WARNING: Spoilers lie ahead for the most recent episode of ‘Star Wars Rebels,’ so consider yourself warned to stop reading now if need be!
The creative team behind the ‘Star Wars Rebels’ animated TV show, currently in its third season on the Disney XD channel, is part of the larger “Star Wars Story Group,” a team of writers and creative types tasked with keeping the over-arching Star Wars story “in order” and assuring that only things that are considered “official” Star Wars canon make it all the way in front of the fans.
This has made it particularly fun to watch the show recently, as the tie-ins to the bigger Star Wars universe have been coming fast and furiously – in addition to the show ret-conning in references from the previously-expunged “Extended Universe.” The show has seen “guest stars” like Ahsoka Tano, Darth Maul, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and even Darth Vader himself.
Last season, the show even introduced – or would that be re-introduced? – Grand Admiral Thrawn, a fan-favorite villain from the Extended Universe who made his first “official” appearance in the solidified Disney Star Wars canon. In this past week’s episode, “Trials of the Darksaber,” Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus utters the line “The Jedi won the war with Mandalore,” sending hard-core EU fans into a bit of a frenzy, as they believe this line is in direct reference to the Mandalorian Wars, a battle between the planet Mandalore and the Jedi that was first referenced in the classic Star Wars EU story arc “Knights of the Old Republic,” a tale taking place thousands of years before the “current” events of the Star Wars universe.
Showrunners haven’t officially confirmed that this is the case, so it’s best to take this semi-reference with a grain of salt and not declare it “definite,” as some other entertainment news sites already have. Regardless, it’s an exciting prospect and at its basest level, it’s simply nice to know that the creative powers-that-be at Disney haven’t completely abandoned the good old Extended Universe.
‘Star Wars Rebels’ continues its third season on Saturday, February 18th.
Tony Schaab started an online petition to try and get Gilbert Gottfried hired as the voice of B-9, the robot in Netflix’s ‘Lost in Space’ reboot, because – well, c’mon, wouldn’t that just be awesome? A lover of most things sci-fi and horror, Tony is an author by day and a DJ by night. Come hang out with Tony on Facebook and Twitter to hear him spew semi-funny nonsense and get your opportunity to finally put him in his place.
