Star Wars: Rebels

[RogueIce]

Just posted on the SW YouTube, straight from Celebration:



The Hype Is Real

[Mange]

Rebels panel at SWCE:

THRAWN CONFIRMED (and Zahn was brought in by Filoni to consult!)

WEDGE ANTILLES

Sabine gets a new look, and a jetpack! Also the Darkblade from TCW

And so much more!

Timothy Zahn is also writing a new novel called Thrawn to be released in April.

I would much rather have seen the unproduced episodes of TCW (such as the Mandalorian arc that tied directly into ROTS) than this... Rebels really isn't for me. Still, the trailer does look pretty good.

[Rogue 9]

He's baaaaack!

[SAMAS]

Were those Darktroopers?

[Tiriol]

What, no Vader in the trailer? It could be a good thing or a bad thing if they end up building Thrawn as a bigger threat than Vader, although judging from Ezra's obsession, Lord Vader is to him the Main Bad Guy - and Maul admitted that he didn't have the strength to face Vader alone.

[Pelranius]

Were those Darktroopers?

Looks like it?

If Pellaeon does/did show up, Liam Cunningham would make a good choice to voice him.

[eMeM]

A few interesting pictures:

Tarkin has a model of his previous ship in his room, Star Trek style


TIE Interceptor with red stripes on its wings. Does Soontir come in a set with Wedge?


Y-wing which looks like a something between BTL-A4 from ANH (turret, smaller engines and main guns) and BTL-B from TCW (cockpit, turret placement)


YT-2400 (not Outrider though)


Thrawn studying art - we can see Sabine's graffiti, ancient Mandalorian painting, a photo of Ezra as a cadet, a Twi'lek mosaic, a picture of Hera nad her parents, some other things and Filoni's fetish, someone riding a wolf.

Look at the window to see a planet we've not been to for a while

Governor Pryce! We've heard about her a lot, never met her.

Is that a new rank badge?
I wonder what happened to that Base Delta Zero season 1 promised us, it was connected to this person... a nice explosive season finale maybe?


A two-seater A-wing.

[RogueIce]

Is that a new rank badge?

No, it's the same as Tarkin's rank badge.

[FaxModem1]

I guess they decided to have Thrawn in the new EU already be a Grand Admiral before the Battle of Yavin, whereas in the Legends continuity, he's only a captain or Admiral at this point. I understand why, they want to show Thrawn at his peak. But it spells doom for him appearing anywhere after the OT.

[Thanas]

Really hope they do not turn Thrawn into a cliche..... ah well, lets hope Zahn manages to do something about it.


Also, why is Thrawn light greenish blue instead of the dark blue he is usually depicted as?

[NecronLord]

Is that a new rank badge?

No, it's the same as Tarkin's rank badge.

Though she does have less cylinders. I wonder if he's the same rank as her, or superior? Looks like he's her superior from his appearances thus far, but maybe not.

[Thanas]

Also it seems as if Ysalamiri are canon again, look a the animal pictures behind Thrawn.


Though why is Thrawn wearing red mascara?

[Galvatron]

Also, why is Thrawn light greenish blue instead of the dark blue he is usually depicted as?

He's not supposed to be dark blue either. Chapter 1 of Heir to the Empire described him thusly:

He sat motionlessly, his shimmery blue-black hair glinting in the dim light, his pale blue skin looking cool and subdued and very alien on his otherwise human frame.

[RogueIce]

Though she does have less cylinders. I wonder if he's the same rank as her, or superior? Looks like he's her superior from his appearances thus far, but maybe not.

Assuming they're significant, of course.

Also it seems as if Ysalamiri are canon again, look a the animal pictures behind Thrawn.

Nope. Filoni said the art is a nod to them, but the Force-repelling slugs are emphatically not Canon, at least so far as he's concerned.

Really hope they do not turn Thrawn into a cliche..... ah well, lets hope Zahn manages to do something about it.

Filoni specifically brought in Zahn to consult on Thrawn, so I think it'll be ok.

I mean, they've treated Tarkin and Vader with deadly seriousness. I think they'll do the same for Thrawn. They know what this character means, even if he isn't from the movies like the other two.

[The Romulan Republic]

What, no Vader in the trailer? It could be a good thing or a bad thing if they end up building Thrawn as a bigger threat than Vader, although judging from Ezra's obsession, Lord Vader is to him the Main Bad Guy - and Maul admitted that he didn't have the strength to face Vader alone.

Its arguably good for Vader to let Thrawn take centre stage for a while, as it could prevent Vader being overused and thus losing his impact.

In any case, Vader is a nearly four decade old icon with a central role in two blockbuster film trilogies. Nobody is likely to supplant his central role in the franchise.

But I'm so glad to see Thrawn coming back, with Zahn's involvement. One of the relatively few pieces of the old EU I really cared about losing.

[The Romulan Republic]

That picture of Thrawn studying art is just lovely.

Poor Sabine. You had no idea you were playing right into his hands.

[Dartzap]

Bendu being voiced by Tom Baker. Would you like a force jelly baby....?

[The Romulan Republic]

This makes two former Doctors to voice Star Wars characters (Tennant voice a droid on The Clone Wars).

[RogueIce]

Rebels Will Treat Thrawn as a Vader-Level Threat

"You are cautious on a weekly series to put them into a 'Oh, he lost again!' [situation]. You can't play him that way. He's way too smart," said Filoni.

In that regard, using Thrawn is comparable to using Darth Vader in a serialised format: "If Vader is around all the time, he's just gonna take our guys out." Rebels dealt with this problem by using Ahsoka, a character who could confront Vader and potentially hurt him, if not defeat him.

But things are now different: "There's no one to defend them against Thrawn," said Filoni. "We want to treat him like a big time villain, as much as Darth Vader, but on the strategic, military side of things."

[eMeM]

Is that a new rank badge?

No, it's the same as Tarkin's rank badge.

Though she does have less cylinders. I wonder if he's the same rank as her, or superior? Looks like he's her superior from his appearances thus far, but maybe not.

That's what I was referring to. Why would they change the number of cylinders if she was the same rank? That would just create unnecessary confusion. Earlier in the show it was implied that she is the governor of Lothal, a planet or system at best.


Thrawn also has two code cylinders, quick google-fu tells me that he didn't have any in the old EU. They added those slightly altering his "classic" look, so maybe they have some kind of a coherent system going on.

[Elheru Aran]

Is it me or have they stylized his appearance just a tad with the prominent forehead panels and sharply defined cheekbones? Perhaps to increase 'inhumanity'? But on the other hand, this stylization seems to be a common feature in the aesthetic of the show, so it probably doesn't mean much of anything.

[The Romulan Republic]

Rebels Will Treat Thrawn as a Vader-Level Threat

"You are cautious on a weekly series to put them into a 'Oh, he lost again!' [situation]. You can't play him that way. He's way too smart," said Filoni.

In that regard, using Thrawn is comparable to using Darth Vader in a serialised format: "If Vader is around all the time, he's just gonna take our guys out." Rebels dealt with this problem by using Ahsoka, a character who could confront Vader and potentially hurt him, if not defeat him.

But things are now different: "There's no one to defend them against Thrawn," said Filoni. "We want to treat him like a big time villain, as much as Darth Vader, but on the strategic, military side of things."

While it might seem like Thrawn-wank and overshadowing Vader, you need effective villains, and this is something Rebels' predecessor The Clone Wars handled fairly well- having a large rogues gallery and giving them all their time in the spotlight, without any of them being really overshadowed. It keeps your main villains from becoming stale.

[Lord Revan]

Rebels Will Treat Thrawn as a Vader-Level Threat

"You are cautious on a weekly series to put them into a 'Oh, he lost again!' [situation]. You can't play him that way. He's way too smart," said Filoni.

In that regard, using Thrawn is comparable to using Darth Vader in a serialised format: "If Vader is around all the time, he's just gonna take our guys out." Rebels dealt with this problem by using Ahsoka, a character who could confront Vader and potentially hurt him, if not defeat him.

But things are now different: "There's no one to defend them against Thrawn," said Filoni. "We want to treat him like a big time villain, as much as Darth Vader, but on the strategic, military side of things."

While it might seem like Thrawn-wank and overshadowing Vader, you need effective villains, and this is something Rebels' predecessor The Clone Wars handled fairly well- having a large rogues gallery and giving them all their time in the spotlight, without any of them being really overshadowed. It keeps your main villains from becoming stale.

Yeah a big problem for me at least was that Rebels didn't really have an effective main villain. the Chief Inquisitor and Agent Kallus (or however it was spelled again) weren't anywhere close to competent enough to create a credible threat, something Tarkin and Vader did was give the impression that while the good guys might win in the end, it was a hard fought victory and they could have just as well lost.

With the early villains you wondered how the empire could kept the galaxy in fear for a week much less 15 years, then Tarkin and later Vader showed why and also showed that clowns that opposed our heroes in early season 1 where not the best the empire could offer and in fact until Vader arrived the empire had not taken our heroes seriously at all.

[Galvatron]

Don't be surprised if Thrawn's defeat and death winds up being the early rebellion's finest hour.

Also, I wonder if we'll get Pellaeon, C'Baoth, Jade and Karrde now that Zahn is back.

[The Romulan Republic]

Or they'll keep him alive to bring back later, like they did with Maul.

Of course, as per A New Hope, right before that film was supposed to be the Rebels' first big victory, which will presumably be shown in Rogue One. Its something they've already played fast and lose with ("Fire Across the Galaxy" could be considered to show a major Rebel victory), but unless Thrawn is in Rogue One, there's not a lot of room to defeat him at this point.

Rebels Will Treat Thrawn as a Vader-Level Threat

While it might seem like Thrawn-wank and overshadowing Vader, you need effective villains, and this is something Rebels' predecessor The Clone Wars handled fairly well- having a large rogues gallery and giving them all their time in the spotlight, without any of them being really overshadowed. It keeps your main villains from becoming stale.

Yeah a big problem for me at least was that Rebels didn't really have an effective main villain. the Chief Inquisitor and Agent Kallus (or however it was spelled again) weren't anywhere close to competent enough to create a credible threat, something Tarkin and Vader did was give the impression that while the good guys might win in the end, it was a hard fought victory and they could have just as well lost.

With the early villains you wondered how the empire could kept the galaxy in fear for a week much less 15 years, then Tarkin and later Vader showed why and also showed that clowns that opposed our heroes in early season 1 where not the best the empire could offer and in fact until Vader arrived the empire had not taken our heroes seriously at all.

I thought the Inquisitor was alright, but the rank and file and low-level officers on Lothal were kind of pitiful from what I recall.

But Vader... yeah. Siege of Lothal absolutely nailed the character. I consider it to be up there with Empire Strikes Back as one of the definitive depictions of Vader at his height. Seriously.

And his confrontation with Ashoka was quite memorable as well.

As to Thrawn, I'm hoping this means we'll get a proper fleet battle. As the Rebellion grows, this becomes an option, and Thrawn isn't a villain you get in a lightsabre duel with, and he's not primarily a ground commander. He's a grand strategist and a naval officer.

Of course, since the Rebellion isn't supposed to have had a lot of big wins before A New Hope, this likely means a battle the Empire wins. Which would further establish Thrawn as a credible threat.