Star Wars Rebels will have one more season. At the end of the panel at Star Wars Celebration Orlando 2017 Dave Filoni made the announcement saying “I know what it’s like when I don’t get to end an series… it wasn’t as fun.” This time, the animated Star Wars series will be ending on his terms. Filoni said “Season four is the final season of Star Wars Rebels… it’s different, it’s dark; it’s fun.” This was right before the trailer for season four was shown.
The trailer begins with Hera’s voice saying “It was a simple story about a boy who was lost and a girl who was broken. They fought alongside a survivor, a war veteran, and a fallen knight. I led them into battle against an evil so terrible it tried to black out the stars. We fought for each other. We fought for those who could not. But we never imagined it would end like this.”
There were other new and old things to come out of this panel dedicated to Star Wars Rebels. The panel began with a discussion about season three. It focused mainly on the conflict between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Their characters were intertwined and destined to have their final showdown. When Darth Maul was first discussed as returning to the show, Obi-Wan was as well. When it came to their final conflict, Obi-Wan did not want to destroy Maul but was forced to. Filoni noted that Star Wars really is about the struggle between selfishness and selflessness and Obi-Wan and Maul embody both.
Thrawn was also a character that had been in the mix of things since the beginning. Time was everything though and that is why he made his appearance when he did. This coming season he will be joined by his assassin bodyguard Rukh, voiced by Warwick Davis. This character originally showed up in the Heir to the Empire book. This assumes that Rukh takes the same general role in the Rebels as he did in the book.
Forrest Whitaker will be bringing Saw Gerrera to the show which will add a nice connection device between Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
As for the crew of the Ghost, Hera is more focused on getting the job done. Vanessa Marshall says that Hera is “impacted by the losses the group experienced in Season 3.” “He gets 20% better at not losing Chopper in bets” and “he’ll start a family with Kallus” said Steve Blum on his character Zeb. Kallus has become a phenomenon and he’s now referred to as “Hot Kallus” amongst the cast. The hashtag immediately filled up my twitter stream after this announcement.
As for Chopper, he’ll be Chopper. After his large screen debut in Rogue One, his personality has been amplified anymore. However, he should be showing he cares about the crew even more in this final season of Rebels. “Chopper doesn’t have an arc. He’s more of a reveal. You’ll learn more about him. When someone is that cantankerous, you’ll find that actually means they care the most. He has a bigger heart than you realize, because when the chips are down, he likes these guys.” said Dave Filoni.
“If there are any Mandalorian fans… you might be surprised where we end up or who might show up in season four.” Tiya Sircar said when discussing Sabine. Could we see the appearance of Boba Fett? Nothing was confirmed or denied but it definitely would not be surprising if it happened. She also shared that this final season will lead to a lot more exploration and depth of her character. This will be especially true as she navigates the complications that come with her family. Sircar shared that, “Sabine is in a new place this season. We saw her step into her own in a way we hadn’t seen before. We knew she was super capable, the epitome of this Mandalorian warrior who happens to also be this incredible creative artist. I don’t think we’d seen that dichotomy before. A complex woman wise beyond her years. But she’s still a young lady with her own insecurities and trust issues. We’ve seen her grow and mature into this really capable adult. I think she’s gotten beyond those issues with this family, but she has all these other issues with this other family, and we’ll explore those in season 4.”
“Kanan is still blind but he sees a lot more.” said Freddie Prinze Jr. After the trials Kanan grew from the “cool uncle” to really becoming more of a traditional Jedi. As Prinze continued to share about season four he said that “The good guys don’t always win.” This season looks to be darker and have perhaps some heavy costs as Prinze compared the next seasons losses to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death in Star Wars: A New Hope.
Finally there is Ezra. He continues to grow and discover who he is. Actor Taylor Gray said Ezra will have to decide what sort of a person and Jedi he will be. “I think he makes some great decisions in season four,” said Gray. Is Ezra heading towards the light side? Only time will tell! Oh, and Ezra is getting a jetpack it appears!
Finally, Mon Mothma will be appearing in the upcoming season and according to Dave Filoni, “You might see Mon Mothma get a little fiery for once.” That could be very interesting to see and it will also be interesting to see what gets her so fired up!
That’s all we’ve got for you at this time from the Star Wars Rebels panel. Keep checking back to DAPs Magic for continued updates from Star Wars Celebration Orlando 2017 and Star Wars Rebels news! Make sure and subscribe to DAPs Magic in the column on the right! What do you think of all this Star Wars Rebels news?
May the Force be with you!
