadows of the Sith Game Revealed by Maison, Jordan on Cinelinx (February 23, 2016) (archived from the original on October 7, 2021)