Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will bring back some fan favorite characters from its predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, according to a story-focused trailer released by Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts on Monday. But the game will do more than just give Cal Kestis’ buddies Merrin and Greez Ditzus some more screen time in the sequel, it will also apparently bring back… Klaud.
Klaud is, of course, the limbless alien mechanic introduced in Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, whom Dominic Monaghan hugs in the film’s post-climax celebration scene. Klaud fans spotted him — or one of his Trodatome brethren — tucked away in a Jedi: Survivor ad that’s been running on Snapchat recently. Is it the Klaud? Yes. Could it be another alien, who is not Klaud? Also yes. Look, let’s just agree that this guy and all guys in the Star Wars universe who look like him are named Klaud.
While the reveal of Klaud in the background of an ad was big news for Klaud fans over the past week, his cameo appearance in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was teased a month ago. In the following video promoting pre-orders of Survivor, we see Cal Kestis beating up a Super Battle Droid while wearing Obi-Wan Kenobi’s gear. There, behind all the lightsaber-on-droid action, is good old Klaud.
What will Klaud be up to in Jedi: Survivor? That’s unclear, because Klaud’s role in Rise of Skywalker is mostly set dressing and comic relief. Ostensibly, he’s a mechanic, but it’s not clear how Klaud fixes things. His sensory antennae would presumably be able to detect something is malfunctioning, but with only a pair of flippers for feet, how he might help Cal Kestis and pals is a mystery.
We’ve reached out to Respawn Entertainment for the dirt on Klaud on and will update when the developer responds.
Klaud didn’t get much screen time in Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker — just 34 seconds — but lived on as a delightful meme well after we forgot the events of J.J. Abrams’ 2019 sequel. Known as “Live Slug Reaction,” the meme experts at Know Your Meme handily explain it all in the following video.