Star Wars Rebels: What Disney XD’s Show Means To The Star Wars Universe [Video]

Star Wars Rebels was met, originally, with some skepticism. At the time, The Clone Wars was unceremoniously canceled by Disney. It was the product of a completely new direction that Disney decided to take with the Star Wars Universe. The only bright spot at the time was Dave Filoni.

Filoni was the one responsible for working alongside George Lucas to bring The Clone Wars vision to reality. Much like Rebels, The Clone Wars was frowned upon when in the early stages. Over time, Filoni won over critics, and love for some of The Clone War characters, particularly Ahsoka Tano and Clone Commander Rex, rival that of original trilogy characters. It was hoped that Filoni could catch lightning in a bottle again. This time, he would need to do it in the time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d7_CVVCTDU

Star Wars Rebels is now in its second season on Disney XD, and in some people’s opinion it is already rivaling its predecessor. So, why should anyone who is not familiar with the Disney XD cartoon give it a chance? Well, simply put, it is some of the best Star Wars since the new canon has been established. It also goes a long way to answering questions that many Original Trilogy fans have been asking for the better part of 40 years.

What happened to the Jedi?

At the end of Revenge of the Sith, the Emperor issues Order 66 that was pre-programmed into the clones to wipeout their Jedi generals. Throughout The Clone Wars, we are introduced to a number of Jedi. Many of those Jedi’s fate are not shown in Revenge of the Sith. Many a fan has asked themselves if the clones could have possibly taken out every Jedi.

Enter Kannan, a force-sensitive man who was a padawan at the time of The Clone Wars. He managed to escape Order 66 thanks to his Jedi Master. However, he never finished his training. The product is a man with no home, no one to trust, and powers he still doesn’t know how to completely control.

What happened to the Force?

By the time A New Hope begins, there is one lone Jedi living in hiding, Obi Wan Kenobi. However, on the desert planet of Tantooine lives a young man that has powers that can’t be explained. Is Luke Skywalker the last of the force-sensitive?

Rebels gives us an insight into this. Ezra Bridger is an orphaned teenager on the planet of Lothal that can sense things others can’t. It makes total sense that these kids wouldn’t simply go away. In fact, if a fan really wants to dig deeper into what has happened to all of the Force children, take a look at the middle grade book series, Star Wars Rebels: Servants of the Empire by Jason Fry.

The series adds another depth to Star Wars Rebels that only enhances the Star Wars experience.

What is the history of the Rebel Alliance?

Again, at the beginning of A New Hope, a star destroyer intercepts a Rebel Alliance frigate on a “diplomatic mission.” The group is already established. Where did they come from? Why are they fighting? How dangerous are they to the Empire?

Star Wars Rebels answered a lot of these questions in the very first season. The planet Lothal is besieged by the Empire, and it is easy to realize just why an insurgence might occur. By the end of season one, we have learned enough about the Empire to know that the oppression has occurred all across the Galaxy.

Of course with these answers, more interesting questions are raised. Lucasfilm announced Rogue One for December 2016. Set in the time period leading up to A New Hope, one can only wonder if Star Wars Rebels will somehow play into that story line. Have you had a chance to watch Star Wars Rebels? If so, how do you think it fits into the Star Wars Universe?

[Photo via Disney]