Is Starkiller A Clone Of Anakin Skywalker? Galen Marek's Star Wars Story Explained
Starkiller (Sam Witwer) — real name Galen Marek — is introduced to "Star Wars" fans in the 2008 video game "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed." The character is taken as a child by Darth Vader (Matt Sloan) and trained as his secret Sith apprentice. However, his destiny is to become a great Jedi like his parents, Kento (Tom Kane) and Mallie Marek, eventually doing so behind Vader's back. His story culminates in a grand duel aboard the Death Star, where he defeats Vader and takes Darth Sidious (also Witwer) to his limit before sacrificing himself to save his allies.
While this may seem like the end of his story, it continues in an intriguing way. Contrary to the belief of some, Vader's attempt to manufacture a new apprentice for himself after Starkiller's death doesn't involve the use of Anakin Skywalker's DNA. Rather, as revealed in "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2," he simply clones Starkiller himself. Known as Subject 1138, this Starkiller replica looks, sounds, and acts like the original, in addition to having all of the same abilities. He also has all of the original's memories, hence why he swiftly escapes Vader's grasp and departs Kamino to seek out his friends.
It's unknown what becomes of the cloned Starkiller beyond this game, though Witwer himself has shared one key detail about his proposed future.
Starkiller would've faced off with Darth Vader again after The Force Unleashed 2
"Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2" concludes on something of a cliffhanger. The Starkiller clone defeats Darth Vader in a showdown on Kamino, and the Sith Lord is taken into Rebel custody. He's placed aboard the Rogue Shadow, where Starkiller, Juno Eclipse (Nathalie Cox), and Proxy (David W. Collins) transport him across the stars — with the bounty hunter Boba Fett (Dee Bradley Baker) in tow. This is where the story of Starkiller concludes, seeing as the "Force Unleashed" games have been removed from the official "Star Wars" canon, and a third game never came to fruition. However, Sam Witwer has discussed where Starkiller's story could've gone had the game series continued.
In May 2020, during an appearance on IGN's Work from Home Theater, Witwer outlined a notable story point in Starkiller's future beyond "The Force Unleashed 2." The actor claimed to have discussed another battle between Starkiller and Vader with the minds behind the "Force Unleashed" saga. "At some point, there would be a confrontation where Starkiller's fighting Vader and everything that worked before is not working now," he said, revealing that at long last, Vader would've gotten the upper hand against his former apprentice, reminding him why he's the Dark Lord of the Sith and revealing that he was merely toying with him during their previous duels.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely that we'll ever get to see this Vader-Starkiller battle or any further developments to the original "Force Unleashed" continuity or the story of the clone of Galen Marek. Thus, fans of the character can only hope that Starkiller returns to the "Star Wars" canon in one way or another in the coming years.