Always in motion the future is....What's next for Dave Filoni after Star Wars Rebels?

I'm gonna put this out there, Dave Filoni and his team at LFL deserves to be writing the ST! (too late now).
My son and I watched the series finale last night and he was so excited and had so many questions!
I am a fan of Star Wars but I have to admit TFA and TLJ has shaken my faith in the franchise, but after last nights conclusion of Rebels I know the heart of Lucas's creation is in the capable hands of Filoni, Hidalgo and the LFL story group.
I will miss the crew of the Ghost and watching how the show masterfully segway'd  from the Clone Wars era to the time just prior to Rogue One. This is twice Filoni has introduced us to brand new characters that initially were not well received (Asohka and Ezra) but over the course of the series grew on us and clearly demonstrates Filoni is a master of character development....which I suspect stems from watching Super Dimensional Fortress Macross when he was younger.
Last night I finally saw Ezra Bridger as a strong, mature young adult Jedi. And when he left Sabine and his family it had the same bittersweet feel I got so many years ago when Hikaru Ichajo chose to leave Lynn Minmay and travel to the stars with Misa Hayase.
I can almost see a comparison between Kanan to Roy Folker, Ezra to Hikaru, Hera to Misa and Sabine to Minmay!
I've told so many friends of mine to watch this show but alas my words fell on deaf ears, my wife refused to watch it even though she watches the movies. I hope this show makes it's way to Netflix and Disney doesn't lock it in the vault til their streaming service goes live.
Unfortunately too many people prematurely judged the show at the beginning based on the art style and the fact it was on Disney XD.
Rebels had some amazing episodes, these my favorites!

1. S2 Ep 1/2 Seige of Lothol  
2. S2 Ep 25 Future of the Force
3. S2 Ep 33 Shroud of Darkness
4. S2 Ep 36/37 Twilight of the Apprentice
5. S2 Ep 38/39 Steps into Shadow
6. S3 Ep 52 Trails of the Dark Sabre
7. S3 Ep 54 Through Imperial Eyes
8. S3 Ep 57 Twin Suns
9. S4 Ep 69 Jedi Night
10. S4 Ep 71 Wolves and a door
11. S4 Ep 72 World Between Worlds
12. S4 Ep 73 A Fools Hope
13. S4 Ep 74/75 Family Reunion/ Farewell

So Sabine, and Ashoka are searching the unknown regions for Ezra after the Battle of Endor. 
And speaking of Endor, Rex is now officially the rebel on Endor that’s part of the team that destroys the shield generator...I’m cool with that.
Kanan and Hera have a son! Jacen Syndula! Force sensitive ???
Zen and Callus also live happily ever after.



 Sorry Master Yoda I am looking to the future, I am excited for the trailer for the next Star Wars animated series.

Star Wars Rebels mid season 4 trailer

With the state of the Galaxy in turmoil with Episode VIII dividing the fans down the middle and utterly failing in China and no sign of the trailer for Han Solo (4 months away) I'm happy to finally get this trailer for the second half of the final season of SWR!
I'm curious about what Sheev means when he say's "Ezra Bridger....mine at last"













And who is Ezra talking to in this scene???

Star Wars Rebels S4 E3 & E4 In the Name of the Rebellion

As Kanan tells Ezra in this episode "all paths are coming together" which is clearly evident when the Ghost arrives on Yavin IV and Zeb and Callus greet them. Shortly afterwards Hera "crashes" the reunion.
I really enjoyed these two episodes, not so much for the story that took place in it,which was good, but rather for how these two episode add to the connective threads between the PT, R1 and the OT!
I'm not clear where R1 falls in the BBY timeline, but if I were to guess 1 or 0 BBY so these episodes in season 4 are probably 2/3 BBY so as we get nearer to December my attention is becoming more and more intense to see if any of these characters in SWR cause ripples that will affect events in the ST (most notably Thrawn).
I also really appreciate the way the politics are being handled in recent years compared to george's heavy handed approach in the PT. A great example is the scene between Saw and Mon Mothma at the beginning of this episode there is a clear divide in this fledgling rebellion of how to fight the Empire. And there are arguments for and against both Gerrera's and Mothma's stances. And seeing young Ezra torn between both is a great representation of young adults in RL that find themselves "undecided" on real world politics and politicians!
The second episode was very enjoyable also because it felt a little like a noir mystery. We all know what the Empire's "super weapon" is, the fun is seeing how Saw is the ONLY one in the Rebellion who is on the right track to uncovering the truth. Unfortunately his methods have alienated him as extremist and thus the Rebellion doesn't learn about project Stardust until there's only the most minuscule bit of Hope left.

Rebels S4 Trailer 2

The 2nd trailer for the fourth and final season of Star Wars Rebels just came out and based on the timeline the series should bleed nicely into Rogue One and provide a smooth transition for Director Krennic, and perhaps some easter eggs for the December release of The Last Jedi. I'm very curious about the fate of Grand Admiral Thrawn!
I'm also very excited to see the return of Bo Katan....seems like the dark Sabre keeps coming around to her.

Star Wars Rebels Season 4 Trailer Star Wars Celebration 2017

Star Wars Rebels returns this fall with the the ongoing struggles of the crew of the Ghost and the fledgling Rebellion....a moment of silence for Commander Sato.....
My son and I watch every Saturday morning (thanks FiOs On Demand) and he's really enjoying learning about all the characters that we don't see in the Saga films....he's taken his first steps into a larger world....
So I've watched the trailer for Season 4 a few times and I'm gonna rub it in my son's face right now....
NAH NAH NAH NANA I TOLD YOU LITTLE MAN THAT BO KATAN WAS GONNA BECOME THE MANDALORE AND WIELD THE DARK SABRE!!!!

I'm really looking forward to next season as the Rebels timeline inches ever closer to the Rogue One time line and the connection is made!

Is Bo Katan on Tatooine?!

Agent Callus aka Fulcrum on Yavin 4

Amaterasu in Rebels???

Love ya Sabine, but this is where you lose the Darksabre!

A U wing...Could we see Cassian Andoe in Rebels S4?

Welcome to Yavin 4 

 

Star Wars Rebels S3E15 Trials of the Dark SabreThoughts and Impressions

I absolutely loved this episode, the Lucas Film story group and Dave Filoni has expanded the Star Wars universe more in 20 minutes than Jar Jar Abrams did in 2 hours with TFA!
For those who never watched TCW series one of the greatest story arc's was in season 5 episodes 102 "Eminence", 103 "Shades of Reason" and 104 "The Lawless"

 This amazing story arc culminated in one of the most memorable fights in the entire Clone Wars series!



With this past Saturday's episode of Rebels we are reunited with the Darksabre and given some fascinating history of the unique lightsaber courtesy of Fen Rau. I hope to see or hear more about Tar Vizla the only Mandalorian inducted into the Jedi Order in the future!
HOLY CRAP A MANDALORIAN JEDI!!!!!

That there is plenty of awesome but no there's more!

When Fen Rau hooks Sabine up with Mando gauntlets and she beats Ezra we are treated to yet another gem that expands the SW canon Universe when Kanan tells Sabine "History Lesson...the Jedi won the war with Madalore" by saying this Rebels has officially brought a huge chunk of KOTOR legends into Canon and made it possible for D/LFL to revisit this time at a later point via Movies or TV/ Streaming Media Services! 

Aside from the above 2 gems seeing Sabine let her emotions flow and knock Kanan on his ass (tapping into the dark side hmmmm) was great, I know some folks had a problem with this because she really wouldn't be able to do this but I chock it up to Kanan was always trying to break down her walls and if he didn't allow her to she would've fallen back into self doubt.

Star Wars Rebels Season 3 mid season trailer!

The mid season trailer for the third season of Rebels has just dropped!
Much like the season 2 mid season trailer the hype this trailer brings is crazy, I just hope we don't get a bunch of filler episodes till the season finale like S2.
I don't think we will because of ALL the core stories going on this season....Ezra and Kanaan....is Ezra going to the Dark Side? Kannan and Bendu, Ezra and Maul, Maul and his quest to find "him" (which apparently he does), Thrawn, when will observations conclude and we see him implement his master strategy!?
Sabine now has the Dark Sabre! When will we meet her mother and is it Bo Katan? Did Bo visit Ben while he was on Tatooine??? Inquiring minds want to know!
Will Orsen Krennic show up this season? next?
Seeing Rex and Saw reunite was great! Did I see Death Troopers?
I'm betting we see the different Rebel Cells unite in the finale against Thrawn as Maul reunites with an old "friend". And I'm betting Zeb isn't making it to S4 and Kallus is actually a double agent! I can't wait for SWR to return this Saturday and am soo fascinated how rebels will connect to Rogue One!

There's a Ghost in my Rogue One TV Spot!

I am a huge Star Wars Geek and I cannot wait till Saturday when I see Rogue One with my band of Rebels! Speaking of which I have been enjoying the Star Wars Rebels show on Disney XD since it began, and I've been hoping the SW Rebels animated series would somehow connect with Rogue One annnnnnd the latest TV Spot has that connection! Pause the below trailer at 0:07....

Star Wars Rebels S3 Meet Bendu Preview

Only nine more days till season 3 of Star Wars Rebels! This show   is just getting better and better. So why aren't you watching?! Are you still convinced Disney is ruining StarWars?
I can assure you that is not the case, season three of Rebels not only brings Grand Admiral Thrawn out of Legends status into Cannon, we also pull the Bendu into Cannon and from the Journal of the Whils the Ashla and Bogan! That is incredible! 

I'm also excited to see the roots of the rebellion take hold, maybe we'll see Sol Guerera as well this season. And it's going to be great to delve deeper into the legend of the Mandalorians with the return of Bo Katan....

And finally the relationship between Kanaan, Ezra and Maul! I think Ezra may become the first "grey Jedi"....

And I have no doubt we haven't seen the last of Ahsoka! Did you spot the bird on Bendu's antlers!?

Star Wars Rebels Season 3 trailer...OMFG Grand Admiral Thrawn is cannon!!!

I picked the right week to take vacation! Not only do I get to watch the 2016 EVO tournament I get to see all the news from this years Celebration! And I just watched the Rebels panel hosted by Warwick Davis with Dave Filoni, Sam Witwer and Tiya Sircar

Star Wars Rebels: S2E21 Twilight of the Apprentice

What a phenomenal episode! The eriness of Malachor was portrayed so well with the Sith temple hidden beneath a layer of ice in a enormous crater. Rebels does an excellent job of designing planets that pay homage to Ralph McQuarie and his art work! The area surrounding the Sith Temple was frightening with all the charred bodies, it totally reminded me of that famous playground scene in Terminator 2. As predicted Ezra was separated from Kanaan and Ahsoka and thats when he meets the Old Master!

I loved how Ezra's initial meeting with Maul complimented Luke's initial meeting with Yoda on Dagobah! Which is interesting because I was quite unhappy how the TFA was so littered with homages to the OT. Maul played the feeble old hermit (cane and all) stuck on Malachor to young Ezra but when the inquisitors arrived he shed his feeble facade and demonstrated he was more than just a shadow... clearly a nod to the 2001 novel by Michael Reaves, Darth Maul Shadow Hunter.
I LOVE this character and I know I'm not alone and I know LFL now realize the mistake they made by "killing" him off in TPM.


As Ezra and Maul traverse the temple to retrieve the Sith Holocron, Maul ever so non nonchalantly shares little gems of knowledge to the naive boy from Lothol, which in actuality is the Sith's code. As I predicted Maul is planting the seeds of doubt in Ezra's mind, and it's apparent Ezra is much too impatient and is already on the same path Anakin was at the same age.
The dialog between Ahsoka,  Kanan and Maul was hilarious as the're scaling the Sith Temple, like on the elevator platform... Maul to Kanan..."ohhh sorry only 2, no more no less"...
Kanan pulls Maul off the platform and goes on with his padawan, "Ahsoka you're with gramps"
Then later while Ahsoka is fighting Maul and she tries to run to Ezra, "Running away.....again Lady Tano?"
And this brings us to the crescendo of the Season Finale Darth Vader arrives on Malachor!
Now I'm fully aware this confrontation has many similarities to Luke Vs Vader in RotJ and I may come across as a hypocrite with my frustrations with TFA but this scene was absolutely incredible and I got the feels when you hear the Anakin/Vader voice overlay calling to Ahsoka. OMG!

Now I understand my level of enjoyment for this scene is due in some part to watching The Clone Wars Series and seeing Anakin and his Padawan grow together.
I mentioned before the similarities with RotJ this scene had, also just as Return of the Jedi has multiple meanings, Twilight of the Apprentice does as well! Are we talking about Ahsoka? Ezra? or even Maul? or all of them!




Just like watching The Talking Dead after TWD I love watching Rebels Recon right after SWR and I cannot wait to hear what Dave Filoni was hinting at regarding a major announcement at Celebration 2016 in London in 103 days!
I hope it's what myself and many others think....a certain Grand Admiral who happens to be a connoisseur of fine art!

Star Wars Rebels Season 2 finale trailer #2 Thoughts and Impressions

The season finale for Star Wars rebels is rapidly approaching and I cannot wait till next Wednesday!
Star Wars.com has released a second trailer for Twilight of the Apprentice, this one focuses on Ezra and my boy from Dathomir....the Old Master, Maul. Check out the trailer below!
This trailer has really piqued my interest, Where is Mauls allegiance lie?!



 Last we saw him in TCW Sidious spared him from death, but if you read the Son of Dathomir Novel (I haven't). Apparently Maul escapes from Sidious and disappears...looks like we're gonna find him on Malachor! But who else is on Malachor?

 

Much like Shroud of Darkness I believe Ahsoka, Kanan and Ezra will be separated when they enter the Sith temple and each will face their own "demons".
As we can see Ahsoka will confront Darth Vader in the trailer below that came out about a week ago.



We still have five days until the season finale and I suspect we will be getting 1 more trailer that will focus on Kanan. I wonder who his "demon" will be? Will it be the Inquisitors? or perhaps Sidious himself?!
Who's not coming back?
Who's turning to the Dark Side?
Will Maul take Ezra as an apprentice?
Will Maul meet Vader?
Sith's about to get real next Wednesday!

Star Wars Rebels S2E19 The Forgotten Droid

Did Disney XD forget to air this episode? The Forgotten Droid was a fun lighthearted episode that felt very out of place after the amazing Shroud of Darkness episode!
The mis-adventures of Chopper and AP-5 was entertaining and I enjoyed the parallels to R2 and 3PO's relationship.
Unfortunately this episode did  nothing to move the story along and felt very out of place. In my opinion this episode should've happened early in Season 1.
Lets go to Malachor already!

Star Wars Rebels S2E18

This episode was well worth the wait thru the last 4 episode....not that they were bad but this episode was relentless from the moment it began!

Remember Luke's reservations about going with Leia and Han to destroy the shield generator on Endor? 

It seems Kanan is feeling the same pressure from the Inquisitors as every time him and Ezra go to survey a new potential planet for the rebels the 5th brother and seventh sister show up...someone needs to run some diagnostics on Chopper!

The duel against the Inquisitors was fantastic, I loved the team work with Kanan and Ezra it really demonstrated how close the two have become, this will certainly play a crucial role in the final two episodes! 

I was also glad to see how Ezra uses his ability to help them escape. 

Back on the Ghost we are treated to a fantastic conversation between Ahsoka and Ezra about Anakin this conversation demonstrates Ahsoka's reverence for her old master and shows how he is seen as a legendary Jedi by those still discovering the force. Kanan enters and explains his concern to Ahsoka and the 3 promptly depart again to return to Lothol, to the hidden Jedi temple to commune with Yoda. What happens in the temple is reminiscent to the episode in TCW where Ahsoka brought a class of younglings to find their kyber crystals to build their light sabers. 

Each has a different vision and each is unbelievably powerful, but Ahsoka's was the most emotionally charged...(if you watched TCW!)

The revelation in Kanan's vision was unforeseen but I also wonder if everyone's predictions about Ahsoka and Ezra are wrong...what if it's Ezra who dies and Ahsoka surrenders to Vader in the hope that she can save him....crazy idea but I love theorizing about this stuff!

I can't wait till next Wednesday!

Star Wars Rebels S2E17 The Honorable Ones

OK so this episode started out with our merry band of Rebels above Geonosis investigating an abandoned orbital construction site, but Zeb's instincts served him well....

So Zeb gets separated from the rest of the crew as they escape and jumps into an escape pod, but Agent Callus isn't letting his Lassat arch nemesis get away that easily and manages to get in the pod just before it blasts off.

And this is where the episode arrives in beaten horse territory. How many shows can you think of where two arch nemesis unite to overcome a dire circumstance? Megatron & Optimus Prime against Unicron, Capt. Global and Britai Kridanik against Gorg Boddole Zer, 

The two get stranded on one of Geonosis' moons and must work together to survive the elements and the creatures within the moon.

Yet another episode that paled in comparison to the first half of season 2 in my opinion. The one thing I did like was how Agent Callus was treated by his peers once he was rescued....it's nice to see that you're only as good as your last screw up in the Empire....just like in the real world. 

There's only 5 episodes left,

Shroud of Darkness, The Forgotten Droid, The Mystery of Chopper Base, Twilight of the Apprentice Pt 1 and Twilight of the Apprentice Pt 2.

Enough with these fluff episodes! Lets get to that Sith temple!!Let's find out what the Son of Dathomir has been doing since he got his ass handed to him by Darth Sidious!!! Lets get some Sith Holocrons and Sith Archives and lets get to the inevitable Master apprentice show down!!!!!!!! 

Star Wars Rebels S2E16 Homecoming

Without a fixed base of operations still, the Rebels struggle against the ever present threat of the Empire. With constant loss of manpower and equipment Hera decides to reach out to her father, the legendary Cham Syndulla of Ryloth!
All too easy....perhaps The Empire isn't as powerful as The Emperor thinks.
Seriously this episode lacked any hint of real danger except for that poor female pilot who bit it in the beginning of the episode, it was almost comical how easily they secured that Imperial carrier!
I didn't like how Hera's voice changed during her heart to heart with her father, it was not necessary and for my 6 y/o son to question it, it is obviously odd.
And I was equally disappointed at how two of Cham Syndulla's most trusted soldiers to so easily switch support from Cham's plan to destroy the Carrier to Hera's to capture and use it for the Rebels came across terribly!
Unfortunately the hype I had after seeing the trailer for season 2.5 is nearly all gone, weakest episode of the entire series.

Star Wars Rebels S2E14 Legends of the Lasat and S2E15 The Call

OK the last two episodes, Legends of the Lasat and The Call bordered on filler episodes but both had some fascinating, redeeming aspects like how the Ashla was mentioned in LotL and the music in that episode was unlike anything I've heard in Star Wars before but it fit so well. 
And with The Call I almost saw a connection between Ezra and Paul Atreides from Dune. The Purgill actually open a new path in the Starwars Universe....biological entities able to travel via hyperspace. I doubt it, but if Lucasfilm wanted to,the Purgill could open Star Wars up to the space/ time aspect. But I'm not sure they would want to roll the dice on that risky subject.
I hope next weeks episode starts to bring the awesome we saw in the Season 2.5 trailer!

Star Wars Rebels S2E4 Relics of the Old Rebublic

Relics picks up immediately where episode 3 left off The Empire is in hot pursuit of Rex, Wulf, Gregor and the crew of the Ghost, this episode more than any other in this series really paid homage to the OT...specifically the battle on Hoth in ESB and Luke's Death Star trench run in ANH.
Seeing the 3 AT AT's pursuing the clone wars era relic was humorous.
And I enjoyed seeing Ezra as the bridge builder between Kanan's distrust of the clones and Rex's reluctance to help the rebels. He truly lived up to his name!
This was a great episode throughout and the scene at the end where Rex see's Ahsoka was the icing on the cake!

Star Wars Rebels S2E3 The Lost Comanders

Season 2 starts off right where the first left off with the crew of the Ghost aboard Comander Sato's blockade runner in Hyperspace running from the Empire. The need for a remote location to set up a base of operations has Ahsoka point Kanan and his team to the Seelo system.

If you never watched The Clone Wars I'll give you the Quick and Dirty, Ahsoka Tano was Anakin's Padawan, she was a talented Padawan that showed great promise but was accused of a terrorist plot at the Jedi temple and treason she fled from a republic prison on Coruscant and was eventually caught. She was removed from the Jedi order and brought before a Republic Court to be tried. Anakin was the only Jedi that believed she was innocent and found the real traitor, another Padawan, Bariss Offee. Afterwards the Jedi counsel offered her re entrance to the order but she turned it down ( I would've also). She walked away from the Jedi Order as Anakin pleaded for her to reconsider.

Rex was a legendary Clone Commander who served the Republic with unwavering pride alongside Anakin, Obi Wan and Ahsoka Tano....I binge watched all 5 seasons on Netflix, it may have started a bit slow but by the last season it had really hit it's stride! TCW had some very memorable characters!

 Anyway that show was a bridge between Episode II AotC and Episode III RotS. Now we have Star Wars Rebels which I believe will bridge Episode III RotS and Next year's Rogue One live action movie.

TCW show left off with one of the clones...Fives if I recall figuring out the plot and the inhibitor chips real purpose, and here we are years later and Kanan trying to teach Ezra how to be a Jedi, but this episode Ezra reminds Kanan what it is to be a Jedi....fear leads to anger....yada yada yada.

Good start to the new season!

Star Wars Rebels Season 2 NYCC Trailer

Here's the trailer for Season 2 of Star Wars Rebels from this years NYCC. Some reused footage from the previous trailer with clips from Siege of Lothol...but lots of new clips as well, with the Seventh Sister! Good Ol Dathomir supplying an endless supply of disposable bad guys :) I was on the fence with the first season until Fulcrum's identity was revealed, now I can't wait to see how all this all plays out with so many memorable characters from TCW series! Ahsoka wielding two white bladed lightsabers....awesome! Retired CA Rex....looks like Clone MRE's are off the menu!