Sam Witwer almost had a role in The Mandalorian but could we see Starkiller appear?

One of may favourite Star Wars characters in Galen Marek AKA Starkiller from The Force Unleashed games.

Played by actor Sam Witwer, he was a Jedi who was lured to the Darkside by Darth Vader before breaking free and becoming his own hero. Sadly, the story was never wrapped as a third game was planned but, alas, not to be.

The character then became relegated to the Legends stories as Disney took over and Marek – whose story was interwoven with Yoda, Vader, Boba Fett and more – became a lost part of the lore of Star Wars.

Lost, but not forgotten.

Witwer has gone on since to voice in-canon Star Wars characters such as Emperor Palpatine and, mostly famously, Darth Maul, but he is also known for Supergirl, The Walking Dead, The Mist and Smallville and has revealed that he almost appeared in The Mandalorian.

“I got put on a shortlist on Mandalorian for some role and I thought maybe that was from Dave [Filoni], but then I found out it was actually form casting. Casting came up with the idea. The way they do it, I guess, is they put a bunch of people on a list and then the producers pick someone,” Witwer said.

“So, I relayed that to Dave, and I think it was awkward because I was saying, ‘When I’m on the show’ and this and that. But what I was actually trying to say was I actually took myself off that list because I don’t want to mess with your show [laughs]. I was trying to say that.”

He goes on: “What I meant to say was that if [Dave] had a need for me and there’s something I can do for you, you can tell me yourself. I’m not going to get in the way. That’s what I was trying to say. Because I don’t feel like Star Wars owes me a damn thing. Star Wars has been very good to me.”

Having Witwer on The Mandalorian in any capacity would be great, of course, but it would be awesome if we could have him return as Starkiller. Now, the character’s return has been speculated on several times in the past as fans expected to see him appear in Rebels, Solo and other places but alas it never happened.

However, now Witwer seems to hint that something may be on the horizon in relation to The Mandalorian: “I was really happy to see our flame trooper [from The Force Unleashed] show up in The Mandalorian. That was fun…That was so fun. Because that’s not just a flame trooper, that’s OUR flame trooper. That’s the markings on the armor from Force Unleashed.”

The above image is the trooper he’s referring to, with the inset being from the game and the main image being from the series.

Witwer continues: “There’s so many things in Force Unleashed that we designed, so many ideas just like that that I think would be incredible to bring into the cinematic universe. It would be great.

Then he teases: “But yeah the flame trooper, I definitely smiled at that. I don’t know if… well, look, it’s Dave Filoni, so I have to believe it was done on purpose..”

At celebration Europe in London a few years ago I was lucky enough to sit in the press room while Witwer and the cast of Rebels talked about the show and Witwer several times talked about his friendship with Filoni and when I asked if we’d see Marek return, he was quite cagey.

But could The Mandalorian be set to bring Starkiller back? So far the series has deep-dived into Star Wars lore in a way that has fans giddy and with Ahsoka Tano set to appear in Season 2 played by Rosario Dawson, it doesn’t seem at all out of the realm of possibility that we could see it happen – let’s not forget that Starkiller’s story does overlap with that of Boba Fett and he’s been speculated as being set for future seasons too.

Whatever happens, Witwer says Star Wars ha been very good to him and owes him nothing, adding:
“There are things that [Dave Filoni] has coming in The Mandalorian season two that are going to blow people’s minds.” 

Star Wars: The Mandalorian premieres exclusively on Disney+ in October.

Witwer talks the third Force Unleashed game and what may have happened here.