I’ve never really been one for cartoons as I prefer the grit and reality of filmed drama. That was, until my other half moved in and started watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Now, that’s a pretty epic show. Having won all manner of awards, it also includes some great cast and cameo’s, including Katee Sackoff, Liam Neeson and David Tenant, to name but a few. However, when the great Disney buyout occurred towards the end of last year, many fans were crushed when The Clone Wars was cancelled, particularly because many of the story-arcs and threads were never given the chance to be fully tied up.
However, for Star Wars fans and cartoon lovers alike, there’s good news as Disney have revealed that they’ll be offering up a new animate series; Star Wars Rebels. We won’t have to wait long either, as production has already begun and the series is expected to début towards the end of 2014; kicked off by a one hour special.
One of the interesting things about the new show is that the writers and producers have decided to take a great leap forwards in time and place Star Wars Rebels slap bang in the period between Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV – A New Hope. This period of around 20 years is a time when the Empire is establishing itself in the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi. It’s also a time which hasn’t been explored before, giving executives and fans the chance to discover an entirely new corner of the Lucas created universe.
For those worried about the avenue Star Wars Rebels will take, there’s hope that the strong team behind it will ensure a certain degree of respect towards other Star Wars series. The same filmmakers that created The Clone Wars are onboard for the latest series, as is Clone Wars supervising director David Filoni – but this time in an executive producing role. He’ll be joined by Young Justice’s Greg Wiseman and X-Men: First Class producer Simon Kinberg.
Luckily, having only seen a few episodes of The Clone Wars here and there, I can fill out the coming months with this series whilst I await Star Wars Rebels. But I’m glad to see that though Clone Wars has been cancelled, Disney haven’t forgotten it’s animation fans and will not only be creating something new, but something in an entirely undiscovered period of the Star Wars timeline. We might even get a glimpse of a teen Leia, the rise of Darth Vader and perhaps, the chance to finish Clone Wars exile, Ahsoka Tano’s story.
Disney cancelled Clone Wars abruptly leaving a very important plot line hanging. Then they did a Yoda special that looked like a Lego ad.
I am hoping Rebels will have good acting, good writing and good acting; and will not just be an ad for toys.
I agree; they need to ensure that they stay loyal to what’s come before. It’s hard to tell exactly what we’re going to get until first trailers or posters are released, but I’m crossing my fingers.