Live Transmission: Force Unleashed II

The Force is strong with this one

We talk exclusively with The Force Unleashed actor, Sam Witwer, about reinvigorating Star Wars and how storytelling in games is coming to the forefront of the industry.

There seems to be a much wider scope to this story, is it a much more personal tale to Starkiller?

It’s a much more personal tale, in the same way that The Empire Strikes Back was about those characters and what they were going through. George Lucas and Irvin Kershner were really dragging them through the dirt and subjecting them to some really awful things. We’re doing the same thing here, but with a slightly different slant. Starkiller is somewhat distressed this time around and if he was man on a mission in the first one – always striding in confidently and knowing exactly what he was doing – this time he has none of those certainties. He’s improvising his way through, while at the same time going through a form of emotional anguish and torment.

It’s funny, when we were doing some of the rehearsal voice sessions – and even when we shot the cinematics – I remember asking David Collins (lead audio designer and voice of Proxy) “Am I, just as a person, less tough than I was in the first game?” Every time that I would do a section, I was exhausted, he was like, “No, I think this is a little more intense than the first one. The character’s going through a lot more.” Which is funny to say considering he went through so much in the first one.

Were you surprised to get asked back for a sequel?

Very much so. David Collins and I were in a restaurant lamenting the fact that I was done with the character and Star Wars. He said to me – and I don’t think he had any foreknowledge it was going to happen – but he said, “What would you do if they brought Starkiller back?” I said, “Well… I don’t know David. We told such a wonderful story and I think the character’s wonderful and I wouldn’t want to do anything to ruin the integrity of the back story. I think I would have to say no.” Six months later, he calls me up and goes “You ready to do Starkiller yet?” and I’m like “Yep, let’s do it!”

I came down from that then and asked, what is the story, what is the script? I saw that and it was all a very good idea. As I have said before, my artistic integrity came and went with my Star Wars enthusiasm or my ‘fanboyishness’ if you will. I really love where the character goes this time, Hayden Blackman has done it again and I’m very excited.

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