"The war's over, Imp."
Star Wars: Squadrons - Hunted is animated short film in the Star Wars franchise, released on September 14, 2020 as a tie-in with Star Wars: Squadrons.In the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire mounts a desperate defense of a shipyard in orbit of the planet Var-Shaa. As Rebel forces overwhelm the defenders, a full retreat is ordered — leaving Captain Varko Grey behind after he breaks formation to rescue a fellow pilot. His TIE interceptor badly damaged, Grey soon finds himself locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a ruthless X-Wing pilot...
The film can be viewed for free here
on the EA Star Wars YouTube page.
Tropes in this short include:
- Big "NO!": Grey, when Titan Three is killed.
- Determinator: The rebel pilot hunting Grey tells him to give up because he's fighting for a war he's already lost. Grey believes otherwise.Grey: The war's not over yet. Not for me.
- Collateral Damage: Debris from a dogfight above a planet's atmosphere ends up falling to the earth in balls of fire.
- A Father to His Men: Even though his superiors are about to leave, Grey spares a few seconds to go back and save one of his fellow pilots, and lets out a Big "NO!" when she dies anyways.
- Faceless Mooks: Defied. Grey starts out faceless as any TIE pilot, but is instantly humanized by his expressive gestures while the rebel pilot stays utterly stoic, only once showing emotions when his astromech gets shot.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Grey takes off his helmet and respirator when his failing TIE ends up in a breathable atmosphere, in contrast to the rebel pilot never taking off his.
- Hero Antagonist: The rebel pilot hunting down Grey. Although his ruthless demeanor and complete lack of mercy can hardly be called heroic.
- Implacable Man: The rebel pilot, who says only four words: "The war's over, Imp."
- Inspector Javert: The rebel pilot wastes time and effort hunting down a single damaged Imperial pilot. He ultimately dies when his X-Wing crashes into a tall rock.
- Mythology Gag: Grey tries resembling debris as the Millennium Falcon did in The Empire Strikes Back.
- Prequel: The short takes place before the main story of Squadrons, depicting how the previous Titan Three before the player character was killed.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: The rebel pilot is dehumanized by his reflecting goggles and unnaturally calm demeanor.
- Senseless Sacrifice: Grey goes out of his way to save Titan Three — who is killed anyway, and that only makes him late enough to miss the Overseer when it jumps to light speed.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Grey saves Titan Three even the fleet is about to leave without them. Titan Three gets killed anyways and Grey is too late to dock with the ISD Overseer, resulting in him getting left behind.
- Villain Protagonist: Grey is the main character and an Imperial. In his eyes, the rebels are destructive anarchists, and he won't give up until they're defeated.
