Mara Jade's Father
Master Member
What the intent was in 1983 has to accommodate what is best for carrying forward the franchise in 2015. You can't be so pedantic in your story that it can't allow for new stories which may be somewhat different from what GL wrote so long ago. And to be STAR WARS and attract an audience, it needs lightsabers and the Force, therefore Rebel's needed Kanan and Ezra to ever appeal to kids.
I don't know about the kid appeal agenda. I think it was much more steeped in the kind of story they wanted to tell in the series. As I reflect on what has already happened in the series, I think you need Kanan and Ezra in order to let the audience know what has happened with the Jedi and what type of struggles they continue to have under the Empire.