'Star Wars Rebels': 11 Things to Know About the Animated Series' Final Season
The "Star Wars Rebels" panel at Celebration in Orlando, Florida unfolded in a way few fans expected.
What began with executive producer and showrunner Dave Filoni and his voice cast teasing the animated series' fourth season quickly gave way to Filoni revealing that Season Four will be the show's last.
Tiya Sircar (who voices Hera) revealed that, during the post-panel press conference, that she and her fellow cast members have known about the cancellation for some time, but she was glad they didn't share it with fans until Celebration, to avoid something as "impersonal" as a press release.
Here's what we know about the show's final season -- which fans definitely won't want to miss.
1. Warwick Davis Joins the Cast
Filoni has been trying to devise a way to bring the Star Wars veteran onto the series for years. But when the Ewok actor confronted him at a panel during Celebration London in 2016, plans progressed more quickly.
During the final season, Davis will voice a fan-favorite character Ruku, Thrawn's assassin and bodyguard. This is the first time the character has ever been rendered in action.
"He's really creepy, so I needed someone creepy to voice him," Filoni joshed.
2. Genevieve O'Reilly Returns as Mon Mothma
Filoni and his creative team wanted to "play more" with this character after she first appeared on the show in Season Three. "You might see Mon Mothma get a little fiery for once," Filoni said.
3. Forest Whitaker Is Back as Saw Gerrera
This animated version of Saw will be closer to the one we saw in "Rogue One." After Filoni revealed our first look at Saw and his droid pilot, Two Tubes, in a U-Wing, the EP said: "We push him a little farther in this season so you start to see that character you've seen in the movie."
4.Big Changes Are Happening for Hera
"Rogue One" very briefly featured live-action Chopper and the Ghost ship, in addition to an intercom announcement for "General Syndulla," which led many to believe it was a reference to Hera. During the press conference, Filoni confirmed that "she'll be a general before the end of the season."
Beyond that, voice actress Vanessa Marshall told fans at the panel, "I think it's still the same agenda but I believe her focus is much more sharp, as it needs to be."
5. Sabine's Fans Won't Be Disappointed
"If there are any Mandalorian fans out there, I think you will be happy with some specific episodes," Sircar teased, though she was afraid to say much more. "I think you might be surprised where we end up."
6. Our Favorite Bounty Hunter May Appear
We've seen the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul, and even a baby Luke Skywalker, so it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for Boba Fett to show up on the show. When asked about it, Sircar evaded the question in a way that made it seem like, um, yeah, Fett will be in Season Four.
"There might be some people you know... they might all be Mandalorian," she said. Who do we know who is a Mandalorian and happens to be the most famous Mandalorian?
7. Kanan Will Have a "Historic" Character Moment
"Trials of the Dark Saber" defined the character of Kanan for Freddie Prinze Jr. Now, the actor "sees more than he has ever seen before. He knows what path these Rebels need to be on." Beyond that, he teased Kanan as a "Jedi with clarity" who will step out of the Jedi-padawan relationship with Ezra. "The good guys don't always win," Prinze teased.
8. Ezra Will Face a Big Decision
"Season Four [finds Ezra] deciding what kind of Jedi -- what kind of person -- he wants to be," voice actor Taylor Gray teases. Gray went on to say that Ezra will have to decide what he can do for his people, hinting that our hero will face "a lot of decisions" -- some of them tough -- in Season Four.
9. Zeb Will Become a "More Responsible Citizen"
Steven Blum, who voices Zeb, said that his character will "get about 20 percent better about not losing Chopper in bets -- not because he likes Chopper, but because he gets better with the bets. He's actually becoming a more responsible citizen, rather than a tough muscle head."
10. Chopper Will Get More Screentime
Fans of the show love this droid, and Filoni promises that they will learn more about the little guy in future episodes. "He has a bigger heart than you realize because, when the chips are down, he really likes these guys," he said.
11. We've Seen the Season Four Premiere
Well, just the first half of the two-parter, entitled "The Heroes of Manadlor."
We won't delve into too many spoilers, we will reveal that the episode takes place on a desolate planet as Sabine leads a squadron (including Chopper, Kanan, and Ezra) on a mission to save her father, who is traveling in an envoy on his way to be publicly executed. Also making an appearance in the episode is Satine's sister from "Clone Wars."
The final season of "Rebels" is set to air some time in the Fall of 2017.