Saturday, October 12, 2013

Recap: Star Wars: Rebels NYCC Panel

Here's a quick run down of the Star Wars: Rebels panel from NYCC 2013; but first we'd like to thank the following people for live tweeting the event and providing us with this valuable information!

Highlights
  • Rebels premiere is still about a year out; will premiere with an hour-long episode on Disney Channel and then move to half hour segments over on Disney XD.
  • Simon Kinberg is writing the hour long premiere episode.
  • Dave Filoni was not in attendance due to the fact that he is in Asia working with the animation team.
  • Rebels will take place 14 years after Revenge of the Sith.
  • The planet Lothal will be one of the principal locations for the show.
[Planet Lothal of the Outer Rim]
[An alley on planet Lothal]

  • Animation style is distinct enough that they were unable to reuse anything from The Clone Wars. (Which is okay since we weren't really a fan of the animation style.)
  • Episodes will be shown in chronological order and follow the same group of characters. (Looks like the SW franchise is finally trying something new here.)
  • Stormtroopers will not be Clones! They instead will be regular citizens who "volunteer" to join the Imperial forces.
  • Some Clones will go on to train the new Stormtroopers while others will be disgruntled; per Lucas' notes.
[Stormtrooper Concept Art]
[Imperial Propaganda Poster]

  • No confirmation on who, but some TCW characters will make appearances; were questioned specifically about Ahsoka, but received no answer.
  • Series will focus mainly on the Empire and struggling Rebel forces, there will also be a prominent Bounty Hunter presence and limited Jedi (who are still being hunted by the Empire).
  • New Villain! The Inquisitor! Hired to help hunt down Jedi in the name of the Empire.
[Inquisitor with Stormtroopers and double-bladed lightsaber]
[Inquisitor pointing]

  • No soundtrack has been announced, however Dave Filoni does listen to specific John Williams tracks while animating.
  • Rebels is being developed much quicker than TCW because of the team's past experience on TCW.
  • A great deal of Rebels is being based off the work of Ralph McQuarrie.
[AT-DP Trooper Concept Art]
[AT-DP Concenpt Art]
[AT-DP Interior Concept Art]
[Tie Fighter Interior Concept Art]
[Speeder Bike Concept Art]
[Imperial Freighter Concept Art]
[Imperial Trooper Transport Concept Art]

Does this get you excited for Star Wars: Rebels or what! Look for more news and hopefully a new trailer in the near future.

-GJ

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