Star Wars Officially Recasts Anakin Skywalker
The Star Wars franchise is filled with iconic characters from across the moral spectrum, from the most voracious observers of the Dark Side, to the figures who distill goodness down to its purest form. Of those, though, none are more important than Anakin Skywalker, and his subsequent position as Darth Vader.
The tragedy of his life story is the central theme of the first six Star Wars movies, and his influence is felt across the series, from the written works to the more recent Disney+ television adaptations. As such, any time he returns in any form, it's always bound to draw some attention, and his latest turn sees a old face returning to the role for the first time in a while.
In case you've missed it up to this point, Star Wars Zero Company is an upcoming turn-based tactics release that's set during the Clone Wars period, before Anakin turned to the Dark Side. As you might expect, the character is set to play a significant role, with the part being taken on this time by Matt Lanter.
Lanter is most well-known for his appearances as Liam Court in 90210, but he has also previously played Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in the 2008 animated effort Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as Star Wars Rebels. The developer also confirmed the rest of the main cast at San Diego Comic Con (as well as a few cameo appearances), and there are some familiar faces from the roster of characters:
- Bennic Halloren: Leo Howard
- Runa Blask: Vic Michaelis
- Neesh Renark: Jim Pirri
- M-3VO, "Meevo": DC Douglas
- Anakin Skywalker: Matt Lanter
- Gorga: Kevin Michael Richardson
- Fathom: Rekha Sharma
- Typhon: Hunter Smith
- Visser: Dylan Kenin
The game is developed in conjunction with Respawn Entertainment, who have done a stellar job with the IP so far, in both of the Star Wars Jedi releases. The genre is obviously a massive departure from those games, but playing Star Wars is this format is undeniably an exciting prospect. The game is also set to launch soon, with a release date of August 27 locked in.
There are plenty more Star Wars releases on the way besides that over the next few years as well. The first of those is pod racing effort Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which should be followed up by the Knights of the Old Republic remake, and the very exciting new game Fate of the Old Republic (though that one is likely a little further out).