How about an actual bit of news for your Friday afternoon? Rebels producer Simon Kinberg sat down with Collider today to talk about the new show. One of the first questions posed was whether or not Rebels would have the traditional 13-episode introductory run or something more.

KINBERG: It’s 16 episodes.  And so I wrote the season finale.  And then as the executive producer, I will read all the scripts.  I will sometimes run a pen through them and rewrite stuff in the scripts that lots of other really talented writers have worked on.  I will watch cuts of the show, I will give notes on whatever I think about performance or score or animation, but they have such an amazing team of people, many of whom are Clone Wars alums like Dave Filoni, who’s as much of a creative voice on the show as anybody.  So they put a great team together.  They really know what they’re doing.  And I will come in, and look at stuff, and give input, and occasionally write episodes.  So the first season I’m responsible for writing three episodes—the first two and the last one.

Additionally, Rebels will be featuring characters from the original films. Which ones? Well, apparently Lando is one of them. So, who’s getting excited?

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.