After an uneven third season that followed some pretty strong material in the second season, Star Wars Rebels now has its first trailer for the upcoming fourth season this fall. And the reveal that it will be the final season, which looks like it’s going to take us closer to the timeline of Rogue One and A New Hope. The first half of the trailer recounts character and story elements from the third season, giving it more weight than it felt in a lot of the episodes, and pushing us toward what looks to be a pretty big face off with Thrawn in the coming season – which is a given considering they’ve set him up as a big bad throughout the third season without following through fully on it.
“It’s my decision, as the creator of this show with Simon [Kinberg], that Season Four is the final season of ‘Star Wars Rebels,” Dave Filoni said at Star Wars Celebration. “I know, I know. But I firmly believe that each generation needs to have their own piece of ‘Star Wars,’ and I feel that this show for a lot of kids growing up with it, is very much as much a part of ‘Star Wars’ as any of the movies, and I really appreciate that love for you guys. And I feel creatively that I can make this story about these characters the most meaningful it can be by arcing it to where I can get to the end with this season.”
“So, I now that’s tough. That’s tough for me, but believe me, I can say I know what it’s like when I don’t get to end a series,” he continued,” “and what happens when you don’t end a series is that you end up making T-shirts, and you have to prolong it, and it wasn’t as fun. Believe me, this show represents by no means the end of anything we’re doing in animation, of course.”
The series stars Freddie Prinze Jr. as Kanan, Vanessa Marshall as Hera, Steve Blum as Zeb, Tiya Sircar as Sabine, Taylor Gray as Ezra, Dee Bradley Baker as Captain Rex, Captain Gregor and Commander Wolffe, Sam Witwer as Darth Maul, David Oyelowo as Agent Kallus and Lars Mikkelsen (“House of Cards”) as Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Plot concept: Having established a secret base on Atollon, the Ghost crew, now led by a more powerful Ezra, strengthens the rebel fleet by acquiring new resources and recruits eager to stand against the Empire. However, the Imperial efforts to eliminate the rebellion are now being led by the coldly analytical Grand Admiral Thrawn, whose strategic, tactical and cultural insights make him a threat unlike any they have faced before. In season three, Ezra and Sabine take on new roles and challenges as the rebels prepare for their biggest mission yet – a direct assault on the Empire.
