We learned some new things about Rebels over the weekend thanks to a panel at WonderCon. First off, Clone Wars composer Kevin Kiner will return to score the new show. Second, Dave Filoni and company reaffirmed that Rebels will have a much more OT feel to it than The Clone Wars did. That means more space battles and dogfights, which brings us to a preview clip of Hera being awesome.
Category Archives: Rebels
Final Rebels Reveal: Meet Hera, Pilot Extraordinaire
EW wraps up the Rebels character reveals with Hera, a Twi’lek pilot voiced by Vanessa Marshall.
She’s a Twi’lek (having those long head-tail things) and is voiced by actress Vanessa Marshall (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy). “She is a very strong-minded character,” says Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni, “kind of the heart of the group, keeps everyone together when they would otherwise fall apart.”
“Every time we get a script I’m breathless with anticipation,” Marshall adds, “because I want to see where we’re going too.”
Head to the link above for the introductory video.
Introducing Sabine: Rebels’ Mandalorian Graffiti Artist
The Hollywood Reporter has today’s Rebels character reveal in Sabine, a Mandolorian combat expert and… street artist.
Who is Sabine? She is a Mandalorian, and is described as “sassy,” “spunky,” “feisty” and has “a little bit of attitude.” She has an expert’s knowledge of weapons and arms, with an affinity for blowing things up. “She does it with flair,” Sircar says of Sabine, who also moonlights as a graffiti artist.
“She’s definitely one who’s turned against the Empire and that’s going to be to the Rebels’ benefit,” as executive producer Dave Filoni hints in the behind-the-scenes featurette above. As Joel Aron, CG supervisor of lighting and FX, says, “She’s adding something that we haven’t really seen before in the Star Wars universe. You have a character that is expressively creative through art — whether it’s the color of her hair or what she’s done to her armor.”
Sabine will be voiced by Tiya Sircar, who has done some voice work but has mostly done small roles in a number of TV shows and films.
Introducing Zeb: Rebels’ Stormtrooper Buster
The character announcements keep on coming. IGN has the reveal this time and introduces us to Zeb.
Voiced by the ridiculously prolific Steve Blum — whose video game and animation credits are pretty much “everything” — Zeb is a tough, seasoned and very intelligent member of the Rebels crew. As for what Star Wars alien race Zeb is, you’ll learn more about that on the series, because Zeb comes from a never before seen species – though big Star Wars fans will recognize Zeb’s basic look. Star Wars Rebels executive producers Dave Filoni, Greg Weisman, Simon Kinberg and their collaborators are taking a major influence from the beloved work of Ralph McQuarrie on the original Star Wars trilogy, including tons of early concept art McQuarrie did for the films, and Zeb’s appearance is heavily influenced by McQuarrie’s initial ideas for what Chewbacca might look like. Though rest assured, Zeb had an attitude and demeanor all his own…
Head to the link above for more details from IGN.
Rebels teasers hit the web
The two new teaser trailers for Rebels hit YouTube early today. Above is “Spark,” showing off Ezra, TIE Fighters, and a shot of Hera. The below trailer is called “Ignite” and features more Ezra and Chopper.
Meet Ezra: Rebels’ Force-sensitive con artist
TV Guide has the latest scoop on Rebels. Introducing Ezra, the Force-sensitive con artist voiced by Taylor Gray.
When we meet Ezra, he has little interest in becoming a revolutionary. The suave teen has been living on his own on the planet Lothal and is just starting to learn how to use his mysterious new powers. “To survive, instinctively every now and then when he’s in a jam he uses the Force,” exec producer Dave Filoni says in the exclusive preview video below. “He doesn’t call it that. He doesn’t know that’s what he’s doing. He thinks he’s got some abilities that are a little strange every now and then, but they help him out. It’s instinctive, it’s reactionary.”
Ezra will be mentored by Kanan, a character we were introduced to earlier this week.
Also of note, DisneyXD will be airing two new Rebels trailers next week during Kickin’ It (6/5c) and Lab Rats (6:30/5:30c).
Freddie Prinze Jr. to play cowboy Jedi in Rebels
Hey look, news!
USA Today has the exclusive scoop on who Freddie Prinze Jr. is lined up to play in Rebels. Meet Kanan, a Jedi survivor of Order 66. What’s he like? Well, Filoni describes him as a ‘cowboy Jedi.’
Admittedly, whenever a Jedi originating from the PT era shows up in the Dark Times onwards, I get a tad skeptical, but we’ll see how this works with the narrative and time placement. Getting some actual news for a change is welcome.
This week’s Rebels roundup
Let’s start off with some propaganda artwork, shall we? Lucasfilm’s Amy Beth Christenson created six posters that were released at six different websites: Empire Online, IGN, Mashable, TheForce.net, Entertainment Tonight, and Omelete.
On a release window front, Jedi News hears rumblings that Disney is set to air the Rebels introduction movie this summer. We’ve heard the TV series is set to debut in the fall, so perhaps this will be the lead-up for that.
Still, it would be nice to get some concrete information on anything Star Wars related. There’s value in keeping things under wraps, but it’s frustrating to fans to discover that important details of Rebels are being disseminated via new LEGO products.
Introducing Chopper: The Grumpy Astromech from Rebels
How about a bit of behind the scenes material from Star Wars: Rebels? Meet Chopper, the grumpy astromech.
In Star Wars, droids are always eager to help out their human masters, drop whatever it is they’re doing when called upon, and sometimes even sacrifice themselves to save others. Right?
Not quite. Introducing Chopper, a lazy, cranky (if ultimately goodhearted) astromech droid, and the latest character revealed from the highly anticipated Star Wars Rebels animated series. “If Artoo is the family dog,” said Dave Filoni, executive producer of the show, “Chopper is the cat.” Chopper is an essential crew member of the Ghost, tasked with keeping the starship running and operable for its band of heroes. In reality, thanks to his many “unique” upgrades and customizations, no other alien, human, or droid could handle the job.
Simon Kinberg discusses Rebels
Producer Simon Kinberg sat down with StarWars.com in a video interview to discuss Rebels and Star Wars. In his words, Rebels is going to be a “wholly original tapestry” that’s going to feature different stories and different characters than the films. The goal is to be an entry point for a generation of new fans and a “point of return” for existing fans.
Kinberg also discusses the Inquisitor, noting that a challenge was figuring out how to create a character that can live up to the likes of Darth Vader. Additionally, Kinberg’s favorite film? Empire Strikes Back. Take that however you want.