“Rebels” to Feature Glimpses of Episode VII

This afternoon, Entertainment Weekly reported that they have exclusive information regarding the upcoming animated series Star Wars Rebels. In the report, EW writer James Hibberd suggests that fans who watch the show might get a glimpse of elements used in the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII.

From the EW report:

"The team behind Disney’s other announced Star Wars filmed story, the one that’s being released next month—Star Wars Rebels, which premieres on Disney Channel before moving to Disney XD—is creatively in cahoots with the Episode VII team, EW has learned exclusively. Even though Rebels takes place years before the events of the first-released Star Wars film, and is an animated series rather than a feature film, Disney wants to make sure any creative elements introduced in Rebels align with the rest of the Star Wars canon. That way, even with multiple Star Wars projects in various stages of development at the same time, the brand’s world-building will continue in a cohesive and consistent manner."

It has been widely reported and well known for months, that the Lucasfilm Story Group was put into place in order to maintain cohesiveness between all Star Wars platforms. It’s unclear what Hibberd means by “EW has learned exclusively”. Perhaps there is more that he isn’t telling us?

More from the EW report:

"“It’s a very integrated process, there’s real communication between all the filmmakers because we’re all part of a larger timeline,” says Rebels executive producer Simon Kinberg, who is also a creative consultant on Episode VII. “There is absolutely communication and integration between the different stories. We are very aware of what they’re doing in VII, and we also have to click into place with Episode IV.”So you might see a new Star Wars city or a character in Rebels and not even realize until 14 months later that they’re also in the new film albeit presumably in some older form. And for fans of IV, V and VI, expect plenty of “set-ups and Easter eggs” to elements in those classics. “There are characters, vehicles, imagery that are introduced in the show before we’ve ever seen them in the movies, possibly including VII,” he said."

It would be completely naive of fans to think that they won’t be seeing new cities or characters while watching Rebels. In fact, this isn’t the first time that Simon Kinberg has mentioned all of this. DSOTF actually reported on an interview with Kinberg last month, in which he stated much along the same lines as this new report.

From the SlashFilm interview with Simon Kinberg:

"“It’s different than it was before in that when we worked with George, we were all at Skywalker Ranch. The animation division was almost separate within Lucasfilm. But Kathy [Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm] has brought us down to the Presidio now, so we work right where ILM is and we’re right where all the Star Wars films are gonna be made. We’re all on the same floor. And, you know, I think that gives a better community now. You know, it’s kind of like without George, we’re all banding together. Lucasfilm Story Group, Kathy Kennedy, the directors of all the new films, we all get together and talk about Star Wars and what’s gonna be best for it. So I’m very proud and I feel the responsibility of being this first thing out.And in a lot of ways that’s why this show is kind of just so unapologetically classic in a Star Wars sense ’cause we all want the fans to feel that this going to be off on the right foot. You’re gonna recognize the music. You’re gonna recognize the look of things. I think there’s gonna be plenty of time in the future to get more aggressively different and exciting and develop new things in Star Wars you’ve never seen. But now is the time of just saying like “Hey guys, this is gonna be a great era for you, just buckle up and get ready.” And that’s what I want.”"

For more on this terrific interview with Kinberg, check out the entire post by Germain Lussier.

If you’re interested in reading the entire EW post, you should. They have included some killer new still images from the series that have yet to appear anywhere else. You can see them for yourself, here.

Also, if you haven’t yet, watch the full trailer for Star Wars Rebels, in the video below:

Do you think that EW has more “exclusive” information that they haven’t shared with us? How much of Episode VII will we see in Rebels? The answers to these questions will be found only in remaining patient. For now, keep your browsers bookmarked right here at DSOTF for all the BREAKING Star Wars news and rumors!!!