The Real Reason Why The Star Wars: KOTOR Writer Doesn't Want A Movie
"Star Wars" is one of the largest and most expansive sci-fi properties that has ever entered the realm of entertainment. The mainline movie saga spanning nine films is by far the franchise's most recognizable medium, but the universe itself is much bigger than that, including several spin-offs, TV shows, and video games. Among the most notable examples of the latter category are "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" and its sequel, "The Sith Lords," released in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
Considered one of the best "Star Wars" games, "Knights of the Old Republic" follows a player-created character who can choose to align themselves with either the Light or Dark Sides of the Force. The success and popularity of the original entry led it to being earmarked for a remake, and possibly even a film some time in the future. But according to the title's writer, making a movie based on "KOTOR" would be a huge mistake.
KOTOR writer says film would sacrifice too much of the story
Recently, Drew Karpyshyn — a writer for both the "Star Wars: KOTOR" and "Mass Effect" games — did an extensive AMA on Reddit. Responsible for the narratives of two of the industry's most beloved franchises, many sci-fi and fantasy fans had questions for him. One user asked Karpyshyn who he would cast in a movie based on "Knights of the Old Republic." Karpyshyn didn't mince words when it came to such a prospect.
"I don't want them to make a 'KOTOR' film. Or a 'Mass Effect' film," Karpyshyn revealed. According to him, it's impossible to recapture the open-ended magic of a "KOTOR" or "Mass Effect" installment with a linear story made for the big screen. "Not if those films are just going to tell the same story as the games. Branching narrative games tell stories in a different way than a linear medium like film, and we have SO MUCH content that you'd have to cut 80% of the story to fit it into a film," he continued.
Whether or not a movie based on "Knights of the Old Republic" is made is likely out of Karpyshyn's hands and firmly up to Kathleen Kennedy and the rest of the higher-ups at LucasFilm and Disney. But Karpshyn does make a valid point: It's hard to tell a linear story when the source material itself is anything but.