It must seem particularly cruel to fans of Star Wars Rebels that the show ended just as the movies finally started paying attention to it. I’m talking, of course, about the surprise reappearance of Darth Maul in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
If you would have just watched the films you’d have last seen him bisected and falling down an enormous hole on Naboo, apparently deader than dead can be. If you’d have been watching Rebels (and The Clone Wars) though, you’d have already known that he survived the encounter and is now sporting a shiny robot lower half.
The point is, Star Wars Rebels was a surprisingly decent slice of the universe that’s gone on to impact it in more ways than its critics assumed it would. And now, fans can complete their set at home, as the fourth and final season is coming to Blu-ray on July 31st. The disc will feature all 15 episodes with the usual cadre of behind the scenes extras that are as follows:
- Force of Rebellion – Executive Producer Dave Filoni shares insights into the Force and its importance across the Star Wars saga.
- Kevin Kiner: The Rebel Symphony – Go behind the scenes with composer Kevin Kiner to discover what inspired some of the most iconic music in the series.
- Six Audio Commentaries – Featuring Dave Filoni (Executive Producer) Ghosts of Legend – As paths come together, we explore the journey of the Ghost crew with some of the talented people who brought them to life.
- Rebels Recon – Go behind the scenes with the cast and crew in 8 entertaining and information-packed episode recaps!
Of course, now’s a great time to catch up with Rebels, as its successor show Star Wars Resistance is debuting this fall on Disney XD. Apparently, it’s set prior to the events of The Force Awakens and follows a Resistance pilot named Kazuda Xiono. It’ll also feature BB-8, Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma (the latter two voiced by their original actors).
Personally, I’m always interested in Star Wars media set between trilogies, so getting an idea of what happened after Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens sounds great to me. The tone of Resistance is said to be inspired by World War II aircraft and fighter pilots, which is appropriate given that that’s precisely what inspired George Lucas in the original space battle sequences in A New Hope.
Whether it’s Resistance or Star Wars Rebels, though, only a fool would ignore the many qualities of these animated spinoff series. We’ve got quite a wait until Episode IX hits cinemas in December 2019, too, so why not scratch that itch by catching up on something you may have missed out on?