Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (project) discarded from the current "Star Wars" canon and reassigned as part of the "Legends" non-canonical stories, preventing the video game series representing it from continuing further past "Unleashed II". "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" tells the story of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, code-named "Starkiller" but born Galen Marek, as he hunts down the remaining Jedi after Emperor Palpatine orders them killed. Set between "" and "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope", the story explores the aftermath of the Great Jedi Purge as well as the rise of Darth Vader. The events of "The Force Unleashed" are "pivotal" in
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace Lucas decided the movies would work best as a trilogy. In the final act of the trilogy's final episode, "Return of the Jedi", Vader is ultimately redeemed through an act of sacrifice for Luke. This was in 1983, more than six years since the release of "Star Wars". Lucas admitted to being "burned out" and announced he would take a break from working on the saga. Throughout the 1980s, George Lucas remarked he had no desire to return to "Star Wars" and had unofficially canceled his sequel trilogy by the time of "Return of the Jedi". Because Lucas had developed