Star Wars.com have announced that a new TV show entitled "Star Wars Rebels" to be released in 2014. This means that it will hit the screens before Episode VII is in cinemas, and may even set the tone for the series. The focus of Star Wars Rebels is to be during the time period between Episodes III and IV, the early days of the Empire. Screenwriter and producer Simon Kinberg(of X-Men: Days of Future Past fame) will serve as an executive producer for the show, as well as penning the one-hour pilot. The Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni will join Kinberg as another producer. According to the official press release:
"Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape. Details about the show are a closely guarded secret at this point...Star Wars Rebels will be produced by Lucasfilm Animation, featuring many of the key talents that made Star Wars: The Clone Wars."
Set to air in 2014 on Disney channels worldwide, Star Wars Rebels will reveal a first look at the so called "Star Wars Celebration Europe event". This move always explains why other Star Wars TV shows were canned, as it seems this will be a big deal for the franchise. That said, this is not the first trip to this era. This 20-year-long time period has been touched on before by a series of novels, comics and of course the video game series, The Force Unleashed (TUF) and TUF II. It will be interesting to see where they go with this; they have both a massive time scope and a series of established SWU plot points to play around with. One that I have no doubt will be used is the Darth Vader and his Jedi hunting band, The 501st. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said:
"I couldn't be more excited to explore new corners of the Star Wars universe. I think Star Wars Rebels will capture the look, feel and fun that both kids and their parents love about Star Wars."
Whatever the case, this is exciting news to say the very least. To capture the shows look, it appears that Ralph Macquarie's art will inspire the look of the series. This is an attempt to make it as close to the "feel and look" of original trilogy as they can but with CGI integration. If they achieve this it should please all Star Wars fans, young and old.
I have discussed the merits of producing a Star Wars TV show in the past, and I am very excited about this one. What about you? Will you watch this new Star Wars TV show, or do you think that it will fail to deliver? Let us know in the comments below.