Is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Canon?

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor returns to the story of Cal Kestis, five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. But does Cal’s story really count in the grand scheme of things? Here’s the answer to the question is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor canon?

Star Wars Canon is Less Complicated Than it Used to Be

The short answer is yes, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is canon. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is also canon. Once Disney purchased Star Wars and Lucasfilm, they declared everything apart from the movies to be non-canon. This gave the company a fairly blank slate to start over. From there, every Lucasfilm/Disney-authorized game, book, or comic (LEGO Star Wars aside) is part of the official Star Wars universe. That includes Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

How Did Star Wars Canon Used To Be Different?

When George Lucas was still in charge, there were two basic tiers of “official” Star Wars. The movies were basically Tier 1 — the Word of George, if you will. Other material was dubbed the Extended Universe, essentially a Tier 2.

If something in the Extended Universe contradicted the movies, it was the movies that were right. What was then the Extended Universe is now called Legends and is completely non-canon. However, Lucasfilm has brought things from Legends into the main universe. Admiral Thrawn, for example, was created by Timothy Zahn as part of the EU.

Does Declaring Everything Canon Create Problems?

In the case of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, no, there’s no problem there. Disney is very careful about checking games and other media fit in with the Star Wars universe. The company has also resurrected Lucasfilm Games, putting it in charge of licensing and checking Star Wars games.

However, it does mean there’s only so much Respawn can do with Cal Kestis. He’s not going to be the one to topple the Empire, as we know from the movies. But Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is canon and that’s what you need to know about that subject.