Ubisoft and Lucasfilm’s open-world video game “Star Wars Outlaws” launched Friday, giving fans of the galaxy far, far away the chance to play as a new character, Kay Vess (voiced by “Tarot” and “Star Trek: Section 31” star Humberly González) in a story set between the events of the original film trilogy, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”
This new protagonist isn't a Jedi or a Sith, a rebel or an Imperial sympathizer — she's a rogue trying to survive in the crime-ridden "Star Wars" universe with little to no knowledge of the criminal syndicates that rule it and no one to help her save a diminutive sidekick named Nix.
“It's such a fun timeline, and I know this from the creative team — Nikki Foy, the lead screenwriter, and Navid Khavari, our story director, when this opportunity came up and they found out that the timeline they would be in the original trilogy was between 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi,' I think everyone was in shock,” González told Variety. “And they always say, ‘We got out of there before they changed their minds,’ because this is a dream timeline. It’s a time when the crime syndicates are thriving. The underbelly of ‘Star Wars’ is rampant. So add this new villain story where she’s a young girl who’s not a Jedi. She’s not a Sith. She doesn’t want to belong to anyone, not the Rebels, not the Empire. She just dreams of getting rich and being free out there in the galaxy. She doesn’t know what that means, but we get a chance to explore with her how she came to be this incredible villain as a rookie, but she doesn’t have the experience that we’ve seen on ‘Star Wars,’ like Lando Calrissian and Han Solo. She’s different because she doesn’t have that experience. So exploring the underworld with someone who doesn’t know the dangers of it is very exciting.”
González, who not only lent her voice to Kay Vess but also did all the motion capture for the video game character, says her own ideas about who Kay should be influenced the way the character was ultimately portrayed.
