Star Wars Rebels: 4 theories that could determine the final season

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

Four theories that could determine the final season of Star Wars Rebels — we are going down the final stretch, full-throttle!

With the second half of Star Wars Rebels Season 4 around the corner, there’s so much we want to see beckon from the last episodes. But what’s going to happen? That’s what the Star Wars fandom is for, isn’t it? Social media has gone all out, discussing and sharing several different types of theories of what could potentially happen in the last episodes.

It’s a sad time for the fandom since the show was loved by many — but through that many creative theories have been conducted. Below are just a few of those:

1. Grand Admiral Thrawn – Will he survive?

Credit: SuperHeroHype

One of the big theories revolves around whether Thrawn will survive or not. Why? Well, a lot of the characters’ fates seem pretty clear, except that of Thrawn. Because of this, several predictions of what will happen to him are predicted, and it can go one of two ways. He lives, or he dies — it’s as simple as that fact.

Evidence for him surviving includes:

The supervising director of the show, Dave Filoni mentioning that Thrawn outlives Rogue One’s Galen Erso, which takes place after where Rebels is concluding at. He’s also the one who led the empire to Snoke via hyperspace routes.

Evidence of his death includes:

Rukh was the one who betrayed and murdered Thrawn in Legends; it would make sense if they brought Rukh into the show for this purpose in the final episodes. Thrawn’s also not seen anywhere in the Original trilogy.

"“It’s Hera who’s his true foe, and with Sato having sacrificed himself during the last major ship-to-ship assault, Thrawn has only one main Rebel threat to overcome. Aaaaaand, since Hera is is going to make it, that means Thrawn’s getting defeated big time.” – Nerdist"

There are several more points on each side, but no matter what happens, seeing his fate roll out in front of us is going to be a surprise worth waiting for — where you can read the rest of the article on this theory here.

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

2. Is Ezra (AKA the new Son?) turning to the dark side?

Lots of fans on social media have been speculating this. They claim if he does become a Sith it can tie into the rest of the saga that happens in the movies. It could explain why Palpatine is so interested in him. He’s also been intimidated by people like the Inquisitor, thus becoming a Sith could be what Ezra is destined for.

He could even be used to take Vader’s place. Executive producer Dave Filoni talked about going down a nostalgic route. If we look at the original storyline in the comics, the young Jedi stood face-to-face with Darth Vader, and the Palpatine tries to brainwash them into giving into the hatred and loathing that Vader gave into. The Emperor also tried the same with Luke Skywalker.

Could this be a nostalgic twist on this story-line in the finale then? Considering the Palpatine shows particular interest only to Ezra, quite possibly.

There are other theories too. One states that Ezra will take the place of the Son in the Mortis family, due to similar characteristics shared and set the events for A New Hope. With this theory, some fans claim Ahsoka to replace the Daughter. The reasoning is in this twitter thread here:

Ezra dear, you have one craaaazy ending awaiting you.

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

3. Could this character show up in Han Solo’s upcoming movie?

Though this theory isn’t directly linked to the show itself, it does suggest what may happen to Kanan’s character after the show ends.

"“Solo: A Star Wars Story is set in the gap between Revenge of the Sith and the first episode of Rebels, which happens to be a period in Kanan’s life that is mostly unaccounted for in canon. The new movie could take place at the perfect time for an appearance from young adult Kanan” – Cinemablend"

Put it this way. If the writers can do crazy things like having Anakin repair C-3P0 as a child, then they can stick Kanan and Han Solo in the same room together.

Star Wars Rebels fans will know that Kanan used to be a padawan by the name of Caleb Dume. But he ran off when Order 66 killed almost all of the Jedi. He then became Kanan Jarrus. The only novel that talks about young Kanan in this part of his life is A New Dawn.

It mentions him being an alcoholic, in simple terms. Solo: A Star Wars Sory is set between similar time-frames as Kanan’s youth-hood, both of them ending at the start of Star Wars Rebels. The most we could get is a long shot of Kanan in some space-bar, as the A New Dawn novel describes it as.

Cinemablend found a screencap from the trailer and explained that this setting is a place young Kanan could likely be found in. It looks like some sort of intergalactic space bar.

Photo Credit: Lucasfilm

4. Is Kanan going to die?

With all this evidence, do you still think Kanan could make an entrance in the movie?

This is the 2nd theory involving Kanan and the complete opposite of what the first one entailed.

As every final season does, they go out with a bang. And every bang usually includes a death or two. Most of the Star Wars Rebels fandom speculate it to be Kanan, though that would be a bit too obvious if it is him that will end up dying. Here is a video explaining the theory behind Kanan’s supposed death:

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This is the second theory involving Kanan, and probably the most realistic. The Star Wars franchise is quite well known for ‘passing the torch,’ or in other words, repeating events.

For instance, in the mid-season finale, Hera got kidnapped by Lothal’s empire. Kanan told Ezra to lead the rescue mission since he didn’t want his feelings for her to cloud his judgment. This is all too similar to the scene of Obi-Wan Kenobi doing the same to Luke Skywalker and passing some of his own wisdom down to him.

Obi Wan-Kenobi eventually ended up dying though, the same event repeated with Yoda. Since the franchise likes to repeat specific circumstances, this could very likely occur with Kanan. He may meet his demise.

No matter what happens, Star Wars Rebels was overall a show to never forget. It was full of charisma, unforgettable characters, and incredible storylines. It will definitely be missed by the entire fandom, but it’s the key to expand the Star Wars universe.

May the force always be with you!

Next: 50 Most Memorable Moments from Rebels

Star Wars Rebels Season 4 returns on Disney XD, February 19 — this Monday night.