Respawn Staff Originally Pushed For Black Lead In Jedi: Fallen Order
Jedi: Fallen Order was already mired in controversy over its lead because of the reason behind Cameron Monaghan's casting. He was reportedly chosen because Rey was leading the films and Respawn wanted to avoid having two women front and centre. But lighter and tech artist Nora Shramek says there was more to it, alleging that developers within Respawn initially pushed for a Black lead but were told no.
As reported by GamesRadar, she said that the reasons given were that the game "already [has] two Black people". But then further racist comments were allegedly made, "The worst thing I heard was when someone said, 'I think all the Black people need to have more glossy skin because Black people have more oily skin than other people'. Dead shock on everyone's face. [They] look at me, 'Right Nora?' Me, 'What the fuck is wrong with you?"
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Shramek claims in her tweets that several developers at Respawn were pushing for a Black protagonist in Jedi: Fallen Order but that they were met with pushback from higher-ups, ultimately resulting in the casting of Cameron Monaghan as Cal Kestis. Shramek added, "When they told us who was playing the lead, I was like,' Wow, that is the most white male you could possibly go.'"
Kestis headlined the first game but is also expected to be the lead in the second, although little is known about Jedi: Fallen Order 2 and how far along in development it is.
No other developers have spoken up yet about the controversy and alleged racist remarks, nor has EA addressed this issue, but TheGamer has reached out for comment.
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