Getting My Own Star Wars Character

Introducing Star Wars to a brand new Generation.

When Disney bought Lucasfilm and announced they'd start making Star Wars films again, they faced a dilemma - The Force Awakens was going to be Number 7 in a series of films. While in countries like USA, UK and Germany, the saga is part of our fabric, handed down through generations from parent to child. In many countries this wasn't the case. Combined with the fact that most kids weren't even around when Jar Jar Binks graced our cinema screens Disney needed to introduce Star Wars to a whole new generation.

This is where people like myself were brought in, achieving a lifetime dream in the process. Having been lucky enough to work on high profile sci-fi shows in the past like Doctor Who. Star Wars and the team around it all felt very familiar. We identified gaming as a good platform to introduce our much loved characters and stories to this new generation.

Two of the best most intense years of my career followed, releasing games for Classic Star Wars, The Force Awakens, animated show Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One .

During the production of Boots on the Ground - a cannon fodder style game released for the cinema release and Blu-ray release of Rogue One. I decided it was time for a break after we had finished. With this being my last production and having a great relationship with the games team at Lucasfilm. They kindly allowed me to achieve another childhood dream.

And in that moment (following some photoshop), Rebel Soldier - Jenks was born. I'm the last unlockable character in the game.

The 8 year old me was jumping on the sofa. I got to be a Star Wars character in a Star Wars game. Even typing this, a huge cheshire grin always appears on my face.

This career has brought me close to so many kind people and I can't thank the Lucasfilm games team enough for my tiny place in the Star Wars universe.

Although this isn't my first time making it into the fictional sci-fi world. In the Audio Commenary for Doctor Who episode: The Sontaran Stratagem. Writer Helen Raynor revealed her character: Ross Jenkins was named after myself and Ross Southard (Script Assistant)