Colin Vandenberg

Associate Arts and Culture Editor

Since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, the annual Star Wars Celebration event became a source of news for Star Wars fans, in addition to its function as a Star Wars-themed convention for enthusiastic Star Wars fans to enjoy. On April 15, fans at Celebration in Orlando gathered in one of the convention rooms for news on the popular “Star Wars” animated series, “Star Wars Rebels”.

“Rebels” is an animated series which takes place five years before “Star Wars: A New Hope”. The show follows a group of original characters to the Star Wars Universe, all of which fight together for the fledgling Rebel Alliance. The series comes from the Executive Producer behind the popular series “Star Wars: Clone Wars”, and has gained a comparable level of popularity amongst fans in its three seasons of existence.As announced by Executive Producer Dave Filoni, the upcoming season of Rebels will be the show’s last. As the show takes place in the same universe as the seven Saga films and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”, and focuses on a specific time-frame, the creators are limited by how much story they can tell before the events of the show line up with those of Rogue One and “Episode IV: A New Hope”.  

Filoni premiered the trailer for season 4 during the panel. The trailer opens with the voice of captain Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshal), captain of the Rebel ship The Ghost. As images of each member of crew flashes on-screen, Hera’s voice describes them (“A boy who was lost,” etc.). The trailer continues with Hera’s ominous narration as images of season three villain Admiral Thrawn appear, as well as flashes of harrowing battles awaiting the crew of The Ghost project on-screen. A ferocious and cunning Imperial strategist, Thrawn is a character from the a series of Star Wars novels in 90’s, and is one of a very select group of old non-film characters to be included in this Disney-era of “Star Wars” stories.

As fitting for the show’s final season, the trailer presents an ominous sense of foreboding. Hera’s narration is in the past tense, hinting that the crew’s final missions are eminent. As none of the main characters in the show appear in the Episodes 4, 5, or 6, the chances are high that most of them will not survive the end of the series. Judging by the trailer, the show’s final season promises to be full of exciting and dramatic moments, and a fitting end to Disney’s first Star Wars television show.

“Star Wars Rebels” season four premieres this Fall on Disney XD.