When Is Star Wars: Squadrons Set?

Cue that iconic opening crawl because Star Wars: Squadrons has officially taken to the skies and blasted off to that galaxy far, far away. While Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader are sitting this one out (on account of one of them being dead), you'll be able to sit in the cockpit of either the New Republic or the crumbling Galactic Empire. 

Whether playing as the fearless Lindon Javes of the Republic's Vanguard Squadron or hard-nosed Terisa Kerrill of the Empire's Titan Squadron, Star Wars: Squadrons has all the typical character development you'd expect from the sci-fi favourite franchise. As with anything Star Wars, Squadrons has its own clear place in the family. 

Since George Lucas took us to the worlds of Wookiees and Wampas with Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977, we've explored generations of the Knights of the Old Republic all the way through to the fall of the Jedi with Order 66, the Empire's disaster with TWO Death Stars, the formation of the Knights of Ren, and our (current) endpoint that was the lacklustre Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. So, just where does Squadrons fit into the timeline? 

• Read More: How Much Will Star Wars: Squadrons Cost?

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When is Star Wars: Squadrons set?

Fans of the movies have often complained about the gaps in the story that have plagued the franchise. While the jump from Revenge of the Sith to A New Hope was bad enough, it's nothing compared to the 30-year gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Other properties like The Mandalorian and various Expanded Universe novels occupy this space, and as Disney starts to join the dots in animation and live-action, Star Wars: Squadrons also sits in this void. 

Set in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi's Battle of Endor, Squadrons is confirmed to come before the Battle of Jakku. The Battle of Jakku took place in 5 ABY (after the Battle of Yavin), exactly one year and four days after the Emperor was defeated and the second Death Star was brought crashing down. This means Squadrons has a relatively short window to fill, taking place just after the Battle of Endor. In fact, the whole game starts as an epilogue to that final battle from Return of the Jedi.

The Battle of Jakku previously appeared in both Star Wars: Battlefront games, so pilots are no stranger to what went down and how the Galactic Civil War finally came to an end. Squadrons is taking a different tack and focussing on the prelude to that. Interestingly, it sees the New Republic Navy taking a leaf out of the Empire's book and toying with their own deadly weapon known as the Starhawk battleship. Expect Project Starhawk to get a lot of screentime in Squadrons.

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Is Star Wars: Squadrons canon?

After Disney took the reins to Star Wars in 2012, the House of Mouse tightened its leash and slowly started to erase a lot of the Expanded Universe lore. We've slowly started to see this seep back into official canon *cough* Boba Fett *cough*, meaning all was not lost. Disney has continued to churn out movies and shows, while video games including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order have also been forced to fit an established canon of dos and don'ts. This has given fans a more cohesive Star Wars universe, which Squadrons is definitely part of. 

There are obviously a tonne of Easter eggs (which we won't spoil here), as well as some famous faces from the wider galaxy. Both Star Wara Rebels' Hera and X-Wing legend Wedge Antilles have their part to play in Squadrons' story. When it comes to Wedge, he's up there with Lando Calrissian in terms of piloting skills. Speaking of which, the upcoming Calrissian Cup is pushing Squadrons into the esports scene and could hint and the hotshot pilot's own story to tell.

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Discussing the importance of canon to Squadrons, creative director Ian Frazier told Polygon how you'll only need to have watched the original trilogy to really grasp what's going on. Frazier explained that TIE Fighters never had shields, meaning their Squadrons counterparts also won't. Hyperspace tracking hasn't been discovered in this time period, so players won't see it integrated into gameplay. 

Expanding on the title's specific place in Star Wars, Frazier added, "Because of where we sit in the timeline — because we’re after Endor, we have a fair amount of flexibility around that idea that, well, you know, the war has taking a turn. The Empire was like, ‘We got this! We easily are going to win!’ And now suddenly they’re going, 'Oh, maybe, maybe not.’

"And so both sides are starting to tinker a bit more, and so that’s why we’re seeing these modifications by both factions within our game, and why you see things that you didn’t see in films. Because it’s a little bit later they started messing with different things. But the baseline, what you see by default, is still straight up what you would see in Return of the Jedi". 

Heading back to 1998, who could forget jumping in an X-Wing to play Star Wars: Rogue Squadron? Showing what the past 22 years have done for the once lamented Star Wars video game name, Squadrons is effectively Rogue Squadron hitting hyperspace. Unlike Fallen Order and Battlefront, Squadrons might not be as easily accessible thanks to the fact its a pretty hardcore flight simulator. Still, if you're keen to place every piece of the Star Wars puzzle and know the full story, you'll need to stick on your helmet and hop behind the controls for yourself.

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Images via EA Games | Lucasfilm