I’ve barely rested up from my trip to Star Wars Weekends when some unexpectedly sudden news was released on the official Star Wars website earlier this morning:
“The action-filled series is set between the events of Episode III and IV — an era spanning almost two decades never-before explored on-screen.Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape….
Star Wars Rebels will be produced by Lucasfilm Animation, featuring many of the key talents that made Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Fans attending Star Wars Celebration Europe will be the first to get an exclusive look at the new series. Casting will be announced at a later date. More information about this developing project will be found on StarWars.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/starwarsrebels.”
“I couldn’t be more excited to explore new corners of the ‘Star Wars’ universe,” Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said. “I think ‘Star Wars Rebels’ will capture the look, feel and fun that both kids and their parents love about ‘Star Wars.’”
With the hints about concept TIE Fighters via Twitter and Vine from Dave Filoni, I never had any doubt in my mind that the new series would be in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. This new series has a lot of potential, especially since the Star Wars Rebels team has twenty years that they can cover.
I’m very excited that art director Killian Plunkett as well as CG supervisor Joel Aron will be returning to work on Rebels, and I hope that other talent from The Clone Wars will be involved with the show as well.
Fan speculation flared up immediately now that Star Wars Rebels has been confirmed about which characters will take center stage and how the Expanded Universe continuity will be altered or taken into consideration. Whispers about Mara Jade, Winter, the Rebels from the Onderon arc from The Clone Wars are already circulating the internet. Personally, I’d love to see Boba Fett have a role in this series. The Rebels need other adversaries, don’t they? Vader can’t hunt down the last of the Jedi on his own.
Either way, I trust that if Dave Filoni and his team will put the same effort that they did into Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars fans can expect to see an amazing new series.
With bags packed into our car, my family, clad in Star Wars tee shirts and tanks, climbed into our Speeder and left for Star Wars Weekends! We arrived later than previous years, but the lines were amazingly short so early! My family was able to hop right on Rock N’ Roller Coaster as well as Tower of Terror within the first thirty minutes in the park. The first day, my family went on a lot of rides and saved most of the shows for the second day. We did go to Visit to the Maul on day 1, and it was so incredible! Ray Park astonished everyone with not only his abilities, but his kindness. Seeing him interact with all the kids on stage was adorable!
A few popular alien species include:
