The second season of Rebels kicks off in earnest tonight with ‘The Lost Commanders’ – the first half of the two-parter about our band of heroes trying to recruit a retired Captain Rex. Besides a few things to look forward to in this clone arc, here are a few more things to look forward to in the upcoming season:
→ More Sabine! As Dave Filoni has mentioned at the season two press day (and shown in the Rebels trailer released for NYCC), the show will focus more on Sabine Wren, bringing her to the forefront as much as Ezra. With her new quote of “Clan Wren, House Viszla” in the trailer, and a mysterious bounty hunter from her past coming for her (with a Black Sun logo even), we’re sure to learn more about the background of the Ghost‘s artist and demolitions expert.
→ More backstory! Besides learning more about Sabine, we’re also going to see more about who our heroes were before we first saw them in action. Filoni mentioned an episode that goes into Chopper’s past, and how the homicidal astromech first encountered Hera. Vanessa Marshall told Moviepilot that her father, Twi’lek freedom fighter, Cham Syndulla, will be making an appearance, and we’ll see what separates a rebel fighting for just his world from a rebel fighting for the whole galaxy. Freddy Prinze, Jr. told Nerd Approved that we’ll see Kanan release some of what he’s been hiding inside (like PTSD) as his relationship with Ezra progresses. Every character will get a backgrounding episode.
→ More villains! With the band of rebels joining with the Rebel Alliance and the Inquisitor from season one out of the picture, the Empire is bringing a bigger game against them. Besides Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones), who already showed in the summer premiere ‘Siege of Lothal’, we’re getting two new Inquisitors: the Seventh Sister, voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar, and the Fifth Brother, voiced by Philip Anthony-Rodriguez. Different styles of evil, and we’ll see how they stack up against Ahsoka and the Ghost crew. And we still have Agent Kallus and Admiral Konstantine on their heels, too.
→ Hondo returns! And he wants Ezra to be a pirate Jedi! You all know how awesome the space pirate Hondo Ohnaka is. Will his return be part of the fourth episode, ‘Brothers of the Broken Horn’ whose title references the Lothal crime syndicate run by Cikatro Vizago, whom is owed a big favor by Ezra? We shall see.
→ Higher stakes! With Darth Vader now on the tail of the Rebel Alliance and his old apprentice Ahsoka Tano, the game has changed for the heroes. Kanan’s still not sure that joining a military movement is what he signed up for, but he’s also relieved that he’s not the only former Jedi around. Ahsoka sensed something about Vader, but does she know that it’s Anakin Skywalker under that mask? Full of Sith asked Ashley Eckstein at NYCC about that – Jump to the 37 minute mark for short one-on-one interviews with Taylor Gray, Dave Filoni, and Ashley Eckstein. I asked Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Vanessa Marshall at the press event how the relationship between their characters will appear this season, and the sense is that we will see less banter and affection and private moments in the “space marriage”, and more of the “please, don’t die” as Kanan puts his trust in Hera in joining the Alliance.
Watch ‘The Lost Commanders’ as Star Wars Rebels starts up tonight on DisneyXD at 9:30 pm. Here’s a new clip:
And here’s the season trailer again:
Interesting scheduling choices of the broadcast on each side of the Atlantic.
In the USA, 21:30 Wednesday.
In the UK, 09:00 Saturday.
The evening broadcast seems to imply Disney are aiming to have adult fans watch, while a Saturday morning broadcast suggests children are the intended primary audience.