Which eras might we end up getting in EA’s Battlefront II?

In just a few weeks we’ll know a lot more about the upcoming Battlefront II.

With that promise of a Battlefront II reveal on the horizon at Star Wars Celebration on April 15, I thought it would be fun to consider the likelihood of which eras might make it into the game.

I’ve gone ahead and compiled much of what we know about the potential eras for Battlefront II. Note that this article is very much speculation. EA nor any of the Battlefront II studios (DICE, Motive Studios and Criterion Games) have yet to officially reveal which eras will be present in the next Battlefront.

Battlefront II does have a confirmed launch date of holiday season 2017, although EA hasn’t announced a specific release date just yet.

Note: The images for the Sequel and Original Trilogies are sourced via this video from EA PLAY 2016.

Sequel Trilogy

While EA’s first foray into the Battlefront series came out roughly a month ahead of The Force Awakens in 2015, it received no content from the latest movie in the Skywalker saga. Two maps from Jakku were added several weeks ahead of the film’s release, but the battles players could experience on the planet remained well within the Galactic Civil War setting.

Based on the small amount of concept art released for the second game, however, it appears very likely that we’ll be able to play battles between the First Order and the Resistance.

As you can see in the image above, the TIE Fighter’s white panels match the space superiority fighters utilized by the First Order in The Force Awakens. The battlecruiser bridge below also matches the Finalizer‘s bridge from the same movie.

So it seems that content (i.e. maps, characters and vehicles) from The Force Awakens will be included in Battlefront II. With that in mind, I think it’s reasonable to expect a hero roster of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron. For the villains, I’d guess we might see Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma and General Hux.

I’ll be curious to see how much content can be squeezed out of The Force Awakens. Besides the character roster I’ve outlined above, possible environments include Jakku, Starkiller Base, Takodana, D’Qar, Hosnian Prime and Ahch-To. However, some of those (such as Hosnian Prime—the world that gets blown up—and Ahch-To—Luke’s planet) seem to be potentially unlikely inclusions.

What we don’t know yet is if content from The Last Jedi (due out in theaters this December) will make its way into the game. Personally, I’d expect that there won’t be any stuff from that movie upon the game’s launch. Instead, we might see maps, characters, vehicles and weapons arrive to the game at a later point via DLC.

Original Trilogy

The Original Trilogy was the focus of EA’s first Battlefront. Besides including Rogue One in the final expansion and a few nods to the Prequel Trilogy, the 2015 edition of Battlefront didn’t really step outside of the first three Star Wars movies.

As with the Sequel Trilogy, there are hints that the next game will include the conflict between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire.

For instance, the X-Wing above appears to be a T-65 X-Wing, which the Rebels utilized in the Original Trilogy. The Resistance used the T-70 X-Wings, which instead have half-sized engine barrels on the wings. The Rebel climbing into the X-Wing also matches with some of the current Rebel outfits in the 2015 Battlefront.

Additionally, the door featured in the concept piece below below can be seen in Empire Strikes Back as part of Darth Vader’s quarters.

EA execs on multiple occasions have also referenced that the next game will feature “multiple eras”. Considering the clues above and the fact that there are already numerous assets available from the first game, it doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to assume Battlefront II will include the Original Trilogy.

I will be very curious to see how the development teams at DICE, Motive and Criterion incorporate the Original Trilogy. Will we see the same locations and maps as in EA’s first Battlefront? How about heroes and villains? If the same characters are included, how might they be tweaked? Will Battlefront II’s campaign be set in the Original Trilogy? Or perhaps span across eras?

As long as we get enough fresh content from the new movies and there’s a meaty array of Original Trilogy locations, I wouldn’t mind seeing this era return in Battlefront II. Donning a stormtrooper helmet is always fun and piloting those old X-Wings can really give you that “Star Wars feeling”.

Rogue One

I personally consider Rogue One to be a part of the Original Trilogy setting as they both fit within the Galactic Civil War era. Still, I figured I’d give the movie its own section because it has a lot to offer Battlefront II.

The latest Star Wars film did make its way into EA’s first Battlefront via the Rogue One: Scarif expansion that arrived last December. Unfortunately for fans of the movie, the expansion—while enjoyable—only included maps set on the beach planet of Scarif and it featured just Jyn Erso and Director Krennic as playable characters. With the movie’s strong cast of characters and impressive world building, there’s a lot of content a Battlefront game could draw from.

Luckily, it appears the probability is high that we’ll get more of Rogue One in Battlefront II. Speaking at an investor event towards the end of February, EA’s CFO Blake Jorgensen teased that the new Battlefront will include characters from both the new movies, including Rogue One:

“We’ll add a lot of new Star Wars characters that we didn’t have in the first game two years ago because it was before the two movies that have come out.” (This quote also lends support for Sequel Trilogy content).

Joregensen’s quote likely confirms Rogue One heroes, but hopefully we’ll also get some cool maps. Jedha City would offer some awesome urban combat, while Eadu might introduce some low-visibility challenges.

Regardless, I’d love to be able to knock out some stormtroopers while playing as Chirrut. Those that follow SWGO on Twitter, however, would prefer to see K2-SO.

Prequel Trilogy

This is the big one. Across the gamut of social media platforms, I see constant calls for Clone Wars/Prequel Trilogy content to be included in Battlefront II.

Unfortunately, EA has remained rather silent on the topic. Unlike the Sequel and Original Trilogies, there hasn’t been any solid clues indicating that the Prequel Trilogy will play a role in Battlefront II. Because of this, I remain quite wary of predicting that the Clone Wars will be included in the next Battlefront.

There has been one glimmer of hope for fans of the Clone Wars, however. In a thread on the official forums discussing possible Clone Wars heroes in Battlefront, the game’s community manager Mathew Everett chimed in:

“You guys and gals have some good ideas. Just know DICE has been listening. Our team [is] looking forward to the future.”

Everett’s comments don’t guarantee that we’ll see Clone Wars content in Battlefront II of course. Still, they do provide a slight hope that we’ll be setting droids up and knocking them down when Battlefront II launches later this year.

I’ll add that even if the Clone Wars aren’t included in the base game for Battlefront II, it doesn’t rule out future inclusion of the era via DLC. Personally, I hope the base game will include Clone Wars, but I’m not counting on it really happening.

I’ll also note that a reader picked up on Battlefront producer Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir saying during the EA PLAY teaser reel from last year that EA will add “more eras” on top of the Galactic Civil War era featured in the first game. It’s plausible that Ingvarsdottir is hinting at the inclusion of both the Prequels and the Sequels (as she says they’ll add “eras” in the plural), but I’m not sold on that just yet.

Ultimately, I think that including the Clone Wars in Battlefront II would make a lot of people happy. However, with no confirmation just yet, its inclusion is unknown at this time.

Beyond the movies

There are also eras beyond the movies that could be included, such as the Old Republic era. However, I feel very dubious we’ll see them, as EA seems to have a desire to pull content directly from the movies.

If Battlefront II steps outside the bounds of the movies’ time frames, I could see its campaign fill in some of the gaps between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. While the Aftermath trilogy of books helped bridge the 30 in-canon years between the two movies, there are surely still stories left to be told. Being able to engage in those stories could be fun—especially in the campaign setting of a video game.

Which era do you most want in Battlefront II? Chime in via the comment section below, or post your thoughts to SWGO’s Twitter or Facebook pages.

(Top image source. Images 2 through 4 source. Rogue One images source. First Prequel Trilogy image source. Second Prequel Trilogy image source. Last image source.)