New Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Easter Eggs Have Gamers United For A Sequel

1 week ago 27

Published May 17, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot.

For the last 12-or-so years, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has been abandoned to the non-canon bin of Star Wars’ extended lore without the proposition of a new entry in the series. Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi games are arguably the only Star Wars games to have come close to matching their quality and popularity since, and it will forever be a disappointment if Galen Marek/Starkiller is never folded into canon properly.

Starkiller and Proxy in The Force Unleashed

As sure as the Force flows through all living beings in a galaxy far, far away, so too is Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord imbued with glorious references to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. In fact, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is baked into this TV show’s genetic essence, with Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord being a somber reunion for Starkiller’s Sam Witwer and PROXY’s David W. Collins via their characters Maul and Spybot, respectively.

Twitter/X user Chopper adored the way that the show’s penultimate episode breathed the same air as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed by having Maul swiftly defeat an AT-ST like it was a QTE finisher. It was not until Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord’s Season 1 finale, however, that its most unmistakable reference was featured: Maul reverse-grip dual-wielding the two halves of his double-bladed lightsaber in an iconic Starkiller stance, as pointed out by users like Brent.

maul shadow lord force unleashed sam witwer

If tangentially related Star Wars projects with Witwer’s name behind them are the only way we will ever see Star Wars: The Force Unleashed go on as anything other than a Force ghost, then so be it. That said, it would be terrific if these references and Easter eggs were not simply born from nostalgic reminiscence, but also from the footholds being established for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed’s characters and lore to be meaningfully revisited in the future.

For instance, a series boasting Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord’s phenomenal animation and adapting Star Wars: The Force Unleashed’s story could be excellent, retelling the tragic tale of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice for a whole new audience. Of course, what fans may always truly wish for is to see Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 3 following its cancellation all those years ago, even if the likelihood of us ever receiving a third Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game is incredibly low.