Cal Kestis
Cal Kestis is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He is the playable protagonist of the Star Wars Jedi game series which includes the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its 2023 sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, developed by Respawn Entertainment. The character has also appeared in other media of the franchise, such as the novel Star Wars Jedi: Battle Scars by Sam Maggs, which bridges the gap between the two Star Wars Jedi games. Cal is played by American actor and model Cameron Monaghan through performance capture.
Cal Kestis
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019)
Cameron Monaghan
Within the franchise, Cal is a former Jedi Padawan and survivor of the Great Jedi Purge who, during the early reign of the Galactic Empire, lives in seclusion on the planet Bracca until an incident forces him to reveal his Force powers. Pursued throughout the galaxy by the Inquisitors, the Empire's Jedi hunters, Cal embarks on a quest to try and rebuild the Jedi Order as he is joined by a number of unlikely allies, who help him challenge the Empire's rule and become a second family to him. During his journey, Cal learns to re-embrace his Jedi role and reconcile with his troubled past, as he goes on to become a powerful Jedi Knight and a prominent figure in the fight against the Empire.
Cal's character has received a generally positive reception from critics and fans, who praised his growth and relationships with other characters, although he did face some initial criticism over his "boring" appearance in the first game.
Development and design[edit]
Monaghan provides both the voice and likeness for Cal's character, including his natural red hair. Respawn Entertainment captured his physique through motion capture.[1] On playing the part of Cal, he said "It's pretty surreal to see a character that you built and got to explore and imagine. It's a character that I've really grown to love." He also stated, "It's such a privilege to be able to play something that has a storied history behind it, but also something that I'm a fan of and have always wanted to be part of since I was a kid."[2] The actor "didn't want to model Cal on any specific Star Wars character", adding "I wanted Cal's personality and demeanor and everything to come out of his own experiences and his own stories, and to build it from an inward place."[3]
During his audition process for the game, Monaghan wasn't told that he was auditioning for a Star Wars game. "At that point I didn't know I was auditioning for a Star Wars game, but I kinda knew. They made these fake audition pages and stuff, and I was kinda reading it like 'hmmm ... This is Star Wars, isn't it?' They were like 'No, of course not.' So when I got into the room and they gave me the toy lightsaber, I was like 'I knew it!'"[2]
Before the developers knew who Cal Kestis was going to be, there were several different concepts. The director of the game, Stig Asmussen revealed "We talked about doing an alien character, we talked about doing a different gender, but we arrived at where we were because at the time, Rey was kind of the thing for Star Wars, so it made a lot more sense for us to have a male protagonist."[4]