Bo-Katan Kryze
Introduced in the Star Wars Clone Wars series, the Death Watch were a splinter group of Mandalorians that went against the people of Mandalore’s pacifism. They tried taking over the planet several times, none of which took, and were primarily led in secret by Pre Vizsla and Bo-Katan Kryze (sister of the Dutchess Satine). The only time that they actually were successful in taking over the planet was when Darth Maul and Savage Opress killed Vizsla and ruled over them as the Shadow Collective. Bo-Katan, however, managed to escape the chaos of the planet, and pretty soon, she’ll be making her way to the Rebels series in its final season. If things go her way and she survives, she should be a part of Battlefront II.
The original Battlefront expanded its scope for Heroes to go beyond simple big league characters, eventually incorporating characters like Greedo, Bossk, and Dengar. Bo-Katan is definitely among that class of characters where’s she more well known than most, but also not someone who springs to mind instantly when talking in generalities about the franchise. Like other members of Death Watch (and the splinter group of that she led, the Nite Owls), Bo has an array of tools that lend her well to the dynamics of a multiplayer game. The jetpacks allows for verticality, her blaster pistols cover the shooting, and her grappling line and gauntlet blades ensure that getting up close and personal is a mistake. Plus, assuming that the sequel won’t feature Heroes who showed up the last time around, this would make her a handy stand-in for Boba Fett.
Savage Opress
When Star Wars: The Clone Wars brought back Darth Maul, they built up to his return with Savage (say it like suh-vaaj) Opress, Maul’s brother. A member of the Dathomirian males, Savage was tricked by the Night Sisters and Asaaj Ventress into serving them as an assassin. After breaking hold of their mental control, he went on his own path to find his brother Maul, which wound up with the latter getting robot legs and the two of them trying to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi.
That obviously didn’t take, leading to the two brothers trying their hand at piracy, which also didn’t end well. Savage’s luck went pretty bad after that, costing him his arm and eventually his life in a fight against Darth Sidious. Sure, he ended up taking over the Death Watch alongside his brother Maul for a while, but given that it ended with him dead, his brother tortured by Sidious, and their empire crumbling…yeah, they probably could’ve gone about things better than they did.
You wouldn’t think that this would really make him a good reason to be included in the cast of Heroes for Battlefront II, especially when you consider the fact that he actually has nothing to do with the Clone Wars in any capacity. But, if the game is going to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor and embrace a wide array of Heroes beyond just the A-listers, he’s as good an inclusion as any, and not just because of his double-bladed lightsaber. Savage is fueled by pure rage more than most Sith, and what he lacks in the typical Force lightning he more than makes up for with resilience and endurance. He once impaled someone on the horns on his own head, which would be the sort of stupidly awesome thing a multiplayer game like this could use. Plus, any game that gives Clancy Brown more work can’t be bad.
Finn
Since Rey and Kylo Ren are both getting inserted into Star Wars Battlefront II, there’s definitely no boundaries restricted to other members of the New Trilogy as well. No character from that trilogy lends themselves better to a game covering multiple eras quite like The Force Awakens’ Finn. The trooper formerly known as FN-2187 has a large fan community following him (of course he does, look at the universe he’s in), and John Boyega himself is a huge fan of the series, even advocating for a single-player mode himself back when the 2015 game was lambasted for omitting.
Now that this new game will have a single-player mode covering multiple eras, there’s potential for multiple perspectives to be covered in the game, a la Battlefield 1. Finn’s story is going to be covered in future films, and that’s totally fine. But, he was in a squad of other Troopers who he grew up and fought beside. Even though we all know the grim fate that awaits them, it would be interesting to play as a Trooper alongside our favorite traitor–either FN-2003, who dies at the beginning of the film, or the infamous 2199.
As far as multiplayer’s concerned, we know that he’s quite handy with a blaster, and even though the films are being coy with this right now, there’s still a fairly good chance that he’s a Jedi. Don’t worry about the logic of him having a lightsaber, just give him Luke’s old one and let players do what he does best.
Ezra Bridger
Star Wars Rebels is going to be ending soon–its fourth and final season is due later this year–and if Rogue One is anything to go by, a good amount of the Ghost crew are (hopefully) alive and well, fighting the good fight with the Rebellion. As one of two Jedi we know that are part of the new generation post-Revenge of the Sith, having him in Battlefront II would make a heck of a lot of sense. He’s evolved a lot over the course of the series, and it’d be a nice nod to those watching the show.
What makes Ezra different from other Jedi and Sith that we’ve seen thus far in this universe is his fairly crafty nature and diverse range of skills. Not only has he been a user of multiple lightsabers, one of which he combined with a blaster, he also used an energy slingshot throughout the first season. His trickster personality and Force skills have helped him infiltrate the Empire on more than one occasion, either through mental manipulation or just plain giving bad directions. A “stealth” character would definitely be handy for the Rebellion, especially in the multiplayer matches where you have to steal information or hold a point of contention.
Sabine Wren
When it hits the fan, the Rebellion has needed to resort to explosives. Enter Sabine Wren, colorful demolitions expert of the Ghost crew on Star Wars Rebels. The Mandalorian has had quite the adventure, and assuming that she’s still alive when the show wraps, a woman of her skills would lend herself quite well to the expanded cast of Heroes for Battlefront II. Much like with Ezra, her inclusion is partially dependent on her status, but since multiplayer also plays fairly loose with the canon, there’s no reason she can’t be in there as a Hero for players to wreck shop with.
Like with Ezra, Sabine’s skills have slowly evolved over the course of the series. Demolitions and her dual laser pistols are still her go-to method of choice, and we love that about her. The mini explosives she carries with her would be great for groups of enemies during matches where you’re fighting over a designated zone (or for some pesky vehicles), and the pistols do what they need to do.
This past season of Rebels added two handy new additions to Sabine’s skill set: the Darksaber, the Mandalorian equivalent of a lightsaber, and a jetpack. The latter doesn’t really need any expanding on–when you’ve got bombs and the means to fly, the fun writes itself–but the Darksaber would certainly give her an advantage or equal footing against whoever the Hero is on the opposing side. Maybe it’ll break canon to have her survive a sword fight against Darth Maul, but who cares when you’ve got a glowing black sword?
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