We dissect the Star Wars Rebels season 4 trailer in our screencap breakdown
Dave Filoni knows how to create them feels when making trailers, and his newest one is no exception…
Star Wars Rebels season 4 is returning to Disney XD on October 16, and when it does, the Ghost crew will make their final stand together against Imperial forces, leading directly into the events of Rogue One and Star Wars: A New Hope.
Disney has released the full 3:16 min trailer for the first part of season 4 of Rebels. Check it out:
Man, I was holding back the tears watching this, like I did with the original teaser while attending the Rebels panel at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando this past spring.
From the get-go, we return to Lothal, where it all began for the Ghost crew in Season 1. Voices ring and flood through Ezra’s mind, as we get a new look at capital city headquarters of the young Jedi’s home planet.
The voices echoing quickly through Ezra’s head are of Kanan and Hera, shouting the names of all the members of the Ghost crew. That spells certain disaster and a dark path for these band of rebels.
"Loth-rat, Loth-cat, Loth-wolf run, pick a path, and all is done."
We can see two of those unique creatures when Ezra is speaking a Lothal riddle out-loud. Did you hear that deep, dark voice echoing “all is done”? Clearly, Ezra will be tempted to the Dark Side of the Force, once again. With Maul, finally, dead and gone, at the hands of Kenobi in season three, what sinister force will tempt him to tap into the darkness and pain within?
We then return to Mandalore, which is still under Imperial occupation.
In Season 3, we learned that Sabine created weapons of mass destruction for her home planet of Mandalore, which are now being used against them by the Empire.
Those weapons, apparently, can disintegrate life forms, which we see it being done to two Mandalorian soldiers here:
We then see Bo-Katan raising the heralded Darksaber, while members of what appears to be Clan Visla kneeling before the shadowy figure.
"It’s time for you to prove your loyalty. Not just to your family, but to all of Mandalore."
The narration of Katee Sackhoff, who voices Mandalorian Bo-Katan, reveals that Sabine will have a huge story arc on Mandalore this season. Will she take up the Darksaber as the planet’s new leader or pass that responsibility to the veteran Death Watch soldier Katan?
We then get an epic shot of the confident Grand Admiral Thrawn and the resourceful Governor Pryce, accompanied by two Death Troopers, who were first introduced to us in Rogue One, then later appear in Season 3 of Rebels.
These specially trained soldiers will see more action in season 4 and looks like they will be hunting our rebels:
Another Rogue One — and Clone Wars — veteran appears this time, and it’s the extreme rebel insurgent Saw Gerrera.
"If you continue to allow this war to be fought on the Empire’s terms, you are going to lose."
The Senator then “responds” to the extremist with these cautious words:
"We are not ready for open war."
It is clear that Ezra will not only have a close relationship with Saw Gerrera but with the Alliance leader herself, Mon Mothma. It seems that Ezra will be presented with a choice of taking sides with one leader or the other, since we know from Rogue One, that the two part ways. Ezra comments to Mothma that he feels like Lothal needs immediate help, so he may grow impatient and choose to join to fight with Gerrera and his Partisans instead of her.
"You can run Mon Mothma’s errands or do something that might actually matter."
We also get a glimpse of Two-Tubes from Rogue One, who is on a mission of Saw:
Grand Moff Tarkin and Grand Admiral Thrawn seem to have differing philosophies and agendas, with Tarkin concerned more about operation “Stardust” aka the Death Star project, than he is with Thrawn’s aspirations. The name of Director Krennic was mentioned as well, which shows that Rebels is on a collision course with the events and characters of Rogue One during this season.
We then see the Ghost land on Yavin IV, which adds more connections between Rebels and A New Hope.
From left to right we see some of our favorite rebels inside of the war strategy room on Yavin IV:
Zeb, Sabine, Kallus, Ezra, Hera, Mon Mothma, a hologram of Bail Organa, General Dodonna, and Rex. So where in the galaxy is Kanan?
Next, we see Grand Admiral Thrawn ordering his “loyal” body guard, Rukh (voiced by Star Wars iconic actor Warwick Davis), who is sent on a mission to capture Hera Syndulla. In Legends, Rukh is the one who brutally murders Thrawn. Will that same fate await the Chiss in Rebels?
We then see Hera and Rukh engaging in hand-to-hand combat, with the Twi’lek holding her own, but she seems to be eventually defeated and then captured by Thrawn’s errand boy.
"Ezra, its not whether or not we fight…"
"It’s how we choose to fight that matters. I know Kanan, maybe we’re choosing the wrong way?"
Ezra seemed to pay attention to the wise words of Grand-Master Yoda, during their conversation in season 2. However, it seems that Ezra may deliberately choose not to listen to that wise advice and like Saw, resorts to violence as a means to his end.
X-wings! In what will now be their earliest, official canon appearance in Star Wars, the X-wing will finally aid the Alliance in their fight against the Empire, which means we are getting closer to “Red 5, standing by.”
It appears as if Sabine might be piloting an X-wing of her own, meaning that he may be also part of Red Squadron of the Rebel Alliance. Now, this is just plain awesome!
"When are you going to feel like you’ve done enough for this Rebellion?"
Over the first three seasons, we subtly get hints that Kanan and Hera are a couple, but this trailer 100 % confirms it. Kanan seems to be ready to start a life away from the Rebellion with his lover Hera:
"I guess I’ve never really thought about it?"
While Hera is more focused on the cause of the Rebel Alliance:
"I guess you never really thought about us?"
Kanan then spills his heart and soul to Hera, while she does the same:
"I wish I could see you."
"You could always see me"
Sabine and Bo-Katan will get a lot of screen time together, it appears:
Let’s not forget about Zeb:
Or Chopper either:
Kanan is apprehended by an unknown person, with Vizago and his crew in the background:
"We will not stand down. We will not be broken by fear. We are strong and united by our courage. Now is our time."
This narration of Hera is one of courage and taking a stand against evil, even when all seems lost. Hera is engaged in flight-combat and what appears to be an intense moment:
"All the paths are coming together, right?"
"I’m just not sure we’ll like where they lead…"
My goodness. I am overwhelmed and overcome with all the feels. What an incredible trailer and what appears to be an epic conclusion for the Ghost crew in the upcoming series finale.
Will any of our heroes meet their end this coming season? We also did not see Darth Vader, Ahsoka, or even the Emperor in this trailer, but will any of those three or other familiar Star Wars faces make cameos in season 4?
Next: 50 Most Memorable Moments from Star Wars Rebels
All paths come together when Star Wars Rebels Season 4 premieres Monday, October 16 on Disney XD, when we will learn the fate of the Ghost crew rebels and how they connect to the bigger Star Wars picture.