Equipped with lightsabers, poster tubes, and coffee, fans donned their Stormtrooper and Rey gear, lined up for hours to get a glimpse at their favorite Star Wars Rebels celebs, and came together as a family of fans to share their love of the galaxy far, far away at New York Comic Con 2015.
On Thursday, Star Wars Rebels ruled the con with a panel, press conference, and a Season 2 New York City premiere.
At the Star Wars Rebels press conference at NYCC, Sarah Michelle Geller, the latest addition to the cast as the voice of the Seventh Sister, Taylor Gray, who plays Ezra, Ashley Eckstein, who plays Ahsoka Tano, and supervising director Dave Filoni answered questions about the upcoming season of Star Wars Rebels.
While the team did not reveal too much about the season, they provided a deeper look into their characters and the Rebels’ series. As viewers continue to follow the strength of the growing Rebellion this season, there are a few things they should keep in mind:
No two Inquisitors are Alike
While each Inquisitor is trained with a spinning lightsaber blade so the audience can identify them right away, their fighting styles, looks, and personalities are all different.
Compared to the other Inquisitors, Filoni says, the Seventh Sister is a little more probing. “Her attack style is quicker. She tries to see what your weaknesses is and then go for it.” Little differences, according to Filoni, just a good identifier for the audience so that each new baddie doesn't come across as “just the latest guy who wears all black.”
Female Empowerment
Ashley Eckstein touched on the subject, explaining how the writers do not specifically point out that certain characters in the show are girls. “They’re just really cool characters. And so, when you write it correctly, you look past the gender. That’s how it should be.”
Filoni weighed in, and said that all he can really do is “create opportunities and bring some balance to the Force.” He added that if the characters are done right, that they are for everybody.
Loyal Companions
Ever wonder why Cad Bane had Todo and Embo was always paired up with his Anooba Marrok? Filoni shared that he is a fan of G.I. Joe and Snake Eyes' pet Timber, so he likes giving characters companions in the series he works on.
Keep an eye out for the Seventh Sister’s droids lingering by her side throughout the second season of Star Wars Rebels.
Real-World Comparisons
For Filoni, Rebels is all about tying it back to real-world situations. In Season 3 of The Clone Wars, fans saw a big jump in both maturity and age with the character Ahsoka Tano. There may be an age jump in Rebels, but Filoni says he won’t do it mid-season ever again. However, Filoni loves to add changes that kids can understand.
Despite the fact that “it drives some cosplayers nuts,” Filoni shared that he loves to change up characters’ looks. “If you look at how you dress in junior high and then you look at the way you’re dressed in junior year, it’s different,” he explained. He said that he likes to use small changes like altering an outfit to symbolize character change and evolution. He said that the show will “jump a little bit” at some point in the series.
“I like the idea that time passes while the kids are away during the summer and they come back in the Fall. Whenever there's a real world connection, I enjoy that. It can be a powerful thing when you tell a story.”
A Lack of Sympathy
“There’s never really been a jedi quite like Ahsoka before,” said Filoni. She is someone that electively walked away from everything before it all fell apart, and Filoni explained how that earned her a certain position apart from their way of thinking about the Force.
Leaving the Order, however, doesn’t mean she’s a saint in Lord Vader’s eyes, and Filoni said that walking away doesn’t mean that Vader has “sympathy for her whatsoever.”
He shared how he knows that fans feel like Ahsoka and her former Master have things left unsaid, but thinks that Ahsoka meeting Vader is getting into “very dangerous storytelling,” because they have “great skills and sharp lightsabers.”
Filoni Considers Himself “A Shepherd”
Filoni said that he will always respect that George Lucas was the original creator of Star Wars, and shared that if Lucas ever chose to watch the episodes that Filoni wants them to be something that George would like.
“I’ve always understood that I’m a shepherd of [Star Wars], and that’s my Jedi role.”
He shared that he don’t ever want to create something that is ”okay.” He said that he tries to make it the best that he can, and tries to make it “whatever that bar is so fans are always equating a high quality to Star Wars.”
Rebels also got a sneak peak at the first two episodes of Season 2: The Lost Commanders and Relics of the Old Republic. This is what fans should look for in the first two episodes:
Scars of Order 66
Rex, Wolfe and Gregor are back, which means that fans will get a look at the Clones’ life after the Republic. Look out for the Clones in these episodes, and pay attention to what they say. They’ll reveal clues to what has happened over the years, and mention off-screen events.
Fans will want to make note of how the characters have stayed the same or changed over the last 15 years. In many ways, viewers can see the toll that Order 66 had on the Clones and just how much the Clone Wars (and the rules and regulations they followed as soldiers) consumed their entire lives.
Ezra’s Courage
Ezra has become more bold since we met him in the first episode of Season 1. He’s becoming more of a critical thinker and supporting his arguments with fact and personal conviction. He’s also learning to rely more on the Force this season. Keep an eye out for the choices he makes in the first arc of Season 2.
A Glimpse into the Past
Watch as Ezra tries to piece together the final events of the Clone Wars through the words and viewpoints of Kanan and Rex through snippets they reveal and through little things uttered throughout the arc.
It is easy for fans who watched all of The Clone Wars and the saga to understand the situation, but what about Ezra, who only recently left the world of Lothall?
More Chopper-tude
Chopper is paired with Hera for the majority of this arc, and his attitude runs rampant in these episodes..but what else is new?
By: Lillian Skye (@LillianSkye)
Star Wars Rebels Season 2 Premieres TONIGHT (October 14th at 9:30 pm EST) on Disney XD