https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jWIDwq44ZI
The final trailer for Star Wars: Rebels shows that series producer Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm are going out with a bang as the final season comes to a close. But, as the Ghost Crew inches ever-closer to the original trilogy’s timeline, they’re seemingly looking back, as they move forward.
In the trailer, Anakin Skywalker (the young, non-Sith Anakin from Clone Wars) makes an appearance as a hologram from the past. Throughout the trailer, hints of Anakin’s former padawan, Ahsoka Tano, are sprinkled around. The last time we saw her, she was supposedly meeting her end at the hands of Darth Vader. But, judging by the convor bird (which was prevalent in Clone Wars), she could be alive.
We also see Ian McDiarmid reprise his role as the Emperor in what looks to be a hologram or force projection. What is Ezra Bridger, the force-sensitive center of the Rebels story, doing to get Palpatine’s up close and personal attention?
It seems as if bigger things are at play here. One of the final images shown is of the Father, Son, and Daughter from the Clone Wars series. Notice the convor bird near the daughter:
The Father, Son, and Daughter are the denizens of Mortis, a realm that’s made almost entirely of the Force and was last seen when the Father, who represents the balance in the force, attempted to get Anakin to fulfill his destiny and take his role as the Son (dark side) and daughter (light side) struggled for dominance through eternity.
Knowing we may be going back to one of the most interesting places in Star Wars lore is enough to get fans of the series excited, but knowing that Ahsoka could be returning, and the Emperor may be close to wiping out Ezra and his Jedi Knight teacher Kanan Jarrus gives this a Rogue One feel. It’s bittersweet. Will everyone dies? What’s about to happen, and how will the actions of these characters affect Episodes IV-VI?
Speaking of Rogue One, the Ghost ship made a brief appearance in the battle of Scarif, but we won’t be seeing that battle from the perspective of the heroes here. Filoni told i09 why:
“It is not something that I, or the creative team, felt strongly we needed to see in this particular series,” FIloni said. “I would also be showing the side of a battle that we already know the outcome of. And I could find ways to twist our heroes into that story, but I like respecting the filmmakers who made it. Their characters are the real heroes of that story. I don’t want to secondarily insert anybody into something and have that feel weird or semi-fraudulent. I’m sure there’s a story there [but] that particular story isn’t important to the story of Ezra Bridger, in the end.”
Rebels will return from its mid-season break on February 19th with two episodes, then the penultimate episode is on February 26th before the series wraps with a 90 minute finale on March 5th.