The digitally animated Star Wars: Rebels took center stage during the Star Wars Celebration on Saturday. The creators and cast of the Disney XD program got together to discuss where the show is heading with its second season. The show looks to ramp up the danger and cast with Darth Vader playing a prominent role and familiar faces from the Clone Wars cartoon returning as well.
Executive Producer Dave Filoni, Freddie Prinze, Jr. (Kanan), Vanessa Marshall (Hera), Tiya Sircar (Sabine), Steve Blum (Zeb), and Taylor Gray (Ezra) were all present during the Star Wars: Rebels panel where they talked about what season two of Star Wars: Rebels holds in store. Filoni hung around for a press conference afterward where he specifically discussed the new trailer.
“There are things designed to hit you immediately,” Filoni said per the LA Times . “As you watch a trailer over and over, if they’re designed well, there are layers and there are things you see and you get a little more out of it. It keeps you engaged.”
As fans of the show are aware, Rebels takes place between Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope . The first season was primarily geared toward setting up the six heroes of the show as a family. It wasn’t until the end of the season that the rebellion storyline really picked up with the culmination of Darth Vader being tasked with hunting down the crew of the Ghost in the season one finale .
That leads into the new Star Wars: Rebels trailer which shows the growing momentum of the rebellion and a growing sense of danger now with Darth Vader on the hunt. It also brings in a significant connection with Clone Wars . Ahsoka, Anakin Walker’s Padawn, Captain Rex, and Hondo Ohnaka all return. The presence of Ahsoka combined with Vader should set up some intriguing situations.
That doesn’t mean the family theme will be abandoned. Ezra in particular may start to discover more of his origins.
“We will be addressing Ezra’s parents to some degree,” Filoni said. “Now he has this other family [on the Ghost], what happened to his mom and dad? Nice thing about season two, you get a broader look at all the characters.”
The premiere date of Star Wars: Rebels season two hasn’t been announced yet. It should be around the October timeframe, however.
You can watch the full Star Wars: Rebels panel from the Star Wars Celebration in the video below from the official channel . Jump to the 1:21 mark to catch the beginning.
[Images via Star Wars Rebels ]
