Jedi: Fallen Order 2 Should Change Cal Kestis' Canon Lightsaber Color
Respawn is yet to announce any major details regarding the sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but one of the small changes it should introduce would be to make Cal Kestis' canon lightsaber color orange and not blue. The first Fallen Order featured a highly detailed lightsaber customization system that allowed players to build the lightsaber of their choosing, with more crystals becoming unlocked after Cal travels to Ilum late in the game. To begin with, though, Cal wields the lightsaber of his fallen Jedi Master, Jaro Tapal, which is confirmed to be blue at the beginning of the story. However, now that Cal has gotten a new lightsaber crystal, it's up in the air as to what his canon lightsaber color will be in Jedi: Fallen Order's currently untitled follow-up.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order actually introduced a number of lightsaber colors to the new Star Wars canon when it released in 2019. While its arsenal of crystals had all featured in the Legends continuity, the number of different lightsaber colors had been scaled back dramatically following Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. Star Wars' assortment of lightsabers has expanded steadily since, with the High Republic initiative showing off all manner of different lightsaber styles and colors. However, Fallen Order was the first game to really showcase the full spectrum of lightsaber crystals in the new canon, with orange arguably the most anticipated addition.
Although lightsaber color is down to each Star Wars fan's preference and bears little in terms of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order's story, it would make the most sense for Cal's canon lightsaber not to be blue anymore. Blue is arguably the most prominently featured lightsaber color in the Skywalker Saga, with a number of iconic Star Wars protagonists like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kanan Jarrus wielding them at some point or another. However, the franchise has begun to branch out in recent years; Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker gave Rey a yellow lightsaber in its ending, while Ahsoka Tano has been wielding white blades since resurfacing in Star Wars Rebels. Blue is perfectly fine as a color, and while Cal's Jedi lightsaber will likely again be customized to each player's preference in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2, it would be more striking were his canon blade to be orange or another, less conventional color.
In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order's Clone Wars-era flashbacks, the game depicts Cal Kestis as wielding a blue lightsaber. However, Cal loses this weapon during Order 66, and, following the death of his master, he takes up their lightsaber instead. Cal again loses his weapon during a dark Force vision while on Dathomir, and is forced to travel to Ilum to locate a new Kyber crystal and build a second lightsaber.
Although Cal's first lightsaber color in Fallen Order was blue, the color of a Jedi's crystal is spiritual, and previous Jedi Knights have been known to wield different colors at the same time - most notably Ahsoka Tano, who used a green and yellow-green lightsaber at the same time during The Clone Wars animated series. Given the journey Cal had experienced between constructing his first lightsaber as a Padawan and the trials he'd gone through since involving Taron Malicos and the Second Sister, it could be thematically appropriate for his lightsaber color to change from blue to something different - potentially even orange.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was the first canon Star Wars game to depict an orange lightsaber, so it makes sense that the color of Cal's second lightsaber would also be orange. Now that he and Cere have seemingly given up their attempts to revive the Jedi Order, Cal wielding a non-traditional lightsaber color would maybe go some way in showing how - although still a Jedi - he's moved on from the Order. Non-blue and green lightsabers are now synonymous with the High Republic Jedi, who were free to develop their own interpretation of the Force and were less dogmatic than their successors in the prequels. This could also tie in with Fallen Order's exploration of the Zeffo, and potentially other Force cultures in the Star Wars mythos in its sequel. It's still unclear what Cal and Cere are now up to, but delving further into Eno Cordova's research would be a great way of keeping Fallen Order 2 away from the Skywalker Saga and the events of the original trilogy.
There are also other, more superficial reasons for wanting Cal's lightsaber to be orange in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2 - they look cool. While blue lightsabers are also cool, they're Star Wars' go-to color for a Jedi Knight, and have been front-and-center in the saga since its inception. Cal Kestis' weapon can still be a blank canvas for players, but it would be great to see a greater number of mainstream Star Wars protagonists wielding a weapon that isn't blue or green. This is already the case with The Mandalorian, which has Din Djarin wielding the Darksaber and Ahsoka Tano using white lightsabers, but it would be nice to see similar movements when it comes to upcoming Star Wars video games.
Star Wars games have a long history of spotlighting less conventional lightsaber colors, whether that be in Knights of the Old Republic or the Jedi Knight games with Kyle Katarn, and Fallen Order is no exception. However, it would be refreshing to see Cal Kestis' official lightsaber be a color other than blue or green. Yellow has been wielded by iconic Star Wars protagonists and antiheroes like Zayne Carrick and Asajj Ventress, but orange isn't synonymous with any particular character. Plo Koon wielded an orange lightsaber in Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles, but this was changed to be blue in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. This leaves the door open for Cal to really put a stamp on orange as his chosen color for his double-bladed lightsaber in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2, even if players should still be free to change the crystal to their preference.