“I’d never auditioned for a game before,” Jason Court recalling his time as Kyle Katarn in Dark Forces 2
Dark Forces 2 broke new ground by not only introducing new lightsaber colors. It also pioneered live-action cutscenes with real actors in Star Wars games.
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Sorry, Andor – canon or not, everyone who’s played Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces knows it was Kyle Katarn who stole the Death Star plans. But let’s take a moment to appreciate something even bigger: those groundbreaking (at least for us back then in 1997) full-motion video cutscenes with real actors in Dark Forces 2. Recently, Jason Court, who played Kyle Katarn, shared some behind-the-scenes stories and insights in an interview with Films in Review.
The making of the Dark Forces 2 “movie”
I’m not sure what the budget was for the Dark Forces 2 cutscenes, but somehow, they absolutely nailed it. It really felt like watching a full movie. Now, almost 30 years later, Jason Court reflects on his experience and what it means to him now.
I really went into this blind. We all did. I’d never auditioned for a game before, I don’t think any actors had auditioned for games before without really knowing what it was and how it was going to be done.
Dark Forces 2 was the first Star Wars game to use live-action cutscenes with real actors, all shot in front of a blue screen. As Jason Court put it, “unless you had another live action actor on screen with you, we were talking to light stands and apple boxes.” A lot of scenes were filmed separately, and most of the sets and effects were added later. It was a pretty wild way to filming at the time, and in hindsight, it ended up being a kind of test run for how the Star Wars prequels would later be made.
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II; Developer: LucasArts
And if you had no idea about this – the game also marked a turning point for lightsaber colors, introducing gold and orange for the first time. The character Boc actually got the first purple lightsaber, before Mace Windu ever did in the prequels.
The community that still cares
Jason Court said he had no idea how big the game was going to be until he saw a magazine naming it the best game of 1997. To this day, fans still send him items to sign and write letters about how much the game meant to them growing up. And as he mentioned:
Out of the things that I have done in my life as an actor, this is the one thing that will always stand out as being perhaps the most unique thing that I’ve ever done.
It just amazes me is how the legacy of this game ang these characters have continued on.
There’s still a ton of love for the original Valley of the Jedi storyline, and Court thinks Disney could seriously benefit from reviving it. When asked if he’d return to the role if Disney ever called, he’s answer was simple:
It's a real shame we haven’t gotten an official Dark Forces 2 remake, but that’s what the community is for. There are already some impressive unofficial mods out there, and even a full-on fan remake in Unreal Engine in the making. And on the side note, rumors about KotOR Remake canceled weren’t true, so who knows, maybe the whole Jedi Knight series could get the same treatment one day.
