Star Wars Rebels introduced a new chapter into the Star Wars saga, one which has been accepted quite a bit more by fans that what the recent Solo standalone film has been or even the latest sequel offerings. Once Disney secured the rights to Star Wars however, everything which was once considered to be canon by fans was, for the most part, now no longer part of what many had come to accept. Rebels however came following the purchase and in fact is officially considered to be part of the Star Wars universe. However, it was also announced that Disney had intended on bringing the series to a close.
The fourth season of Rebels does in fact end the series, at least to some degree. Those who might otherwise be unfamiliar with the computer animated series should be aware that Rebels is set just five years prior to the events of A New Hope and throughout the seasons various characters from the movies have made their way into various episodes. Rebels follows the events of the crew of The Ghost, a group who had a common interest of helping those victimized by the Empire and as the series has progressed, they have eventually found themselves now becoming a part of the Rebellion. This has even been included in Rogue One as viewers may catch of the Ghost during one of the key battle scenes.
When Rebels originally began it felt as though most of the episodes in the first season were essentially little more than just self-contained stories with a very slight, underlying storyline tying everything together. This has evolved as the series has progress. There has been a lot of build up to move Rebels away from simply beginning a weekly assault on Imperial depots to help those that the Empire has harmed and instead the theme of the Rebellion has become more and more a primary part of the series. This is a change to a certain extent and most fans may recall that initially Kanan really wanted to part of the growing resistance against the Empire. He was content with doing things the way they had always done them but even his opinion began to change.
Characters which have been seen in previous incarnations of Star Wars also make their way into Rebels this season. This has been the case quite often with the series and season four finds not only the Emperor making an appearance but also Saw Gerrera. While some may connect the character to the Rogue One spin-off film, he goes back a little farther to the Clone Wars animated series. Here we find him insistent that the Empire is working on a secret weapon, but Mon Mothma seems to be unwilling to act, not just to find out more about what the Empire may be working on but against much of anything it would seem. Much of the season though deals with Ezra and the other attempting to put a stop to the production of another weapon; the TIE Defender. While it hasn’t been seen in the original films, the Defender is in fact a part of the Star Wars universe which first appeared in the iOS game Star Wars: Commander and later in Star Wars: Battlefront.
The decision to make the Star Wars expanded universe now non-canon may have been a bit premature or at the very least, it seems that there may have been plants to reboot some aspects of it. Grand Admiral Thrawn has long been a fan favorite. The character originally appeared in the novel Heir to the Empire which became a trilogy of books. Thrawn reemerged however in the third season of Rebels and in season four continues to be a huge menace for Ezra and his friends. His inclusion in the series leads to the finale which may leave a few fans unsatisfied. Without reveling too much, Rebels makes a time jump at the end and closes out shortly after the Battle of Endor. There are some characters from the series which sadly don’t live to see the defeat of the Empire, others do, and there are some who have seemingly vanished. On the more positive note however, the fate of another character that fans love, Ahsoka Tano, is finally solved.
As with the previous blu-ray releases, the fourth and final season of Rebels does include a selection of bonus material which includes
- Six Audio Commentaries
- Ghosts of Legend
- Force of Rebellion
- Kevin Kiner: The Rebel Symphony
- Rebels Recon
These examine various aspects for the series from the music to exploring more of how the series connects with the main Star Wars universe that everyone knows. While they do feel more like EPK features, it’s not bad especially for those who may be new to the series.
Rebels may seemingly have ended but the finale does leave room for the story to continue. This could be done as another series, it could be with a movie such as The Clone Wars did, or it could be any number of things. As it stands now, there haven’t been any official plans announced for the characters of Rebels although a new season of The Clone Wars has been announced as well as another new animated series, Star Wars: Resistance which is set prior to the events seen in The Force Awakens. Star Wars: Rebels did manage to accomplish quite a bit over its short four season run and much like The Clone Wars, it seems that it successfully gained a rather faithful following. Season four may seem like the end but it won’t be. At some point Rebels will in fact make a return appearance in some fashion and while I did feel that the ending really left didn’t bring any true closure, the rest of what the series has offered has been a very entertaining expansion of the once against growing Star Wars universe.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a young daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.