Rebels Recon

In the first installment of Rebels Recon, StarWars.com takes you inside Star Wars Rebels’ debut episode, “Spark of Rebellion,” with cast and crew interviews, coverage of the premiere’s L.A. screening, and an exclusive clip from next week’s episode. At the premiere, Lucasfilm’s Andi Gutierrez spoke with the cast about the experience thus far. “It’s been overwhelmingly positive and wonderful,” Tiya Sircar, voice of Sabine said. Jaime King, actress and longtime fan, says her child was introduced to Star Wars “since he came out of the womb.” Dave Filoni, the show’s executive producer, revealed that he showed “Spark of Rebellion” to George Lucas last week – and he loved it. In the StarWars.com offices in San Francisco, the show’s creators discuss its development and what they like most about the era of Star Wars Rebels. For Joel Aron, CG supervisor, it’s being chronologically close to A New Hope. Kilian Plunkett, art director, loves working with the Empire.

In Rebels Recon #1.02, StarWars.com takes a deep dive into the Star Wars Rebels episode “Droids in Distress,” talks with the show’s creators, and gives you a first look at next week’s episode, “Fighter Flight.” Lucasfilm’s Andi Guiterrez catches up with executive producer Dave Filoni and the Story Group’s Pablo Hidalgo to discuss the inclusion of a Star Tours-type vehicle and droid in “Droids in Distress,” and speaks with Kilian Plunkett on designing R2-D2 and C-3PO to fit with Star Wars Rebels’ animation style. “The Artoo that’s in Rebels is a little bit of a hybrid of all sorts of things,” Plunkett says. And C-3PO has one major upgrade that differentiates him from the model seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Pat Presley, concept designer, says that bringing back classic Star Wars vehicles and imagery has been his favorite part of working on the show. Tracked down in the hallways of Lucasfilm, Hidalgo answers a question submitted through Twitter: Are stormtroopers actually clone troopers? The answer: No – clone troopers age rapidly, and have been phased out. Stormtroopers are recruits who are “loyal to the Empire.”

Rebels Recon #1.03 features an in-depth look at the Star Wars Rebels episode "Fighter Flight," with a recap, cast and crew interviews, and answers to your Twitter questions -- plus an exclusive preview of next week's installment of Star Wars Rebels, "Rise of the Old Masters!" In "Fighter Flight," Hera sends the ever-bickering Ezra and Zeb on a quality-time supply run -- which includes bringing back an impossible-to-find meiloorun fruit -- and the two have a run-in with some stormtroopers. As a result, Zeb finds himself in the cockpit of a TIE fighter. At New York Comic Con 2014, Vanessa Marshall (voice of Hera), talked about what her character brings to the Ghost crew, which is on display in this episode. "I think what makes Hera so cool," Marshall says, "is that she helps these characters discover things they didn't really know they had inside to get this job done." The plot of "Fighter Flight" comes from a surprising source: Star Wars toys. "The whole idea for "Fighter Flight," executive producer Dave Filoni tells Lucasfilm's Andi Gutierrez, "was based around having a TIE fighter toy as a kid and putting heroes in it instead of villains...I played out that scenario a hundred times as a child." And the dynamic between Zeb and Ezra that's explored in the episode is key to defining their relationship. "It's fun. I think of it as the whole big brother, little brother thing," says Taylor Gray, who plays Ezra. Steve Blum, the voice of Zeb, explains that their friendship is growing -- and that he's fascinated by Ezra. The episode also offers a new, close-up look at TIE fighters, which Blum was especially excited to see -- and Filoni reveals the design inspiration behind Star Wars Rebels' TIEs. Finally, the Lucasfilm Story Group's Pablo Hidalgo addresses a new fan question: why does C-3PO have a silver leg in "Fighter Flight," when last we saw him in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, he was completely gold?

In the latest installment of Rebels Recon, StarWars.com explores the new television-movie ushering in the second season of Star Wars Rebels, "The Siege of Lothal." At Lucasfilm headquarters, Andi Gutierrez, social media correspondent at StarWars.com, spoke with the cast about the obstacles faced by the Ghost crew in Season Two and what dynamic characters like Ahsoka Tano and Darth Vader bring to the story. "What makes Ahsoka so dangerous is if she were to figure out who Darth Vader is, it’s a big threat to him,” said executive producer Dave Filoni. Henry Gilroy, co-executive producer, revealed it was stressful to write Vader as the same terrifying villain that George Lucas had presented in “A New Hope.” After another exciting segment with the Chopper cam, StarWars.com managed to corner Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group with questions from fans on social media. We learn that Kanan was born only a few days before Luke and Leia, and that the armor worn by the Stormtroopers in Rebels isn’t much different than what is seen in the original films. This fun piece of trivia is then followed by an explosive clip of the upcoming episode, “The Lost Commanders!"

In this installment of Rebels Recon, StarWars.com talks with Star Wars Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni and the show's cast about the return of the clones and what's to come in Season Two. Also catch an exclusive preview of "Relics of the Old Republic."

This week’s epic Rebels Recon is divided into five story arcs. The collaborators of Star Wars Rebels come together at a Lucasfilm screening of the show's latest episodes, “Lost Commanders” and "Relics of the Old Republic,” and talk about AT-ATs. Andi Gutierrez speaks with the cast and crew about on-screen chemistry and more about AT-ATs. Chopper squirms and backtracks after getting a busy-looking assignment. Pablo Hidalgo answers an observant fan's question concerning Kanan and clone chips. We get a preview of next week’s episode, “Always Two There Are,” which might be the scariest one yet.

In this installment of Rebels Recon, we take a deep dive into the Star Wars Rebels Season Three premiere, "Steps Into Shadow." Host Andi Gutierrez speaks with the show's cast and crew, including Dave Filoni, Freddie Prinze Jr., Pablo Hidalgo, and more, discussing the Bendu, Kanan's blindness, and the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

In this installment of Rebels Recon, we take a look at the Star Wars Rebels episode "The Holocrons of Fate," in which Darth Maul returns to take on the Ghost crew. Host Andi Gutierrez sits down with the show's cast and crew, including Dave Filoni, Pablo Hidalgo, and Taylor Gray to discuss Maul's agenda, Ezra's growth, and more.

In this installment of Rebels Recon, we take a look at the Star Wars Rebels episode "The Antilles Extraction," which tells of how Wedge Antilles and Hobbie Klivian joined the rebellion. Host Andi Gutierrez sits down with the show's creators, including Dave Filoni, Pablo Hidalgo, and Henry Gilroy to discuss why Wedge and Hobbie wanted to leave the Empire and much more.