Rangers of the New Republic

[fireproof78]

I was about to object and say the character has been made redundant with Rogue One, then I realised they could just bump his story over to whatever covert mission got them the skinny on the second Death Star. Of course this also renders any potential Dash Rendar inclusion redundant. Win-win!

I have been thinking about that too, because Kyle Katarn is one of my favorite Star Wars characters hands down. I think he certainly could fit as a freelance agent who gave them information on the second Death Star, leading the Alliance to send the Bothans, while Kyle heads out on the next job. I wouldn't mind him stumbling upon the initial Dark Trooper project (the phase ones and maybe attempting to stop them before they wipe out a village due to the Imperial crack down on Rebels.

Or something like that.

 

[Ithekro]

Kyle Katarn could conceivably be an early operative that worked with Cassian Andor from time to time.

 

[JD]

Ooo, I like that idea.

 

[Reverend]

Kyle's father being a Jedi makes that a little tricky for anything pre-OT in terms of timing. Though on the other hand I suppose he need not be an Order 66 survivor. Maybe an initiate or padawan that washed out on their trials, or a Knight that either chose to leave the Order pre-Clone Wars, or was separated and stranded like Ky Narec.

I suppose ignoring that part of his backstory is a possibility, but I rather feel that if you're going to reintroduce an EU character, there's no point unless you're going to stay true to their core traits. It's why Mara Jade is damn near impossible to make canon because while the 'ex-Agent of the Empire and Lieutenant to Underworld Kingpin' aspect is 100% doable, the part where she's a romantic interest for Luke is kind of a no-go, and since that's key to her arc and growth, it's rather an all or nothing proposition.

 

[Ithekro]

Depends if they keep use any of his story after Dark Forces. It wasn't until Dark Forces II that his Jedi lineage was known, and that was post-Endor. Though with all the changes to how Star Wars is, having his father be a surviving Padawan would fit I suppose. Or someone from a world that was outside the Republic and was never discovered by the Jedi (like Anakin almost wasn't discovered).

 

[fireproof78]

Was Kyle's dad a Jedi? Or just had a Jedi friend?

 

[Reverend]

I think it was both? No doubt there were retcons after the prequels came out. pre-TPM EU never did have a sensical chronology for the Clone War/Jedi purge.

 

[JD]

Yeah, I think they'd pretty much have to come up with a whole new backstory for him if they brought in Kyle Katarn.
Back when Rebels was on, I was thinking they could introduce Mara there, make her an Inquistor, and introduce her as a love interest for Kanan or make her a kid and pair her up with Ezra.

 

[Reverend]

Yeah, I mean the early EU being wildly inconsistent about both the pre-ANH chronology, and how one trains to be a Jedi/Sith is why I think it might be easier to adapt some of these characters for the post OT era rather than between the PT & OT.

For Mara, I feel like they made her a little too young (only 17 at the time of ANH IIRC) Which makes the idea that she'd long been a figure at the Imperial court hard to credit, and makes her cover as "one of Palpatine's palace dancers/concubines" just....no. No! Bad EU!
Not that you can't make a child prodigy Inquisitor super-spy work, but you're straying more into X-23/Cassandra Cain/River Tam/Hanah/Eleven territory which doesn't really fit the character.
Making her older helps a little, since it allows her to have been a youngling still out in the galaxy that the Jedi hadn't come for yet, or who's parents refused only for the Inquisitorious to show up later and not taking no for an answer. It still all falls apart when she meets Luke since I can't imagine there ever being a question of a serious love interest at this point. I suppose you could kinda alter the relationship so it's more of a peer/best-frienemies thing...but then what? As with the EU, her character just stalls the moment she becomes a Jedi.

In the case of Kyle, even in DF he was portrayed as more of a seasoned Han Solo type and in JK that had a guy in his mid-30's playing him, so while it's not impossible that the order missed a teenage force sensitive with a potentially "second only to the Chosen One level" latent talent...it's a bit of a stretch. Especially since it would mean BOTH the Jedi AND the Sith failed to detect him while he was attending an Imperial Academy (they have tests specifically for this kind of thing) and later tearing up Imperial bases as a merc.
However if you transplant all of that to about 10-15 years post RotJ, suddenly it all fits much more logically.

ETA: random thought, but what if instead of having Mara be a former Imperial Agent, you have her as Maul's apprentice within Crimson Dawn? You get both the underworld and Sith connection built in, you get a more credible candidate for who stranded him on Malachor, you don't need to include any "you must kill Luke Skywalker!" nonsense, AND you get to substitute Talon Karrde with Qi'ra!

 

[Ithekro]

Remember that Padme was the elected Queen of Naboo at the age of 14, and lead her people into at dangerous battle in the palace to get Viceroy Gunray, while also healing relations with the Gungans. And catching the eye/heart of the Chosen One, but that one didn't fester for another ten years.

 

[Reverend]

Like I already pointed out; it's not impossible, but it makes her a fundamentally different character.
And Padme was an outlier, not the norm by any stretch. She was also every bit as much of a socially inept, emotional basket case as Anakin was.

 

[Jayson1]

I want the cast to be Cobb Vanth. Cara Dunne, Bill Burr and hopefully two new characters with one of them being a alien. A new alien we have never seen before. Also maybe a leader like a General Hammond type and that could be Greef Kargo.


Jason

 

[Reverend]

Vanth & Dunne are both Marshalls not Rangers, the latter seemingly informally and definitely not New Republic). Mayfeld is an escaped convict, who's freedom hinges on the New Republic continuing to presume that he's dead, so I can't see him wanting to get within a hundred lightyears of any New Republic organization.

By definition, Marshals serve the local courts and thus have a defined "patch" of territory they're responsible for. Rangers as the name suggests are more mobile. They "range".

If we're picking existing characters to put into the mix, I think a better group of candidates would include the likes of Shriv Suurgav, Iden Versio, Del Meeko, Kes Dameron, Shara Bey, Norra Wexley, Jas Emari, Sinjir Velus. Former Imperials, former rebels, former bounty hunters. A nice mix to choose from.
Personally I'd love to see Iden make the leap to live action. Iden is a character that deserves further exploration and Janina Gavankar is clearly well up for it (she actually showed up on the Mandalorian set, just to help out the puppeteer crew!) And Shriv is just too much fun NOT to include.

 

[Tuskin38]

Kyle stealing (part of) the Death Star plans was never a big part of his backstory. It's never mentioned again after that first mission DF1 and It's never brought up in the sequels.

I'd be happy with them not making him force sensitive, keep him as merc/smuggler that mostly aligns with the Rebellion/New Republic like he was in DF1, parts of DF2 and the beginning of Outcast.

I want the cast to be Cobb Vanth. Cara Dunne, Bill Burr and hopefully two new characters with one of them being a alien. A new alien we have never seen before. Also maybe a leader like a General Hammond type and that could be Greef Kargo.


Jason

Rangers of the New Republic might be set before the events of Mando.

 

[JD]

Mando and it's spin-offs are all supposed to be leading to one big event, so that seems to indicate that they will all take place at the same time.

Vanth & Dunne are both Marshalls not Rangers, the latter seemingly informally and definitely not New Republic). Mayfeld is an escaped convict, who's freedom hinges on the New Republic continuing to presume that he's dead, so I can't see him wanting to get within a hundred lightyears of any New Republic organization.

By definition, Marshals serve the local courts and thus have a defined "patch" of territory they're responsible for. Rangers as the name suggests are more mobile. They "range".

If we're picking existing characters to put into the mix, I think a better group of candidates would include the likes of Shriv Suurgav, Iden Versio, Del Meeko, Kes Dameron, Shara Bey, Norra Wexley, Jas Emari, Sinjir Velus. Former Imperials, former rebels, former bounty hunters. A nice mix to choose from.
Personally I'd love to see Iden make the leap to live action. Iden is a character that deserves further exploration and Janina Gavankar is clearly well up for it (she actually showed up on the Mandalorian set, just to help out the puppeteer crew!) And Shriv is just too much fun NOT to include.

I forgot about Shriv, he was one of my favorite characters in BFII.
How old would Zay be at this point? If by some slight chance we do see one or both of her parents, could she pop up to, or would she be to young at this point?

 

[Reverend]

Mando and it's spin-offs are all supposed to be leading to one big event, so that seems to indicate that they will all take place at the same time.

I forgot about Shriv, he was one of my favorite characters in BFII.
How old would Zay be at this point? If by some slight chance we do see one or both of her parents, could she pop up to, or would she be to young at this point?

I doubt she's even been born yet, and probably won't be for another 5-10 years. The impression I got was that she was in her mid-to-late teens (early twenties tops) and those events are 25 plus years down the line from "now".

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'd love an all new non-Jedi cast, just for something a little different.

 

[JD]

Since this is before Luke set up his Jedi Academy, there are probably not going to be any Jedi in this, other than when they crossover with Ahsoka.
I have a feeling this, Andor, and The Book of Boba Fett are probably going to be more or less Jedi free.

 

[JediKnightButler]

Maybe the things that New Republic pilot's been dealing with so far in The Mandalorian will be set-up for this. After the New Republic hears back about the things that guy's seen on the Outer Rim, maybe they decide to be a little more proactive and send these rangers out there to more effectively deal with problems.

And as much as I like Cara Dune, I really don't see Gina Carano being given this show.

I personally think that this is the most likely description of what the show will focus on.

 

[Jedi Marso]

Was Kyle's dad a Jedi? Or just had a Jedi friend?

This. Morgan Katarn was not a Jedi, but a friend of Q-Rahn, who was. The lightsaber Kyle obtains in the third level of the game was Rahn's lightsaber, not his father's.