Star Wars Rebels

[The_Chosen_1]

Do you mean Ezra? I'm not sure why that would be relevant, unless Lucasfilm decides they need to carry him forward that far. We don't even know how far into the future Episode VII will be, but based on what we do know...

His video says he's 14 years old, and Rebels takes place 5 years before ANH, making him:

19 (ANH)

22 (ESB)

23 (ROTJ)

??? (Episode VII)

Coincidentally, his character is the exact same age as Luke Skywalker is throughout the OT films.

[Daimar]

Hm....that's not what I've heard. As far as I know, the series will premier with a "movie" (probably meaning a double-length episode) on Disney Channel in late summer/early autumn, with the series itself showing on Disney XD in autumn. This is the first I've heard any mention of spring.

They mention spring, it is a trailer that could also be seen on the official star wars homepage (but without the narrator), with Ezra looking in the sky, while a tie-fighter crashes down, and the ghost, jumping to hyperspace and in the end the narrator says this spring, on Disney XD, thats why I was so confused. I saw it again two times, during the comercials, yesterday on Disney Channel.

[BrickG]

The latest interviews and clips give me no faith that this is going to be any better than Clone Wars.

It sounds like it's more kiddy. They've almost described it as such. And the latest clip is ridiculously bad. They make killing ties into a game and plaything. In the original movies the ties presented an actual danger and weren't a joke.

[Zilcho]

^ don't get your hopes up. It's a tv show for kids, right? I doubt they'd show so much defeat and pessimism in a kids show.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Zilcho

[Master_Data]

I wonder when we will get Sabine in minifig form. I knew that they would bring the Mandalorians back into this!

[Fives]

So Wonder Con just happened, and I found an interview with Dave Filoni about the series. Its definitely worth the read.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/27/star-wars-rebels-dave-filoni-discusses-the-approach-the-characters-and-fan-skepticism?page=1

Edited April 29, 2014 by Fives

[BrickG]

The interview is depressing. And I really don't like what this Dave Filoni guy does. :/

The interview makes it sound like this will be the most kiddiefied Star Wars yet. So do the latest clips.

[Fives]

The interview is depressing. And I really don't like what this Dave Filoni guy does. :/

The interview makes it sound like this will be the most kiddiefied Star Wars yet. So do the latest clips.

I disagree. I feel like he's right when he says how young kids love Star Wars and see it as this amazing, intense adventure, and adults see it as a fun ride. When you think about it, A New Hope is very much a kids movie. Theres very little character development, a basic plot, no romance; just a lot of really cool stuff with fun characters who are easy to understand. If they are able to replicate the spectacle and excitement that A New Hope creates (I still get giddy when I watch the TIE Fighter fight), while adding a little bit more of a grander story that fits into the overall scope of the universe.

I also feel like I'm now no longer so adamant about callbacks to The Clone Wars, and Ahsoka in particular. I'm now almost relieved that this show will be its own sorta thing, while still respecting the other stories. And I'm glad to hear that Filoni has contact with other departments within Lucasfilm, so if Ahsoka were to perhaps appear in the upcoming Lords of the Sith novel, he could guide the author on how to weave her into the story. I also feel like Ahsoka, if she's given any kind of closure at all, deserves it to exist in a darker realm of the story.

I find myself focussing a lot on Ahsoka, but its tough not too because she's my favourite character in the Star Wars universe.

[BrickG]

A New Hope isn't a kids movie. It's an everyone movie. It has appeal beyond kids. Clone Wars for reasons I won't get into lacked that. No, don't show me adults that love it. I know they exist. The point is the fanbase is lopsided and it's a fact to say that the adult appeal is a lot more limited. The adult viewership is much smaller than it's ever been for Star Wars because the people suck at making something with adult appeal.

And from the limited amount of stuff shown I would say they are so far unable to replicate the spectacle and excitement of A New Hope. Like in that clip where they're fighting Tiy Fighters. There is a distinct lack of a sense of danger. In this clip we see Hera being incredibly cocky. She downplays the heck out of the Tie Fighters saying the other guy should be able to handle one little Tie Fighter and seems to suggest they're child's play. Her whole attitude is incredly cocky and confident. There is zero danger.

Compare that to the Tie scene in A New Hope. There's music that can be almost described as a bit worrisome. There's a real sense of danger as the Ties shoot the Falcon. Han tells Luke not to get cocky and there's a bit of nervousness in the air. Yeah, they cheer and celebrate when they defeat the enemy but there was always a sense of risk and danger.

It's not much to go on but whatever. It's my prediction that Rebels will be a really freakin' kiddie show. Heck, they'll probably find excuses to use Jar Jar Binks continually like Clone Wars did.

[Fives]

You're right to say that the fan base is lopsided, BrickG. But its lopsided in a different way. All the adult fans that were kids when the originals were released seem to still have this huge distaste for most things that come directly form George or others with his power. Its like they're still licking their wounds from The Phantom Menace, 15 years later. They've become accustomed to the darker EU stories from comics and books, and now that they're older and want more substance from the stories, want to see a much darker side to the universe of Star Wars, that they've forgotten the true basis for Star Wars: old 1940s serials, with campy stories and obvious plots.

Then again, this is all coming from a fan who is part of a younger generation. I was 5 when The Phantom Menace came out. I'm part of the prequel generation. But that doesn't mean I'm blind to the bad things the prequels did. TPM, as a film, is atrocious. But it is what it is, and I love it. It seems that todays society has become too cynical and has forgotten how to distinguish good from evil. Movies and tv today focus more on anti-heroes, like Walter White or Don Draper. We're in the exact same position we were before Star Wars existed, with muddy politics and unjustified wars. Back in the day, Star Wars helped bring us out of that and rejuvenated the storytelling industry. We've come round full circle, so I say let this show be more kiddie. I welcome the childlike adventure with open arms.

[BrickG]

I could agree with your argument if the majority of Star Wars fans didn't completely or mostly ignore EU. So arguing EU's influence being a strong contender as the reason for the shift in views IMO doesn't really work. EU didn't change expectations for 98% of the general populace because most people don't bother with it.

[Brickadeer]

I'm not sure if this was mentioned already, and it might not be so exciting for erveryone, but I think we're gonna see Rex in Rebels.

I will quote from an interview between IGN's Eric Goldman an Dave Filoni:

Filoni: You're exactly right. It's not so easy when you have committed fronts everywhere throughout the galaxy. What are they going to do? I think the Council, like I said, they are more aware. Shaak Ti is aware that there was a problem with the clones, however, they want to believe that this was just a problem with this parasite that infected Fives and Tup and that's the end of it. If they believe in the bigger truth, then it's a much, much, much, much, much worse situation. Anakin, who is the only Jedi who really hears Fives's accusation that the Chancellor is involved, is not going to believe that at all. As soon as Fives says that to Anakin, he's like, "Okay, you're crazy." The interesting one to me that hears it is actually Rex. So you have to wonder about that.

IGN: Which I do!

Filoni: [Laughs] Yeah, exactly. What does it mean that Rex is basically the only clone that hears what pretty much the truth is, and how would that affect his future? I would posit that it affects his future greatly. So, you know, you'll just have to wait and see what that means. [Laughs] It used to be great because I could mess with you like this, and we had a whole season coming next year, but that's not the case now. But we have other exciting Star Wars content coming, so, you know…

[iamwhoiam]

Here is the new trailer preview!

I am actually starting to get a bit excited for this! Full trailer on Sunday,

Thoughts...

[Spider-Man]

[-Horizon-]

That actually looks really cool, but I still fill bad for the Stormies who are getting beat up by a girl in pink mando armor, a cowboy Jedi and a kid

[Clone OPatra]

The biggest thing I notice is the animation, which unfortunately doesn't look as good as what Clone Wars got to be. Not that it's bad animation exactly, but everything has way too much shine on it, especially the characters, giving them too much cartoony pop. Clone Wars really perfected a wonderful animation style towards the end of its run, and this seems to have gone away from that towards more typical kids CG, which tends to be a bit sillier. It's hard to describe really, but Clone Wars had a certain almost grungy edge to it that set it apart from other CG shows that I've seen.

[Fives]

The biggest thing I notice is the animation, which unfortunately doesn't look as good as what Clone Wars got to be. Not that it's bad animation exactly, but everything has way too much shine on it, especially the characters, giving them too much cartoony pop. Clone Wars really perfected a wonderful animation style towards the end of its run, and this seems to have gone away from that towards more typical kids CG, which tends to be a bit sillier. It's hard to describe really, but Clone Wars had a certain almost grungy edge to it that set it apart from other CG shows that I've seen.

I feel like the animation looks like it could be an old 90s Disney film put into CG. Kanan looks like he could be from Mulan or Aladdin.

[Nom Carver]

Yes, I think so too, he does look like Aladdin.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Nom Carver

[Fives]

Some new videos introducing the two main villains of the show.

Agent Kallus

http://www.starwars.com/video/star-wars-rebels-meet-agent-kallus-imperial-enforcer

The Inquisitor

http://www.starwars.com/video/star-wars-rebels-meet-the-inquisitor-the-empire-s-jedi-hunter

[Clone OPatra]

I wasn't keen on The Inquisitor before, but now that Lucius Malfoy is playing him, that's pretty cool. I hope they aren't just blowing smoke in the video by saying that he's a real threat. If there's another Clone Wars Grevious style villain in this show, that would be very disappointing.

[Fives]

I doubt thats what will happen. In the CW show, there were so many different villains to use, meaning that some could be weaker than others. But this show seems like they are going for a more intimate type of relationship between the characters and the audience by making the story less about a galaxy wide conflict, meaning that there are fewer characters and thus more time to spend developing those characters more than some were in the CW.

I think that makes sense, but I'm not sure.

[The_Chosen_1]

Yeah, I definitely follow you Fives. The show runners seem to be following more of an OT pattern with Rebels, which probably means we'll be seeing more character-driven conflict and fewer grand-scale battles. Time will tell, though.

[Fives]

Yeah, I definitely follow you Fives. The show runners seem to be following more of an OT pattern with Rebels, which probably means we'll be seeing more character-driven conflict and fewer grand-scale battles. Time will tell, though.

I really hope that's the route they take. I feel like one of the big flaws of CW was that it tried to cover too much of the galaxy, and thus had many missed or wasted chances for better stories. I think if the CW were to be divided so most of it tells a continuous narrative, I think the Mandalore, Nightsister, Maul and Ventress plots, which all connect to each other, are the core stories of the show. Mortis, Order 66 and Yoda's arc are the other three that I consider essential parts of the Star Wars story. Everything else just kinda happened.

With Rebels they have a chance, like you said, to make a OT style show. I feel like this is where Star Wars will finally truly feel like the old Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials that Lucas was trying to reinvent. A weekly show with solid heroes and villains and fun adventures is the closest thing to true Star Wars since 1977.

[Mr Man]

New trailer.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Mr Man

[Spider-Man]

Wow that looks great! Hopefully there will be somewhere to watch it online since I don't get Disney XD when I have to go back to school.