‘Star Wars Rebels’ Executive Producer Dishes About New Disney Series
Star Wars Rebels is an upcoming Disney channel series that will premiere in October of this year — with a one hour episode — and will continue with subsequent episodes aired on Disney XD channels. During San Diego Comic Con, executive producer Dave Filoni, discussed the new project in great detail.
The new series takes place four-years before Star Wars: A New Hope and is intended to explain the events leading up to Episode IV. In Star Wars Rebels we will see new characters, as well as those from the original trilogy.
Filoni — who is credited with keeping Star Wars relevant for the last 10-years — was a show runner for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The exec says that unlike Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels is a completely new chapter in this new era for the interstellar saga of a galaxy far, far away.
In an interview with Slash Film the producer says that he wants to keep George Lucas’ legacy alive, with this new series and discusses what the pressures are like for him:
“People look to me more than before even for answers because I work with George so closely. Everything I do on this show is based on what he taught me and on my reactions. My editing style, the visual language I bring to it. I’m trying to maintain a legacy and I feel very strongly about being entrusted with that legacy. So I don’t see pressure that way.”
Filoni insists Star Wars Rebels will create a feel of old, and viewers tuning in will recognize characters, as well as the way things are done. “Hey guys, this is gonna be a great era for you, just buckle up and get ready.” Filoni says about what audiences should expect.
According to Filoni, Star Wars Rebels will center on Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) and how “he’s interacting with this crew. So every episode is about these guys. Sometimes it focuses on different parts of the crew. But it’s about this family unit and their kind of struggle against the Empire.”
For Filoni, the analogy Simon Kinberg made to the American Revolution, is exactly right. The characters in Star Wars Rebels are just trying to survive in this atmosphere where the Empire is attempting to crack down their spirit, but they are fighting without really understanding what’s happening in the bigger political arena.
“We’re looking at one little small group that’s trying to stand on their own and how does that hook up to what you know is a rebel alliance in A New Hope? I think that’s one of the things that we’re gonna reveal as this story moves forward.”
However, these rebels don’t interfere with Luke Skywalker’s role in Star Wars: A New Hope and how he comes about his father’s lightsaber. Obi Wan Kenobi is still the Jedi master, who introduces Luke to The Force. The Star Wars Rebels are only paving the way to this new hope, which takes the form of Luke Skywalker.
You can read the fascinating interview of Dave Filoni in its entirety,here, and watch the seven-minute Star Wars Rebels extended preview released by Disney:
[Image via Disney]
