The Spiritual Successor to Star Wars Rebels Sounds Like the Perfect Followup

When fan favorite Star Wars animated series Star Wars Rebels recently ended, the question on everyone’s mind was where the franchise would go next in its animated endeavors. If Disney wanted to recreate the magic of Rebels, though, there was a pretty obvious analogue that would have the added bonus of tying in more closely with the ongoing movie trilogy, and that’s where they’ve decided to go with Star Wars Resistance.

Just like Rebels focused on the time leading up to the original Star Wars trilogy, filling in the background of the events that led into Rogue One and A New Hope, Star Wars Resistance will take place before the events of The Force Awakens, bringing back familiar characters to show how the First Order and the Resistance took shape before Rey’s story picked up. Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma are already confirmed to make appearances, with both Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie reprising their roles(!), and of course, BB-8 will be there for maximum adorableness. No word yet on whether General Leia will be there, but with the focus on the Resistance, we’d hope so. It’d be very fitting for her to show up in both series.

However, the focus of the series seems to be on new characters, much like Rebels, starring Kazuda Xiono, “a young pilot recruited by the Resistance and tasked with a top-secret mission to spy on the growing threat of the First Order,” according to Disney’s press release. However, it will differ from Rebels not only in its “anime-inspired” visual style, but in a focus on pilots more than Jedi.

Series creator Dave Filoni, returning from Rebels, said, “The idea for Star Wars Resistance’ came out of my interest in World War II aircraft and fighter pilots. My grandfather was a pilot and my uncle flew and restored planes, so that’s been a big influence on me. There’s a long history of high-speed racing in Star Wars, and I think we’ve captured that sense of excitement in an anime-inspired style, which is something the entire team has been wanting to do for a long time.”

Rebels fans will be happy to hear that Filoni will be joined by other Rebels veterans, including executive producers Athena Portillo (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “Star Wars Rebels”) and Justin Ridge (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “Star Wars Rebels”), as well as art director Amy Beth Christenson. The show premieres this fall.

(image: Disney)

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