I appreciate your disdain for the binary arguments of "It's just a kids show" or "It's just to sell toys". It's simply not that, but it also is that. Creatively the show isn't simply a marketing vehicle, but it also has to be to some extent. It's the nature of the beast. It's a very difficult line to walk. Now wearing my business analysis hat, to think that Disney would have allowed this show to be produced without Jedi is a challenge for me. I can't prove it, but would not be surprised if that was part of their requirements for the production team. Because they knew it would be effective. It's a publicly traded company and too much money is at stake.
STAR WARS Rebels new animated series!
- Thread starter Bryancd
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I appreciate your disdain for the binary arguments of "It's just a kids show" or "It's just to sell toys". It's simply not that, but it also is that. Creatively the show isn't simply a marketing vehicle, but it also has to be to some extent. It's the nature of the beast. It's a very difficult line to walk. Now wearing my business analysis hat, to think that Disney would have allowed this show to be produced without Jedi is a challenge for me. I can't prove it, but would not be surprised if that was part of their requirements for the production team. Because they knew it would be effective. It's a publicly traded company and too much money is at stake.
Mara Jade's Father
Master Member
LOL!!!!!' You win, I give up.
Hold on. I'm sitting in a recliner. I guess I am obtuse. You win!
Mara Jade's Father
Master Member
I just think that is very jaded. Yes, they make a lot of money off merchandising. But I do not believe that they make decisions on characters, ships, etc.. based on whether or not they can make money off associated merchandise. For Star Wars to be Star Wars, it is always going have imaginative characters and items. The merchandising will flow naturally. It does not have to be forced.
Yes, the merchandising argument never has a lot of veracity. The inclusion of Jedi, especially a young Jedi, that was driven quit a bit by demographics. And that's ok, this stuff needs to be made and needs to be paid for.
I didn't mean to reignite that! :lol I was just wondering out loud whether it will be addressed or not! I'm just going to guess that Yoda and Obi Wan were aware of other trained Force users, but Luke and Leia, being Anakin's kids, were the only ones powerful enough to potentially stop the Emperor.
Wolfsburg
Master Member
What can I say? I'd rather preserve the integrity of the existing canon than muddying the waters simply so contemporary Rebels writers have more leeway in their creative brainstorming, which frankly hasn't been that great anyways. If they can't come up with story possibilities without tampering with existing stuff, that's too bad. They should work around it rather than change it to fit their whims. As far as I'm concerned, Luke not being literally the last Jedi is not a minuscule change in my book. For me, the stakes are much higher and the story more mythological in feel if Luke is literally the very last. Sure it's not likely or realistic but that's Star Wars. Kinda like trying to argue that there had to be other people that could've pulled the sword out of the stone and Merlin was a big liar. Just not realistic or plausible that Arthur was the only one that could. That's what these arguments sound like to me.
Regardless, I absolutely do not think Rebels is better for having Jedi.
astroboy
Master Member
Personally, I think kanan is great. And I do think that he makes rebels better.
Mind you, I think it would be a more interesting story if he never contued to be a Jedi after 66. If it was something he did as a kid and never went back to it.
And Ezra is useless to me. I wish he wasn't "force sensitive". He could simply be a young kid.
Wolfsburg
Master Member
I'm not crazy about Ezra but I don't hate the character. I actually find the ridiculous Mandalorian graffiti artist Sabine to be more pointless and can't stand Zeb. If the show had just been Hera, Ezra, Kanan and Chopper, I would've been just fine with that. Personally, I think they jumped into the Jedi story arc far too soon and quickly and I agree it would've been more interesting if Kanan never went back to it or at least be far more hesitant than he was in the show. Ironically, I actually think it would be more interesting if Kanan wasn't in the picture at all, and Ezra was just a force sensitive that didn't quite know what was going on or what to do. Just a kid that feels lost and confused, although that might be getting too emo! Lol! It would've been neat to see what a force sensitive must think with no guidance or support and the Jedi being effectively outlawed.Lol!
Wow. I don't even like the inclusion of TCW characters in Rebels but even I think that would be an interesting retcon! The similarity is uncanny!
Wow. I don't even like the inclusion of TCW characters in Rebels but even I think that would be an interesting retcon! The similarity is uncanny!
I suspect Sabine is an empire plant. Simply for intelligence collecting but not to sabotage....yet. This might account for lack of character development or background story.
joshvanrad
Master Member
So far this is what it feels like to me (again, this is just my personal opinion):
I really liked the feel of the first season, and I LOVED Siege Of Lothal...
But it feels like Filoni is really trying to make this back into CW. I know a lot of the CW fans were peeing their pants when Ahsoka showed up, and were blown away when Rex hit the screen. For me, it felt forced. It seems like Dave wasn't ready to let the CW go so he had to shoehorn the characters into this new story. The first season of Rebels had a lot of old school Star Wars vibes. Even though Rebels is marketed to a younger age group than Clone Wars, I thought it did a better job at portraying a Star Wars theme than CW did. The second season of Rebels has not felt the same. Star Wars is about regular people (not just Jedi) doing amazing things. It's about underdogs and scrappy battles. That's always been the appeal to me. That's what has always made it so relatable, even as a sci-fi/ fantasy/ western. It seems like as things have progressed in Rebels we are seeing more lightsaber fights, force jumps, and Jedi.
I don't know. It just seems like we are seeing a shift in tone. And it seems like the CW characters are little forced in this new story.
I know there are a lot of CW fans in here, so you can take this with a grain of salt, because I was never a fan of CW (but it was not for lack of trying).
I really liked the feel of the first season, and I LOVED Siege Of Lothal...
But it feels like Filoni is really trying to make this back into CW. I know a lot of the CW fans were peeing their pants when Ahsoka showed up, and were blown away when Rex hit the screen. For me, it felt forced. It seems like Dave wasn't ready to let the CW go so he had to shoehorn the characters into this new story. The first season of Rebels had a lot of old school Star Wars vibes. Even though Rebels is marketed to a younger age group than Clone Wars, I thought it did a better job at portraying a Star Wars theme than CW did. The second season of Rebels has not felt the same. Star Wars is about regular people (not just Jedi) doing amazing things. It's about underdogs and scrappy battles. That's always been the appeal to me. That's what has always made it so relatable, even as a sci-fi/ fantasy/ western. It seems like as things have progressed in Rebels we are seeing more lightsaber fights, force jumps, and Jedi.
I don't know. It just seems like we are seeing a shift in tone. And it seems like the CW characters are little forced in this new story.
I know there are a lot of CW fans in here, so you can take this with a grain of salt, because I was never a fan of CW (but it was not for lack of trying).
Mara Jade's Father
Master Member
I really like Sabine. One of my favorite characters (close tie for first between her and Hera). I was found it interesting that Dave F. mentioned in the Rebel recon that the series is also a growth and/or development (forgot what he actually said) for not only Ezra but Sabine too. So I am interested to see where she is headed.
I don't think the inclusion of Ahsoka is forced or inappropriate. She's an important character for the franchise as both a female character and fan favorite. Her story needed to continue and this seems a holistic way to do it. I still laugh when I read posts by adults complaining about cartoon characters that kids love. Like I keep saying, this show is not for grumpy 40+ year olds!
To me Ahsoka, Kanan, and Ezra are to the Jedi what the Inquisitors are to the Sith, Trained in the arts but not the full on version - yet. I like Sabine her Repaint of the TIE fighter last season was awesome.
Who here would love to hear a conversation between Chopper and Kenny from South Park?
Who here would love to hear a conversation between Chopper and Kenny from South Park?
Riceball
Master Member
As far as Kanan and Ezra and the previously established canon goes, this series does take place, what, at least 15 some odd years before the events for ANH and so, as of right now, does not even come close to bending the canon, much less violating it since we don't know what the eventual fate of Kanan, Ezra, or even Ahshoka are. For all we know, they could all die by the end or Rebels or by the time Yoda delivers that classic line to Luke. Or they could still survive and Yoda is unaware of them since he did, after all, take off as Order 66 happened and didn't exactly stick around to take role call nor keep up with current events in the galaxy outside of the fact that the Empire, Emperor, and Vader are still around, even that could simply be an assumption on his part. I don't think that Yoda got GNN or copies of the Imperial Times at his little mud hut on Dagobah nor do I think that our 3 quasi-Jedi know that Yoda is still alive and have checked in with him to let him know that, in the case of Ahsoka and Kanan, are still alive and are acting (somewhat) like Jedi and Kanan is now training a new padawan. So no canon violation there.
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