As The Force Unleashed returns on the Nintendo Switch, StarWars.com catch up with Sam Witwer to discuss the game, and how well it’s held up since its initial release way back in those post-Revenge of the Sith / pre-The Clone Wars days of 2007.
StarWars.com: So how does it feel for The Force Unleashed, nearly 15 years from its original release, to be getting another life on one of the medium’s most popular platforms?
Sam Witwer: I’m very, very happy. For an actor, anytime work you did a long time ago just never goes away, that’s a great feeling. And Force Unleashed, ever since it was released, there hasn’t been a week where someone, or multiple someones, aren’t asking me about it. Which is really wonderful — I love that!
StarWars.com: Does it feel like 15 years since you first brought Starkiller to life?
Sam Witwer: Well, it’s hard to say. Just a few days back was the 11th anniversary of Dave Filoni calling me to tell me to play Maul, right? So, I’m like, “Wow, that was 11 years ago that we decided to do that.” Force Unleashed was 15. I guess the passage of time is a tricky thing to track these days, because I don’t know that I feel that different than I did back then. And then when I review certain things about my life, maybe I am different. But one thing that hasn’t changed about me is my undying enthusiasm and excitement over the Star Wars stories.
StarWars.com: Your longstanding Star Wars fandom is well known, but do you share a similar enthusiasm for games? Were you a gamer before becoming involved with The Force Unleashed?
Sam Witwer: Yeah, I was a huge gamer, table-top RPGs and video games, console games and PC games. I’m still a huge gamer, but I just don’t have as much time for it.
StarWars.com: Game technology has seen some significant leaps since The Force Unleashed was first released. How do you think it holds up all these years later?
Sam Witwer: Well, when I play it, I’m biased, because a giant flood of memories comes back and I remember how excited I was to go to San Francisco and go to the studio and be at Industrial Light & Magic, LucasArts, Skywalker Ranch…all these places that I had dreamed of seeing. But having said that, I still love the way the Force is used in that the game. It really encourages you to get creative with the Force and to try things. And that’s really the way it was designed to be played.
- Luceno, James (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 464 Pages - 04/05/2022 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
