‘Star Wars Rebels’: Weekend’s Episode Calls Season 4 Into Question

SPOILER WARNING: This episode includes spoilers for Star Wars Rebels episode “Legacy of Mandalore.”

Star Wars Rebels fans have been concerned for a while now about whether or not the popular show will be getting a fourth season. And given last night’s episode, the outlook is conflicted.

According to io9, the episode includes a huge shakeup in the team lineup, with one member of the Ghost crew leaving the team to return to their home planet and family. The writer recapping the episode had this to say about that:

“While fans will surely be sad to see her go (at least for a bit), from a strict character basis, this fits. The Mandalorians are a people who prioritize family and loyalty.”

This change is one of the reasons that some fans of Star Wars Rebels fear that there might not be very much time left for the show, considering that fan favorites like Ben Kenobi and Darth Maul are both slated to appear soon.

However, showrunner Dave Filoni spoke to Nerdist recently about the decision to have Sabine leave the crew and remain with her family on Mandalore.

“It just feels right. Everything she’s learned and grown through, and everything she’s overcome, especially in those two episodes, I think dictates that she has to continue to deal with this.”

Filoni goes on to point out, as the recapper also did, that it would be out of character for Sabine to just leave with the crew of the Ghost after essentially sparking, as Nerdist put it, a “state of civil war” on her home planet. She’s grown too much since Season 1 for that to be reasonable.

Of course, Nerdist wasn’t the only outlet graced by comment from the Star Wars Rebels showrunner. He also spoke to ComicBook, though this time it was on the much-debated subject of whether the show would continue into a fourth season.

Filoni was very tight-lipped about it, despite, as ComicBook pointed out, the fact that Season 4 would be in production as we speak if it exists. What he did say was somewhat cryptic.

“I want to make sure that we take the audience in these Star Wars stories, I think, on this really, I hope, interesting and entertaining journey, and I want them to feel that they get a complete payoff for it, and that it’s the story that we intended.”

Considering the “abrupt” (again, as described by ComicBook) ending of his last Star Wars venture, fans could interpret this remark either way regarding the continuation of the series. The only thing that’s clear is that Filoni and writer Simon Kinberg have a plan.

Fans may enjoy another comment from Filoni, however, saying that — while they “always have an eye on ‘Does the adventure continue?'” — they hope Sabine returns, also commenting on the possibility of a new hairdo for the character since they say those changes to her character design are very popular with fans.

No fourth season announcement seems immediately forthcoming, so it’s up to dedicated fans to theorize on the next steps Filoni and his team have taken with the show.

More immediately, this week’s episode of Star Wars Rebels will be airing on Saturday, February 25, at 8:30 p.m. EST on Disney XD. TV Guide describes the episode as follows:

“The rebels fear the identity of a rebel spy will soon be discovered by the Empire, so they launch a plan to rescue him before he is caught.”

Tune in to see how the crew of the Ghost handles this situation, especially considering their recent team shakeup!

[Featured Image by Lucasfilm Animation]