Why Rey's Star Wars movie should bring Cal Kestis to the big screen

Key Art from Jedi: Survivor © Electronic Arts

When most people talk about who their favorite Jedi is, there are some standard answers: Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Mace Windu, Ahsoka (though she's not a Jedi, that's literally her most famous line). But when people ask me that question, I have two answers: Jaina Solo (who tragically no longer exists in canon) and Cal Kestis (who thankfully DOES). He's the one character I would kill to see on the big screen, especially after spending hundreds of hours with him in the video games - which may or may not be the result of my horrible tendency to fall off everything.

There's a lot of secrecy around Rey's New Jedi Order movies, especially as it seems the goal is not only for Rey to recreate the Jedi Order, but to find other survivors of Order 66 and use their knowledge of the Force to guide her. But here's the thing...the Jedi Knights and Masters from the Republic would most likely be dead by then, leaving only the Padawans who survived the massacre as people she could find. The Rise of Skywalker takes place in 35 ABY, so after that? While some long-living alien races are out there, most seem to have similar lifespans to humans. However, Cal would be in his mid-to-late-60s when the First Order falls: the perfect age for him to be the Wise Old Man in Rey's journey.

So this is my plea for Disney to hire me to help with creating the story (I know you guys took it off the 2026 calendar to work on it more) because I have an amazing one in mind: one that revolves around Rey finding Tanalorr.

So, imagine this with me: Rey follows rumors of The Hidden Path left by those in the Rebellion. These rumors are older than she is, but the path always leads to Tanalorr. She decides to try and find them, to see if this mythical society does exist. There are so many aliens on Koboh with long life spans, there are probably some who remember the Hidden Path using Koboh as a docking station to get to Tanalorr. Rey is given the Compass to guide her through the Abyss, and upon finding the planet meets Jedi Master Cal Kestis and the society he helped create.

But here's the thing about Cal: his views of what being a Jedi means evolve. He has a romantic relationship with Merrin, a Nightsister of Dathomir, and even learns some of her magick. He admits the old teachings of the Jedi left him weaker, and he thrived more with the support and attachments of his team. He and Merrin raise Kata, and I wouldn't be surprised if the two of them have children of their own. Cal years after the video games has had the opportunity to be a leader and a teacher for almost 40 years. He would know what works, what doesn't, what needs to be changed, and what doesn't. He would have multiple force users, not just Jedi, helping him create a society where everyone can learn the ways of the Force. Cal also has Zee, a High Republic-era droid, who can explain the mistakes of the Jedi at their peak to make sure they don't fall into those old traps either.

In addition, the Hidden Path used Tanalorr as a way to hide Force-sensitive people from the Empire due to it being near-impossible to fly to. However, Rey was instrumental in guiding the Resistance to Exegol, which means she should be able to fly her way through the Abyss to Tanalorr. But the Abyss also makes sure communications can't get out, which means the society they have doesn't know much about the outside world. Maybe they didn't even know about the First Order. And that could create conflict and drama throughout the movie, as part of the reason this society exists is to get away from the fascism that keeps popping up within these worlds.

I am convinced one of the reasons Luke's Jedi Academy failed is that the only guidance he had was the Force Ghosts of a fallen Jedi Era and a few books that were open to interpretation. Cal, on the other hand, had the opportunity to build a society of force-users away from the politics and legends of the old Jedi Order. And if Tanalorr was, in fact, the end of the Hidden Path as it was intended, there could be three to four generations of Force-users there waiting for the Galaxy to find them. Rey needs to see a new option, and with the little guidance she has, I cannot see her having that without finding Tanalorr.

Overall, this also seems like a way to bring in the Jedi Order of the Legacy series - the one that did adapt. Within those stories, we have Jedi who embraced trying something new instead of mimicking the old ways we know didn't work. Luke Skywalker even got married and had a son in that universe! But I think the best way for Rey to build a new Jedi Order is to be taught how to find something new and bring it to the galaxy.

And Cal Kestis would be the perfect one to bring about that change.