With Malak: An Old Republic, the first short film of an unofficial Kotor adaptation has been released. The duel between Sith master and disciple goes down pretty well with fans.
The legendary Star Wars role-playing game Kotor is becoming a series. Not officially, though, but thanks to fans who, with Lucasfilm’s blessing, are making the project happen in Unreal Engine 5 and 4K. Now the first short film, Malak: An Old Republic Story, has been released.
The video has already been available for free on the YouTube channel (Unreal Cinema) since 24 December 2021 and has generated over 700,000 views. No wonder, since the expectations of many viewers were quite high and the work of the responsible filmmakers was followed closely. But it’s best to take a look at the first Kotor short film for yourself:
What happens in Malak: An Old Republic Story? The Malak short revolves – unsurprisingly – around the titular Sith Darth Malak, who played a major role in the Kotor role-playing games. The short film, which lasts just under five minutes, focuses primarily on the master/disciple relationship between Revan and Malak.
During the Jedi Civil War, Malak tried to betray his master because he increasingly thought him weak and effeminate. As is common for most Sith, Malak sought to assassinate Revan in order to take his place as the new Master of the Sith. However, this betrayal cost Malak dearly and he had to pay for it with a severe injury to his jaw – as you can see in the short film.
However, Malak would later make a second attempt to take the life of his master Revan – which was ultimately the starting point of the Kotor role-playing game. If you don’t know the plot yet, we don’t want to give you too much away at this point. After all, the plot of Knights of the Old Republic will be covered in the course of a planned fan series.
What do the viewers say? In the comments under the YouTube video, many viewers are quite taken with Malak: An Old Republic Story. Above all, the great attention to detail of the short film is praised, while the dubbing work and the overall look of the project in Unreal Engine 5 are also well received.
However, there is some criticism for the stiff and awkward animations of the movements of both Sith – despite the impressive choreography of the lightsaber fight. Whether this feedback will flow into the further planned projects of those responsible for Unreal Cinema is, however, questionable.
What’s next for the Kotor project? With Malak: An Old Republic Story, the Kotor fan project has only just begun. Because the people behind Unreal Cinema are not only planning more short films for popular characters like (Bastila Shan, Revan) or (HK-47), but a complete TV series.
The TV series is to retell the story of Kotor in the Unreal Engine 5 and offer a total of three seasons of ten episodes à la 15 minutes each. When exactly the episodes and short films will be released is not known at this time, however.
By the way, the entire Kotor project is being made with Lucasfilm’s blessing, as long as certain conditions are met. For example, the makers are not allowed to make money with films and TV series, nor are they allowed to use official material. Accordingly, fans need not fear that the project will be pulled the plug prematurely, at least by Disney.
The future of Star Wars in film, TV and games
By the way,
Kotor is not only getting an unofficial fan series, but also a real remake for the PC and Playstation 5. What this remake has to do better than the original or exactly the same, you can find out in the following video on the subject:
Besides the return of one of the best role-playing games of all time, there is also a whole range of new films and TV series planned for the cinema or Disney Plus. We’ll not only give you an overview of those, but also all the upcoming games in the War of the Stars universe.
What do you think of Malak: An Old Republic Story? What are your hopes for the unofficial Kotor series? Let us know in the comments
