Star Wars Rebelspremiered more than 10 years ago, and since then, aspects of the animated show have gone on to impact much of the Skywalker saga and a galaxy far, far away.Rebelsgive audiences a new point of view on the growth of theRebel Alliance, and how small cells of Rebels came together in the years before the events of the originalStar Warstrilogy. The show also expanded audiences' understanding of the Force and the fate of the Jedi years after the Empire took over.
Rebelsquietly did a great job of setting up so many of the stories audiences have enjoyed in recent years. Not only have manyRebelscharacters made their live-action debut in recent years, but they’ve also become pivotal in some of the current andupcomingStar Warsstories. Once you’ve recognized some of theseRebelsmoments, it’s hard not to see them in the rest ofStar Warscanon.
10Rebels Season 4 Introduced The World Between Worlds
And It Returned In Ahsoka Season 1
Rebelsseason 4 really leaned into the mysticism of the Force and the ideas of destiny. This was abundant in the final episodes of the show when Ezra Bridger enteredthe World Between Worlds. The mysterious realm was a surprise and led to a lot of confusion and theories about how and if time travel would be used inStar Wars.While in the World Between Worlds, Ezra heard dialogue from many differentStar Warstitles, including things that hadn’t happened yet chronologically.
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The World Between Worlds made its return inAhsokaepisode 5, when Ahsoka Tano comes face to face with her former master, Anakin Skywalker. While in the World Between Worlds, Ahsoka revisits past battles for Anakin to teach her a lesson and “complete” her training. Both times the World Between Worlds has appeared,it’s been used as a device for teaching characters lessons. Ahsoka learned to not let the sins of the past impact her future, and Ezra learned that he couldn’t save everyone. It’ll be interesting to see when the World Between Worlds will make its return.
9Grand Admiral Thrawn Was Reintroduced Into Canon in Rebels
And Is Now Being Set Up For The Big Screen
Grand Admiral Thrawnwas created by Timothy Zahn in 1991, but after Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, all the books featuring Thrawn became part of the non-canonLegends continuity.Rebelscreator Dave Filoni, however, was fond of the character and slowly recanonized aspects from Legends, and his first big swing was reintroducing Thrawn to canon.InRebels, Thrawn proved to be the best villain; he was smart, calculating, and ruthless. After he disappeared alongside Ezra Bridger in theRebelsseries finale, it was a question of when the character would return, not if.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn made his live-action debut inAhsokaand yet again proved to be a formidable foe, even after nearly a decade in exile in a different galaxy.Thrawn’s men worshiped him, and it showed once again why he was the highest-ranking non-human in the Empire. With Thrawn now hiding out on Dathomir, it seems Lucasfilm is setting him up to be the main villain in Dave Filoni’s upcomingStar Warsmovie.
8Mon Mothma’s Defection From The Empire Was First Shown In Rebels
And Will Be Revisited in Andor Season 2
Rebelsseason 3, episode 18 “Secret Cargo” saw members of theGhostassist with Senator Mon Mothma’s escape from Coruscant following her defection from the Empire. It was an excellent episode that showcased the delicate nature of the Rebel Alliance and also set the senator up for future appearances. Additionally,the episode served as another way thatRebelshelped connect to the largerStar Warsgalaxy.
It’s expected thatAndorwill show Mothma’s actual escape, but it’s possible that the story could overlap with what we’ve already seen inRebels.
WithAndorseason 2set to premiere soon,it seems that the show will be revisiting Mon Mothma’s defection, and may even show the Gorman Massacre, the event that was the catalyst for the senator’s defection. It’s expected thatAndorwill show Mothma’s actual escape, but it’s possible that the story could overlap with what we’ve already seen inRebels. With such a pivotal moment in the Rebel Alliance’s history, it’s interesting that everything that stems from this event must refer back toRebels.
7Rebels May Have Confirmed One Major Captain Rex Fan Theory
Audiences Learned of Rex’s Involvement in the Rebel Alliance
In theRebelsepilogue, Sabine Wren narrates what the remaining members of theGhostcrew did after Ezra disappeared with Thrawn. Among the things mentioned was that clone Captain Rex was among the ground forces that fought at the Battle of Endor. The battle is one of the major settings fromReturn of the Jedi, andthere has been a long-held fan theory that Rex was one of the soldiers under Han Solo’s command on the moon.
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Sabine’s confirmation that Rex was at the Battle of Endor clued audiences in that a particular soldier was, in fact, Rex. WhileDave Filoni has never confirmed which soldier was Rex, it’s awesome to know the fate of a belovedStar Warscharacter. It’s unclear when we’ll see Rex next, but it’s possible that he could appear inAhsokaseason 2, where he may even recount his time on Endor for audiences.
6Rebels Made The Darksaber (& Mandalorians) Important Again
And Helped Set Up Their Future
Star Warsfans have been obsessed with the Mandalorians since Boba Fett appeared in the original trilogy, but their culture wasn’t truly introduced untilStar Wars: The Clone Wars. Despite the fact that certain Mandalorian characters played a major part inThe Clone Warsarcs, the Mandalorian people were largely on the periphery ofStar Wars’ focus. However, including Sabine Wren as one of the main characters inRebelschanged that.
Not only did audiences learn more about the Mandalorians, but it also reintroduced theMandalorian DarksaberinRebelsseason 3. Sabine Wren giving the Darksaber toBo-Katan KryzeinRebelsseason 4 set up much of the character’s story inThe Mandalorianand also showcased the blade’s importance to the people of Mandalore. Much of the background forThe Mandaloriancan be learned from the later seasons ofRebels.
Katee Sackhoff has portrayed Bo-Katan Kryze in both animation and live-action inThe Clone Wars, Rebels,andThe Mandalorian.
5Ahsoka Tano’s Rebels Journey Set Up Her Future & Show
Ahsoka’s Final Appearance In Rebels Was Recreated
The final shot ofRebelsimplied that Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren were teaming up to go find Ezra Bridger after he had gone missing.The scene was repurposed inAhsokaand instead of just focusing on finding Ezra, it was also about preventing the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn.Ahsokaalso revealed that there was more history to Sabine and Ahsoka’s story than people knew.
Dave Filoni made minor changes to the scene, most notably adding Ezra’s lightsaber as part of Sabine’s arsenal, and changingAhsoka Tano’s cloak from white to gray.These changes were purposeful, as they informed the journey that both women would go on throughout the show.Ahsoka’s promise to find Ezra, however, was the crux of the scene, and gave fans a starting point for Ahsoka and Sabine’s motivation throughoutAhsokaseason 1.
4The Mortis Gods’ Importance Was Reestablished
After Being Missing From Canon For Almost A Decade
The Clone Warsseason 3 introduced audiences tothe Mortis gods, the living embodiments of the Force. The Son represented the dark side, the Daughter the light, and the Father the balance between the latter two. The Mortis arc was one of the best arcs inThe Clone Wars, butimages of the gods were largely absent fromStar Warsfollowing the deaths of the Father and Daughter.
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WhileRebelsdidn’t bring back the characters of the Mortis gods, their images appeared as part of the entrance to the World Between Words.It indicates that there’s a lot more about these gods than initially meets the eye, and it makes them important figures.When one of the final shots fromAhsokaseason 1 saw Baylan Skoll standing atop a stone carving of the Father on Peridea, it became clear that these gods would be coming back in some important way.
3Imperial Inquisitors Made Their Onscreen Debut
And Have Gone On To Appear in Many Star Wars Titles
The first shot ofRebelsintroduced audiences to theGrand Inquisitor, and throughout the first two seasons of the show, he’d be a major enemy of theGhostcrew.Imperial Inquisitorswere former Jedi who were turned to the dark side and became assassins for the Empire that hunted down and killed any remaining Jedi. The Inquisitors are largely believed to have mostly been killed off by the time of theRebelsseason 2 finale, but there were likely others that were still dispatched throughout the galaxy.
Since first appearing inRebels, Inquisitors have returned in many titles, includingObi-Wan Kenobi,Tales of the Jedi,Tales of the Empire, andAhsoka. Learning more about these characters has been fascinating, and they’ve truly made for some of the most interesting adversaries inStar Wars.It’s unclear when we’ll see Inquisitors next, but hopefully, it continues to demystify Darth Vader’s assassins.
2Rebels Showed What The Empire Did With Murdered Jedi
And Obi-Wan Kenobi Made It Worse
ThroughoutRebelsseason 1,Kanan Jarrusconstantly doubted his ability to train Ezra Bridger as a Jedi, and when the opportunity presented itself to have Jedi Master Luminara Undulli train Ezra instead, Kanan made it his mission to find the imprisoned Jedi.It turned out that Luminara had been dead for years and her body was being reanimated by the Grand Inquisitor as a way to lure Jedi into a trap.
While the scene revealing Luminara’s body was horrible, this was only compounded whenObi-Wan Kenobipremiered and showed a hall of preserved murdered Jedi in the Fortress Inquisitorius.
While the scene revealing Luminara’s body was horrible, this was only compounded whenObi-Wan Kenobipremiered and showed a hall of preserved murdered Jedi in the Fortress Inquisitorius.Knowing how the Empire used Luminara as bait, it’s likely other bodies were used similarly.Not only had the Empire made hunting Jedi a quasi-sport for the Inquisitors, but it also mounted their prey as a way to show their superiority.
1Rebels Gave Historical Reference To The Cross Guard Lightsaber
Right Before The Force Awakens
WhenStar Wars: The Force Awakenspremiered, manyStar Warsfans were shocked to see Kylo Ren’s crossguard lightsaber, as it was something that hadn’t been seen before in canon.However, just months before the movie’s debut,Rebelsshowcased a crossguard lightsaber.In the two-partRebelsseason 2 finale “Twilight of the Apprentice,” Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, and Ahsoka Tano travel to the planet Malachor to find the secret to defeating the Sith.
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While exploring the planet, it becomes clear that it once served as a former battleground in the Jedi-Sith war from centuries earlier. Curious, Ezra picks up a cross-guard lightsaber and briefly ignites its green blade before it fizzles out. This brief moment canonized the crossguard lightsaber as being an ancient lightsaber shape, thus legitimizing Kylo Ren’s blade. It’s clear that there are so many connections betweenStar WarsRebelsand the rest of the galaxy, and that the animated show has gone on to be vital watching for other titles.
