Vanessa Marshall joins Dave Filoni at the WonderCon Rebels panel. The actress, who voices Hera on the upcoming animated series, will be a part of the ‘Behind the Scenes of Star Wars Rebels‘ panel on Saturday.
ABC and Disney to give bloggers a look at Rebels on May 4
ABC and Disney to give bloggers a look at Rebels on May 4. They’re having a Rebels dinner and exclusive sneak peek as part of their ‘Red Carpet Tailgate Premiere of Million Dollar Arm,’ an upcoming sports film starring John Hamm. Still, expect to hear a bit more about the show after that.
Star Wars Rebels panel at WonderCon
WonderCon has posted the blurb for their Star Wars Rebels panel on Saturday, April 19 at 2:00p.m.
Members of the cast and crew of Star Wars Rebels present an exclusive look at the highly anticipated television series. Star Wars Rebels is set between Episodes III and IV, and it is a dark time in the galaxy. In the spirit of the original trilogy, the Empire is once again the preeminent villain of the saga, and Star Wars Rebels puts the might of Imperial forces in the spotlight. Produced by Lucasfilm Animation and featuring many of the key talents from the Emmy Award-winning Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels is scheduled to premiere this fall as a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel; it will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world.
Looks like this could be our first chance to see the core cast and crew together. Alas, Saturday badges for WonderCon – held at the same Anaheim Convention Center that will host next year’s Celebration – are already sold out.
IGN’s Eric Goldman and Dave Filoni go in-depth on The Clone Wars: Lost Missions
IGN’s Eric Goldman and Dave Filoni go in-depth on The Clone Wars’ final season. Spoilers! They also address some Rebels fan speculation.
Jason Fry turns in Rebels novel
Jason Fry has finished final edits on original Rebels novel. The book is juvenile fiction and being published by Disney Press in October, we found out not long ago.
Another Star Wars vet, Ryder Windham, is writing a Rebels prequel novel that’s due out in August.
Filoni: Rebels is on “a more human level”
Dave Filoni is back in the Los Angeles Times, this time to chat up Rebels, addressing some of the fan concerns about what will be our our first real block of Disney-in Lucas-out content, how the show’s focus differs from The Clone Wars (“you won’t be watching those politics unfold”) and even a design element you might not expect:
“I know that Kathy [Kennedy] is a very big fan of [Japanese animator Hayao] Miyazaki, so I told [art director] Kilian Plunkett to look at his designs and what makes them so iconic and memorable,” Filoni said. That, combined with McQuarrie’s original “Star Wars” designs, is the look of the new “Rebels.”
He also touches on the Force (“a less-is-more scenario”) and, uh, fans talking about how certain characters will probably be killed off. (Guilty.)
First impressions count: Why leaving Rebels’ ‘best for last’ is a big deal
It may have gotten lost in the flood of Adam Driver news yesterday, but Amy Ratcliffe wrote about the Rebels reveals, toys and being a woman in fandom for The Mary Sue.
Rebels cast reveals spark discussion of diversity, representation
While we’ve focused on the female character introductions and (lack of) toys so far, Mia Moretti at Eleven-ThirtyEight takes on the issue of character races and representation – and the fandom reactions to it.
The importance of diversity is something that Bria and Nanci at Tosche Station wrote up not so long ago, while Brian took on some of the common arguments against it. While we’re a while from seeing if Rebels can deliver diversity beyond the main cast, it’s interesting to note that these discussions weren’t happening as openly even as far back as The Clone Wars debut.
As for the issue of female action figures, Amy Ratcliffe has some numbers.
Rebels’ Vanessa Marshall talks Hera, the show and more
Newsarama’s Lucas Siegel has the first interview with one of the Rebels crew: Vetern voice actress Vanessa Marshall, who plays the ship’s pilot, Hera. I think it’s safe to say she’s into it:
…When I got the call for Star Wars Rebels, that I booked Hera, I hyperventilated, fell to the ground, I think I was sobbing, and my agent then asked if she should call an ambulance. (laughs) Truly, of all the roles I’ve ever played, this is by far the most epic. I look forward to the long-term implications of interacting in the Star Wars universe. It’s really, really thrilling.
She also has a few things to say on our latest issue:
You know, it’s interesting – I would say from a marketing standpoint, I know how it serves them to target an audience, whether it’s male or female. I do know there are a ton more female sci-fi fans – there always have been, but perhaps now they have a greater visibility, so I predict that some of that stuff will change.
I will say that in a greater sense, I’m not so sure that there’s a stigma for the people who are buying those toys. In a real way, I think that George Lucas kind of destroyed the stigmas as far as gender is concerned, and raised the bar for future filmmakers. The fact there are female Jedi straightway levels the playing field. There are so many alien races that gender is sort of the least of the issues (laughs).
You look at Princess Leia, and Mon Mothma, Ahsoka Tano and Asajj Ventress – even to go to the games and EU [Expanded Universe – the Star Wars stories that are told in novels, comics, and video games], Jan Ors or even Mara Jade – the women in the Star Wars Universe just kick butt, in a way that transcends gender. And each in their own way.
I’ll say, even the female characters in Rebels each have their unique strengths – it’s another reason I’m so excited to be a part of this show. Just to get into Hera a bit again, she’s strong-willed, but she’s also nurturing. She really knows how to bring out the best in her team. She leads with humility. Her agility and physical skills are admirable; she can pull just the right punch at just the right moment and get the job done, and that’s how she delivers. Her very personal reasons for rebelling against the empire, I think, are things viewers are going to delight in uncovering each season.
Anyway, believe it or not, that’s only a tiny bit of the interview, so head over to Newsarama and read the whole thing.
Rebels reveal: Hera, the Ghost’s pilot
And today Entertainment Weekly brings us the final member of the Rebels core cast. Hera, the green Twi’lek voiced by Vanessa Marshall, is described by Dave Filoni as “kind of the heart of the group, keeps everyone together when they would otherwise fall apart.”