Via Wired.com:
WHEN DISNEY BOUGHT Lucasfilm, the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which at the time was airing on Cartoon Network, was cancelled. But Disney still wanted a Star Wars television series, so the creative team behind The Clone Wars rebooted the idea with a time-jump to 14 years after the establishment of the Galactic Empire in Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith. Keeping a few characters left over from the prequel trilogy and sprinkling in some cameos from the original films, Star Wars Rebels was born.
Ezra Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray), an orphan on the planet Lothal, encounters the crew of the starship Ghost, who complete smuggling missions and have a growing connection to the fledgling rebellion against the Empire. Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), a former Jedi apprentice who survived Order 66, senses Ezra’s abilities with the Force, and recruits him as a padawan. Rounding out the crew are Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshall), the ship’s talented pilot, Sabine Wren (Tiya Sirdar), a Mandalorian former bounty hunter with a penchant for graffiti art, and Zeb (Steven Blum), a Lasat who is the last of his kind and the heavy combat member of the team. Imagine if Joss Whedon’s Firefly was set in the Star Wars universe, and you’d have a pretty clear idea of the type of story structure Rebels is working with.
Rebels is an in-between series, so it’s clear where the larger plot ends up, but it’s not as foregone a conclusion as everything going on in the The Clone Wars, which never properly wrapped up. Like almost every new story since Disney acquired the franchise, Rebels references and takes cues from core storylines, but is mostly concerned with fleshing out new characters who can take paths divergent from the main saga. The crew of the Ghost contributes to the rebellion but aren’t major players, and Kanan and Ezra continue the tradition of master and apprentice without the weight of continuing the Jedi Order on their shoulders. It’s a rather brilliant sidestep that keeps a younger protagonist at the center while appealing to older audiences with world-building content.
Sound interesting? Well, Season 3 of the series just started this past weekend on Disney XD. Here’s how to catch up on everything that came before.
Star Wars: Rebels
Number of Seasons: 3 (39 episodes)
Time Requirements: With 39 episodes (plus four web-only shorts on YouTube), the total running time of the first two seasons is a little over 14 hours. That’s totally manageable for getting caught up while the third season is currently airing.
Where to Get Your Fix: If you’ve got an applicable cable or satellite subscription, you can catch up via Disney XD’s website. Otherwise, episodes are available to purchase on Amazon Video, iTunes, and Google Play.
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