New Star Wars animated show "Rebels" coming fall 2014

[cooleddie74]

And in Episode I the machinations to get Chancellor Valorum tossed from office so Palpatine can get himself elected to replace him were interesting to watch. As far back as the reference materials published prior to the original release of The Phantom Menace George Lucas said that Senator Palpatine of the Old Republic took advantage of political chaos to get himself elected Chancellor (or as one authorized visual guide called it back in the late nineties, "Senate President") and then later used the powers of the office to proclaim the Empire and make himself Emperor.

I know a lot of fans screamed bloody murder at the mention of trade blockades, embargoes and Senate votes in the first Prequel and said they had no place in a Star Wars movie, but those are the fans who either get bored much too easily or have a complete misunderstanding of the history of the Lucas universe. Background materials had long stated that the Emperor took advantage of political crises within the Old Republic to gain more and more power until the creation of the Galactic Empire and the destruction of the Jedi could be accomplished, so political machinations and power plays have been a part of the Saga as far back as it's existed whether we saw it on the big screen or not. Telling Lucas to leave the politics out of his universe is almost as bad as telling Paramount to stop mentioning warp drive in Star Trek.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

I could have done with fewer direct confrontations with Grievous. Grievous was established in the micro-series as a badass who could take out Jedi Masters. His lightsaber collection was earned. In some cases, that carried over into TCW, but in others not so much and in eye-rolling fashion. Ahsoka, having survived at least two direct confrontations with Grievous, is by implication one of the most skilled Jedi in the galaxy. Fortunately, at least in my book, she lived up to that distinction in the final episodes of season five.

This confrontation between Ahsoka and Grievous was pretty good:



Unfortunately, this one, the first, was much less so. Obviously, the writers hadn't yet seen The Incredibles, or they'd've learned the pitfalls of monologuing ():

I actually thought the "duel" in the second clip was handled well in the sense that it was, basically, Ahsoka playing defense and running away every chance she got. Grievous' monologuing was excessive though. But, to be fair, that was an early season 1 episode (Duel of the Droids). And you can see, by that Season 5 clip, they had learned a few things about lightsaber duels, at the very least.

However, all six films in the PT and OT have involved rescues of main characters (Queen Amidala by Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan; Obi-Wan by Anakin & Padmé & Mace & Yoda; Palpatine by Obi-Wan and Anakin; Leia by everybody else but losing Obi-Wan; everybody else except R2 by Luke but failing to rescue Han; Han & Leia by the Ewoks), so maybe captures and rescues are obligatory in Star Wars.

Yep, they pretty much are. I'd expect to see at least a few of them in Rebels.

And in Episode I the machinations to get Chancellor Valorum tossed from office so Palpatine can get himself elected to replace him were interesting to watch. As far back as the reference materials published prior to the original release of The Phantom Menace George Lucas said that Senator Palpatine of the Old Republic took advantage of political chaos to get himself elected Chancellor (or as one authorized visual guide called it back in the late nineties, "Senate President") and then later used the powers of the office to proclaim the Empire and make himself Emperor.

I know a lot of fans screamed bloody murder at the mention of trade blockades, embargoes and Senate votes in the first Prequel and said they had no place in a Star Wars movie, but those are the fans who either get bored much too easily or have a complete misunderstanding of the history of the Lucas universe. Background materials had long stated that the Emperor took advantage of political crises within the Old Republic to gain more and more power until the creation of the Galactic Empire and the destruction of the Jedi could be accomplished, so political machinations and power plays have been a part of the Saga as far back as it's existed whether we saw it on the big screen or not. Telling Lucas to leave the politics out of his universe is almost as bad as telling Paramount to stop mentioning warp drive in Star Trek.

The political aspect of the story was one of the things I really enjoyed about TPM. TCW spent a lot of time delving into it, too. There's no reason why Rebels can't also do a fair bit it, while maintaining a more action-oriented direction. Indeed, if this is all about the beginnings of the Rebellion, the series will be sorely lacking without the political implications of the action. The character of Sabine, though, hints at a glimpse of those implications. Her leaving graffiti behind is certainly done, in part, to send a message to the Imperials ... and everyone else in the galaxy.

 

[Set Harth]

Speaking of Vader, assuming he ever shows up, what do we think the odds are that they'll be able to afford James Earl Jones? It's such an iconic voice that I have a hard time thinking anyone else could pull it off...

They'll probably go the Chad Vader route, but I would of course prefer Jones.

 

[cooleddie74]

If Jones is healthy and doesn't mind, why not....Disney's pockets are deeper than the Marianas Trench and if they want the original voice of Darth Vader they can probably afford him. I very much doubt he asks Jude Law or Clooney prices for any of his TV projects.

 

[Christopher]

If Jones is healthy and doesn't mind, why not....Disney's pockets are deeper than the Marianas Trench and if they want the original voice of Darth Vader they can probably afford him.

Well, TV shows based on Disney films generally bring back the majority of the film casts, more so than most animated spinoffs from other studios, but sometimes they do use doubles for the bigger stars -- Dan Castellaneta replacing Robin Williams in Aladdin, Kevin Schon and later Quinton Flynn replacing Nathan Lane in Timon & Pumbaa, Patrick Warburton replacing Tim Allen in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. So there's no guarantee.

After all, Lucasfilm had pockets as deep as Disney's, and they recast most of the leads in The Clone Wars. The only movie actors who reprised their roles in TCW on a regular basis were Anthony Daniels, Ahmed Best, and Matthew Wood, with a few guest appearances such as Samuel L. Jackson (in the pilot movie, with T.C. Carson replacing him in the series), Pernilla August, and Liam Neeson. (And allegedly Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, but that seems unlikely.)

 

[Set Harth]

If Jones is healthy and doesn't mind, why not....Disney's pockets are deeper than the Marianas Trench and if they want the original voice of Darth Vader they can probably afford him. I very much doubt he asks Jude Law or Clooney prices for any of his TV projects.

Did you ever see his appearance on Will & Grace?

"Like I need this crap at my age. I've got Darth Vader money!"

 

[cooleddie74]

That was a great appearance and that line stuck with me over the years. Yeah, he seems very willing and open-minded to do voiceover, commercial and cameo work and I hope he's approached by the producers of Rebels to revive Vader at some point.

Not to beat a dead ronto, but I'd hate to think the last time we hear James Earl Jones' voice in Star Wars is him yelling "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

 

[Mr. Adventure]

His recent appearance on The Big Bang Theory would make me think he's at least receptive to the idea.

 

[Set Harth]

Not to beat a dead ronto, but I'd hate to think the last time we hear James Earl Jones' voice in Star Wars is him yelling "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

He could be used in the ST - and by that I certainly do not mean that he should return, as Vader, in the flesh in some nonsensical way, as the internet rumor mill would have it. He could appear in an old hologram recording or even a flashback sequence. If it were up to me, I would have it turn out that he made a holocron at some point during the Dark Times. That way you could have a Force-sensitive character find the Vader holocron and use it to train in the dark side with holographic Vader as the "master".

ABRAMS PLEASE DO THIS.

 

[cooleddie74]

Between something along the lines of what you suggest and a pretty fair chance of Anakin's Force spirit appearing in at least one of the Sequel Trilogy films I'd say it's close to 100% certainty we'll see Darth Vader in the new movies, even if it's just from a certain point of view.

 

[Wadjda]

Nothing is close to !00% unless it's confirmed.

 

[cooleddie74]

That's why I said ”close.” This is Disney we're talking Darth Vader. One version or another of him even if it's a memory, holorecording or flashback is highly likely because he's the biggest and most profitable character in the entire Saga. The Mouse and Lucasfilm aren't likely to just sit on that.

Sure, there's a chance there won't be some kind of appearance, but I don't I think there are many that probably believe there won't.

 

[Wadjda]

They can milk him just fine in Rebels, not sure about the new movie since everybody knows he is dead.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Somehow I doubt the galaxy is just going to forget about the imposing, evil, mechanical Darth Vader - the Emperor's Right Hand, who enforced the Empire's doctrine of fear - any time soon.

Whether or not Vader shows up in the film is certainly a question, but considering how iconic his image and voice are, there's certainly a very strong possibility that LFL/Disney finds some way of incorporating one or the other (and possibly both) in the film.

 

[Christopher]

Whether or not Vader shows up in the film is certainly a question, but considering how iconic his image and voice are, there's certainly a very strong possibility that LFL/Disney finds some way of incorporating one or the other (and possibly both) in the film.

Well, SW is a universe where cloning exists...

Although I hesitate to mention that, because it creates the disturbing possibility of Hayden Christensen's return.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

Or Jake Lloyd's likeness, for that matter. Wouldn't that be a hoot.

Yipeee!

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Back between TESB and ROTJ, my working theory was that "there is another" meant that Luke had been cloned/was a clone, and that that was also the meaning of Luke seeing his own face in Vader's mask in that vision in the cave. We'd only heard of The Clone Wars in the first film, but that had made a big impression obviously. Yes, I was a fanboy, but in retrospect it's really not all that far-fetched, especially if you consider the origin finally revealed of Boba Fett.

 

[cooleddie74]

We might be looking at a holorecording or flashback of Vader's career, that or Hayden appearing as Anakin's Force ghost - Vader, if you will, from a certain point of view. Technically if Anakin Skywalker appears it sort of counts as a Darth Vader scene in the movie even if Hayden is costumed in nothing but the spectral robes of a deceased Jedi Knight who's become one with the Force.

But yeah: the galaxy isn't going to just forget about Vader or the Emperor, even 30-odd years after the Battle of Endor. Vader and his Master ruled much of the galaxy with an iron fist for a generation and imposed a particularly insidious (no pun intended) form of sterile authoritarianism over all the worlds and systems that their rule touched. If Disney and Lucasfilm didn't insert Vader into Episode VII in some form or another it'd be pretty surprising.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Whether or not Vader shows up in the film is certainly a question, but considering how iconic his image and voice are, there's certainly a very strong possibility that LFL/Disney finds some way of incorporating one or the other (and possibly both) in the film.

Well, SW is a universe where cloning exists...

Although I hesitate to mention that, because it creates the disturbing possibility of Hayden Christensen's return.

Quote of the day.

 

[Wadjda]

Somehow I doubt the galaxy is just going to forget about the imposing, evil, mechanical Darth Vader - the Emperor's Right Hand, who enforced the Empire's doctrine of fear - any time soon.

Whether or not Vader shows up in the film is certainly a question, but considering how iconic his image and voice are, there's certainly a very strong possibility that LFL/Disney finds some way of incorporating one or the other (and possibly both) in the film.

Let him have a statute or something, but the real playa was Palpatine.