The trailer for the next Old Republic expansion is also a tragic Star Wars short film

It’s hard to believe, but Star Wars: The Old Republic is nearly five years old now. One of the most expensive games ever made and once heralded as the sequel (and next several sequels) to the beloved Knights Of The Old Republic role-playing games, EA’s online space opera has taken a backseat since the publisher scooped up the rights to make every Star Wars game for the foreseeable future. But the Old Republic has always been there, doing away with its monthly fee and churning out tales from an even longer time ago in a galaxy far, far away. In fact, its next big expansion, titled Knights Of The Eternal Throne, is launching in December, and to get the hype train rolling, EA has released a lengthy cinematic trailer (i.e., a cool movie that has nothing to do with the game beyond setting up the premise) that’s a great, tragic bit of Star Wars storytelling in its own right.

Knights Of The Eternal Throne continues the epic family drama from the game’s last expansion, Knights Of The Fallen Empire, and this trailer gives us a deeper look at the heartbreaking story that set it all in motion. It stars Vaylin, the young Force-sensitive daughter of an evil emperor. Transformed by her father’s corrupting darkness and forced isolation, we see Vaylin go from happy-go-lucky kid Jedi to brooding, vengeful teen. The trailer’s other major figure is her mother who, sensing the influence the emperor was having on their children, attempted to flee with her daughter but was forced to leave without her. This perceived betrayal turns out to be the moment that sets Vaylin down a violent path to her father’s vacant throne and the campaign for galactic conquest players are tasked with stopping in the game. And if the trailer’s dramatic final confrontation is any indication, that rocky mother-daughter relationship is sure to be a major theme in Eternal Throne’s planet-hopping tale as well.