‘Star Wars Rebels’ Won’t Feature Final ‘Rogue One’ Battle

As the Star Wars galaxy continues to expand within both the big screen and small screen, more connective tissue can be found in all mediums. Obviously, for the most devoted fans of the franchise, they are familiar with every piece of official canon material. So when they see the Ghost from Star Wars Rebels featured in the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, they have the opportunity to geek out in their seat.

Fans of the Disney XD animated series were treated to a few direct connections in Rogue One including a name drop of “General Syndulla”, which is a reference to Hera Syndulla (voiced by Vanessa Marshall). We also see Chopper in the background of the Rebel base on Yavin 4, implying that both he and Hera survive the events of Star Wars Rebels.

Last but not least, we have the Ghost tagging along with all the other ships during Rogue One’s breathless climax. So with these elements of Rebels and Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) from Star Wars: The Clone Wars featured in a live-action theatrical release, signs point to more direct ties between both the films and the television series, right?

Well as far as Rebels producer Dave Filoni is concerned, don’t expect to see too much of the Rogue One hallmarks in the upcoming fourth season:

“I don’t think that would be right. It would be to hinge this series end on a battle we’ve already seen the outcome of in a feature film. It would be a little bit repetitious, anticlimactic. I think as an initial impulse it sounds great. But the more you think about it, you go hmmmm I don’t know, it would kind of taper your expectations and the tension would be cut quite a bit. I like our ending. And I love that battle. I think it would be neat to see that battle one day from the Ghost’s perspective because we know the Ghost is there, but we don’t know who is in the Ghost. So that’s kind of a good question that needs to be answered.”

Filoni also shot down a potential exploration within the planet, Jedha:

“Anything’s possible in Star Wars storytelling, I’ve learned that lesson. Ever since we brought Darth Maul back, I learned that lesson. I think we have a certain specific task ahead of us and with respect to that film, we wanted things like Jedha to be very special for that movie when it came out. It’s a wonderful sandbox they’ve created over there but you know, it’s not something I could really play with in this series at this point. We have our own Jedi mysteries that we’ve been wrapping our head around on this show.”

As exciting as it is to see both the films and animated series have connections with one another, it’s important that they stand on their own as enticing stories that don’t have to rely too much on each other. Sure, Rebels and Rogue One both factor in before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, but even if the audience knows where the story is headed, that shouldn’t stop LucasFilm and the storytellers to create more memorable characters that will only enhance the Star Wars galaxy.

What do you guys think about this? Do you wish there would be more direct tie-ins between Star Wars Rebels and the live-action theatrical releases? Sound off in the comments below.

Meanwhile, the next chapter in the Skywalker saga,  Star Wars: The Last Jedi will arrive in our galaxy on December 15, 2017.

Source: Slashfilm