The next two live-action Star Wars shows are heavily influenced by the events of Star Wars Rebels. Disney’s first project after the purchase of Lucasfilm, Star Wars Rebels introduced the Ghost Crew, a Rebel cell operating around the planet Lothal in the Outer Rim. Star Wars Rebels told many important stories during its 4-season run, including but not limited to Ahsoka’s time as part of the Rebellion, and Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s final showdown. Considering Star Wars Rebels handled such significant Star Wars narratives, it should be no surprise that Rebels is now defining some of Star Wars’ live-action TV shows, most notably, The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.
Star Wars lore is a cornerstone of Star Wars Rebels’ storytelling. It handles legends of the Jedi, the Sith, the Mandalorians, and the founding of the Rebellion, and it studies the nature of the Force like few other Star Wars properties. Though its core focus is the adventures of the Ghost Crew and their connection as a family, their positioning in the galaxy at such a pivotal moment in the timeline (starting from 5BBY up to and including the downfall of the Empire) makes Star War Rebels the perfect vehicle from which multiple other Star Wars stories can emerge. Ahsoka and The Mandalorian season 3 will be the most impacted by Star Wars Rebels because it functions as the perfect jumping-off point for an era of Star Wars that had, up until recently, been under-explored – the time after the Empire.
How Star Wars Rebels Is Defining The Mandalorian Season 3
Star Wars Rebels’ impact on The Mandalorian was already felt in season 2 when it introduced live-action Bo-Katan Kryze, her quest for the Darksaber, and her mission to reclaim Mandalore. This narrative thread began in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and continued well into Star Wars Rebels, as Sabine Wren, one of the prominent members of the Ghost Crew, won the Darksaber in combat and proceeded to gift it to Bo-Katan so that she may rule Mandalore. Din Djarin now stands in Bo-Katan’s way after he won the Darksaber from Moff Gideon at the end of The Mandalorian season 2.
The Mandalorian season 3 will continue to explore the Mandalorian conflict, and more specifically, who has the right to rule Mandalore. As was explored in Star Wars Rebels, the Darksaber, if won in combat, gives the wielder the right to rule. Bo-Katan is undoubtedly vexed that Din has taken control of the mythical blade (even though he offered it back to her), and the trailer for The Mandalorian season 3 suggests that she will be challenging his right to rule. The conflict on Mandalore was a pivotal storyline in Star Wars Rebels – some Mandalorians had switched sides to the Empire, while others were forced to serve, and yet others, led by Bo-Katan, and eventually Sabine Wren and her Mandalorian family, fought to wrestle back control of Mandalore and its people from the Empire.
How Star Wars Rebels Is Defining Ahsoka
Star Wars Rebels’ influence on Ahsoka goes even further than its influence on The Mandalorian season 3. Ahsoka played an important role in Star Wars Rebels between seasons 1 – 2, operating as the anonymous Rebel agent “Fulcrum” until she started working more closely with the Ghost Crew at the end of Star Wars Rebels season 1. Ahsoka’s inclusion in the show allowed the Ghost Crew’s Kanan Jarrus and his Padawan Ezra Bridger to discover more about the Force, its presence on Lothal, and the ancient conflict between the Jedi and the Sith.
Near the end of Star Wars Rebels season 4, Ezra was responsible for saving Ahsoka’s life through a complicated set of time-traveling circumstances. She vowed to find Ezra when she returned, and the Ahsoka show is holding her to that promise. The series will focus on Ahsoka and Sabine’s quest for Ezra (and Grand Admiral Thrawn) after the pivotal events of the Star Wars Rebels finale in which the Ghost Crew and the Rebellion managed to vanquish the Empire on Lothal once and for all. As such, Ahsoka will function as a Star Wars Rebels sequel. This has been confirmed by the live-action casting announcements for both Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger, as well as a first-look image that was shared at D23, which showed the live-action version of the mural Sabine had painted of her Ghost Crew family.
Why Star Wars Rebels Is So Important Now
The most obvious reason for Star Wars Rebels’ current importance to Star Wars storytelling lies with its creator, Dave Filoni. Filoni was one of Star Wars Rebels’ creators and has worked as a writer and director on The Mandalorian, and is now the creator and showrunner of the Ahsoka series. It’s no surprise, then, that he wants to continue to explore certain characters and storylines he created and expand their influence on the Star Wars timeline.
Narratively speaking, however, Star Wars Rebels’ epilogue functions as the perfect jumping-off point for stories set after the defeat of the Empire and the era of The New Republic. The epilogue, though brief, explores the newfound hope that spread across the galaxy after the Empire’s downfall. The time right after the Empire’s destruction is quite unexplored within Star Wars, and Star Wars Rebels’ open-ended epilogue provides the perfect excuse for shows like Ahsoka and The Mandalorian to explore that era further.
Both Ahsoka and The Mandalorian season 3 pull from Star Wars Rebels’ storytelling because it functions as the perfect tipping point between the Dark Times during the reign of the Empire and what came next during the days of Star Wars‘ New Republic. Though Star Wars Rebels has often been maligned for being too childish – a strange criticism for a franchise that has always been primarily aimed at children – its stories are undeniably vital to Star Wars lore. Star Wars Rebels deserves all the attention it gets, and Ahsoka and The Mandalorian may not be the last shows to be influenced by its story.
