The Old Republic cinematic trailers
It’s a pretty great time for Star Wars gamers.
In April of this year the long-awaited release of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will be upon us and beyond that is Star Wars: Eclipse from developer Quantic Dream.
However, our focus today is not on a new game but rather one that’s been live for over a decade. Star Wars: The Old Republic. This sprawling MMORPG takes players around 3600 years before the time of the Empire and Rebellion when the Jedi and Sith were comprised of entire armies and waged open warfare across a divided galaxy.
Among the game’s notable aspects are a series of high-quality cinematic trailers. The first came out in July of 2009. The most recent one, just this year. It speaks to the longevity of the game and the popularity of its animations.
One of the most expensive games ever made, The Old Republic served as a follow up to the hugely popular Knights of the Old Republic RPG series from developer BioWare.
Let’s take a look at the surprisingly long history of the cinematics of The Old Republic.
1. “Deceived” – July 2009
The first cinematic for the game came several months after its announcement in October 2008. Until now there had never been a true cinematic trailer for a Star Wars game that was not simply recycled footage from in-game material. It was truly a first of its kind for Star Wars. The video’s various posts have racked up tens of millions of views collectively and even received a 4K remaster.
The trailer takes place 10 years before the events of the game and also serves as the first in a kind of trilogy of trailers. It features Darth Malgus, one of the primary villains of the game, leading a Sith raid on the Jedi Temple at Coruscant.
There is an unprecedented number of lightsabers in the frame at the same time here. Instead of fighting from the shadows, the Sith are here in full force ready for all-out war with their ancient enemy, the Jedi.
The cinematic ends with the Jedi temple in ruins and Malgus sauntering away from the wreckage as he raises his hood over his dark visage.
2. “Hope” – June 2010
The next trailer came out nearly a year later. This one, set in the peaceful world of Alderaan, takes place 14 years prior to the first trailer and 24 years before the start of the game’s events. Here we see Malgus as a younger man without his iconic respirator surrounding his mouth.
While it’s less intense than the original, there is a more personal aspect to the conflict as Malgus spends most of the time battling a single Jedi; Satele Shan, ancestor of Bastila Shan from Knights of the Old Republic.
3. “Return” – June 2011
The last trailer to release prior to the game’s launch in December of 2011. The cinematic completes the trilogy featuring the rise of Malgus, all in reverse order (Lucas would approve). This one takes place a whopping 38 years before the beginning of The Old Republic.
A Republic ship sits in orbit over the ancient Sith homeworld of Korriban. At this point in time, the Sith Empire is thought defeated. That changes when a war fleet emerges from the depths of hyperspace. Once again, we are met with Malgus, younger than ever as he and his master duel a pair of Jedi, including Shan from the previous trailer. Malgus kills her master as Shan escapes, making their rematch 14 years later on Alderaan all the more meaningful.
The trailer ends with Malgus killing his own wounded master in true Sith tradition.
This is a cinema at its best. It’s dramatic, beautiful, and leaves viewers with a sense of foreboding that carries through right to the actual game itself. And, come on, a Zabrak Jedi with three lightsaber blades fighting two Sith at once? Awesome.
Watching these three trailers in reverse order gives watchers a real sense of who Darth Malgus is. In Return, he is a young, smooth skin apprentice. In Hope, we see the corruption of the dark side of the Force beginning to distort his features. Then finally in Deceived, we see the true extent that nearly 40 years of war and Sith corruption does to a man. A rare example of visual storytelling told through what are essentially advertisements for a game.
4. “Sacrifice” – June 2015
A significant gap in time follows the third cinematic.
Finally, after 4 years of waiting, we witnessed a new trailer, this time for the upcoming expansion pack Knights of the Fallen Empire.
This one is a bit different. We see a pair of twin brothers growing up under their father’s tutelage. As we watch them grow they learn to fight and use the Force. Then they begin to drift apart. One follows the path of the light side, the other the dark.
The cinematic tells a compelling and surprisingly emotional story with very little dialogue. Another terrific example of “show, don’t tell” in animated form. After all, if the studio went to the trouble to return to high-quality trailers, you may as well embellish on the visual aspect.
5. “Betrayed” – October 2016
The last trailer for a while. This one is a sequel of sorts to the previous cinematic.
We meet a previously unknown sister to the twin brothers who turn out to be a kind of Force deviant with a scary amount of power.
Family drama has always been at the heart of Star Wars and it’s in full swing here.
The Old Republic has received 8 major expansions but only 3 of them ever received full-budget cinematics. This one was for Knights of the Eternal Throne which was released in December of 2016.
6. “Disorder” – February 2022
Finally, we come to the present. After more than half a decade since the last cinematic, most fans were not expecting any more. Few MMOs make it as long as The Old Republic has. The fact that one game has received 6 high-budget trailers after 13 years is an indisputable testament to its longevity and to viewers’ love for these stunning cutscenes.
After over 10 years, Darth Malgus is back and he looks more twisted and corrupted than ever before. There is a major graphical upgrade going on here with lighting that looks as good as if it were real and flashy visuals to match.
There is some serious attention to detail happening here. The trailer ends with Malgus raising his hood as he leaves just as he did at the end of the original cinematic nearly 13 years ago.
After more than 10 years of being live, The Old Republic doesn’t seem to be going anywhere in the near future. Here’s hoping that we haven’t seen the last of the game’s cinematic trailers.
Leave a comment in the section below! For all things, Star Wars, check out Dork Side of the Force!
Return (cinematic trailer) | Wookieepedia
Return
Starring
- Kevin Michael Richardson
- Jennifer Hale
Jamie Glover
John DiMaggio
Music by
John Williams
Released
- June 6, 2011
- November 8, 2021
Run time
6:20
Language
English
Timeline
3681 BBY[1]
Followed by
Hope
- «Korriban, ancient birthplace of the Sith.
We believed ruins were all that remained of their evil empire.« - ―Satele Shan[src]
Return is the third trailer released by BioWare for the Star Wars: The Old Republic. Released on June 6, 2011, the video depicts the Sith Empire’s effort to retake its ancient homeworld of Korriban, taking place 38 years before the beginning of the game. The trailer focuses on Darth Malgus and his struggles against Galactic Republic forces, as seen in the previous two trailers, Deceived and Hope, both of which take place 28 years and 14 years after Return, respectively. The video, released at E3 2011, runs at six minutes and twenty seconds.
Contents
- 1 Synopsis
- 2 Appearances
- 3 Behind the scenes
- 4 Sources
- 5 Notes and references
Synopsis[]
On a Republic space station orbiting Korriban, two Jedi, Satele Shan and her master Kao Cen Darach, along with Jace Malcom and a Republic trooper, are escorting Nico Okarr, a smuggler they have captured, who had been smuggling Sith artifacts out of Korriban and keeps on wanting to have his ship back.
Suddenly, Satele Shan states that she feels a great darkness. Moments later, a fleet of Sith capital ships and fighters comes out of hyperspace and begins to attack the space station. Satele’s master immediately recognizes it as the return of the Sith Empire and expresses the need to warn the Republic.
Because the space station does not have any ship capable of outrunning the Sith, the smuggler suggests using his ship, which supposedly is the fastest in the sector. As the Jedi clear the hangar area of Sith soldiers, Okarr aids the two troopers,in fighting off an attack from a Sith boarding party. In the midst of the fight, Malcom’s comrade is killed, and Okarr defeats the remaining Sith soldiers while Malcom closes the door. While preparing to board Okarr’s ship a Fury-class Imperial interceptor lands in the hangar, and two Sith emerge. Corporal Malcom and Okarr board the smuggler’s ship and prep it for launch, while Satele and her Master attempt to hold off the two Sith: Darth Malgus and Lord Vindican in a heated lightsaber duel.
The ship gets off the ground, and the Jedi are able to push the Sith aside momentarily. Kao Cen Darach instructs Satele to escape in the ship, saying «You must walk a different path», and returns to face the two Sith.
Shan throws her master her double-bladed lightsaber and leaves on the ship. Malcom and Shan man the quad laser cannons aboard Okarr’s ship as he pilots the craft through an asteroid field, evading Sith fighters. The Jedi Master skillfully duels both Sith, severely wounding the Pureblood Vindican by stabbing him in the stomach with one of Shan’s lightsaber’s blades. Malgus takes his wounded master’s lightsaber along with his own and re-engages the Zabrak. They fight each other blow for blow; however, Malgus quickly gains the upper hand, and after disarming Master Darach he finally kills him by slashing him across the chest with both blades.
Satele feels his death, but fights on holding off the Sith long enough for them to make the jump to Hyperspace. With the duel over, Malgus approaches his master, telling him that he failed because Okarr’s ship escaped, and word will go to the Republic that the Sith have returned.
Vindican, however, says that this is only the beginning. Malgus then says, «Yes. After a thousand years, Korriban is ours again. Welcome home». Malgus then turns on his lightsaber and kills Vindican.
Appearances[]
By type
| Characters | Creatures | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
|
Droid models
|
Events
|
Locations
|
Organizations and titles
|
Sentient species
|
Vehicles and vessels
|
Weapons and technology
|
Miscellanea
|
T7-O1 in Return.
Behind the scenes[]
Kao Cen Darach is seen to catch Satele’s saberstaff with his right hand (wielding his own lightsaber with his left) and fights much of the duel in this configuration. However, for several seconds the lightsabers have inexplicably switched places, with the saberstaff in his left hand and the single lightsaber in his right hand. The same also occurs with Malgus.
Sources[]
- Return Cinematic Trailer on The Old Republic‘s official website (backup link)
- ‘Return’ Cinematic Trailer on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic YouTube channel (backup link)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic
- STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™ — 4K ULTRA HD – ‘Return’ Cinematic Trailer on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic YouTube channel (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Timeline 6: Onslaught of the Sith Empire on The Old Republic‘s official website (article) (backup link)
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In other languages
The Old Republic (2011) (See at kinonews.
ru)
| Exit year: | 2011 | Genre: | MMORPG | PCC | Country | USA, Canada |
| Rating: | 10 |
Screenshots: 17
Trailers: 9,
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