At Star Wars Celebration in Orlando this April, Lucasfilm officially confirmed the rumors that their only current Star Wars television show, Star Wars Rebels, would indeed be coming to an end just after four seasons on Disney XD. While this shocked many fans in the audience, the surprise was met with a trailer to accompany the announcement teasing the show’s final climactic season, which is full of gripping intensity, great storytelling and intrigue. While many fans are saddened to see this incredible show come, the show’s climactic finale might just be the very best thing that the series might need. So, to soften the blow, we’re taking a look at some reasons why we think that ending Star Wars Rebels on a high note might, in fact, be a very promising sign.
A Climactic Ending and Well-Rounded Character Arcs
One of the most important things when running a show is managing to keep a show fresh, original and consistently exciting, even as networks often attempt to milk franchises and series that are living way past their time. While Star Wars: The Clone Wars was certainly a delightful show, there were many instances of the series running in circles with an over-exhausting amount of episodes and character arcs that trail off and leave no impact. By giving Star Wars Rebels an end date and an end-goal in mind, this would allow the show to wrap up its climactic series with a proper send-off before dragging on too long and finishing things off before a cancellation.
Shortened Series Allows for More Concise Storytelling
I absolutely love Star Wars Rebels unashamedly. Personally, I think it’s single-handedly the best Star Wars production that came out of the company since the entire era between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, but I do admit there are some issues with it. One of those issues was expanding the episode order for the series as the show entered its second season. The result was that, while the show remained with great storytelling, character arcs, and action-packed tension, that came along with many ‘filler episodes’ to round out the extra episode order. Many of these episodes don’t have much of an impact and solely exist as the need to fill time and generate viewers/toy sales. With season four, Lucasfilm announced a shorter, more concise season so that the series can wrap up in some more properly focused storytelling, and there couldn’t possibly be anything better to happen to this series.
Finally, Some Answers!
The mere existence of Star Wars Rebels is something that baffles Star Wars fans since it premiered on Disney XD in 2014. That’s because the show is set shortly before the events of Star Wars (A.K.A. A New Hope), yet we never hear of the rebels, or more importantly, the two Jedi Knights, Ezra and Kanaan in the Original Trilogy or anytime afterward. By giving us a final season now and not dragging the series on, we’ll finally learn the fate of these rebels and where their roles fall into place going into the trilogy. Do the Jedi go into hiding or get killed? If they are alive, how would Yoda not recognize their presence in the Force (perhaps ‘there is another’ was referring to Ezra?). What events are the crew of the Ghost up to between the time of the show and the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One? These are the kind of questions and more that I’m thrilled to finally get some answers for.
The Future of Dave Filoni
Star Wars Rebels is helmed by Dave Filoni, who also once helmed The Clone Wars before the Disney buyout of Lucasfilm in 2012. Filoni has proven himself as a master of Star Wars storytelling and if there’s anything that would be better for him than helming a series that could easily drag on too long (see: The Clone Wars), it’s allowing him to move on to other creative projects in the vast Lucas universe. I’m intrigued to learn what his next project will be (a new series set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens? A stand-alone anthology film?) and I’m glad that he won’t be tied down to the same project allowing him to pour his creativity into new innovative things. I can’t wait to see where the future of Star Wars will take Filoni next.
So, with a bit of sadness and much relief, we’re looking forward to bidding the brilliant and gripping Star Wars Rebels farewell when it returns this fall for its fourth and final season on Disney XD. We’re thrilled to have received such a wonderful show from Lucasfilm and we can’t wait to see what the show has in store for its final climactic act.