Rebels returns? Awesome.

Using a ship clearly based on the Old Republic? Fan-freaking-tastic!

See, this is the kind of "Legends influencing canon" that everyone can get behind. If you're not familiar with the legends stuff, no worries - it's just "an old transport".

If you do recognise it, you get that little fanboy-tickle at the back of your brain going "now that is cool".

It doesn't break anything, and it's a nice little nod to the wider world of media. Good job

Well everyone except Legends fans

Well I AM a Legends fan. I'm also a realist.

I try to keep an open mind and stay positive.

That new trailer for example - epic stuff!

Personally, I cannot see how Kanan, Ezra, or even a hidden Ahsoka can exist after (or even a few years before) "A New Hope." I mean, no way Yoda and Obi-Wan's dialogue in "Empire Strikes Back" goes challenged ... by a kids' cartoon.

What is more, if you want to be pedantic, Yoda doesn't say "the last of the force users you will be." He says "the last of the Jedi you will be." Jedi is a title pertaining to a formally recognized member of the Jedi Order. Its a title and a role .

When the council told Ahsoka she had earned her knighthood, she rebuffed them and walked. She refused the mantle of Jedi. And, a padawan is not a Jedi. A padawan is merely a candidate in training who may or may not become a Jedi, much like a monastic novice may or may not enter orders as they progress.

Kanan was never inducted into the order, which now only exists in Obi and Yoda prior to RotJ. If they don't make Kanan a Jedi - offer the mantle - he's just a force user with a lightsaber who was reared by Jedi for a time. This is the case irrespective of how powerful and skilled and knowledgeable in the force he eventually becomes.

Ezra is the same. He can be trained by Ahsoka and Kanan, and talk to Yoda's disembodied voice until he's blue in the face, but he's not a Jedi until he's passed the trials and real Jedi inducts him into the ranks. Ahsoka and Kanan cannot do that for him. It has to be Obi, Yoda, or later on, Luke.

This falls flat pretty much instantly given that everyone calls Kanan and Ezra "Jedi" all the time in the show, and they never bother to set up the distinction you're claiming.

To be clear, I'm not really bugged by Rebels having Jedi characters. They're central to the genre and a lot of my favorite moments have been Kanan teaching Ezra about the Force. But the original trilogy painted a very clear picture of Luke being the last of the Jedi, and when the old EU was discarded I was hoping one thing it would take to the grave was the annoying tendency for Jedi survivors to pop up all over the %&$#ing place. It just really undercuts the romanticism and weight of Luke being the last Jedi if there's an asterisk at the end that says "except for like a hundred of these mooks you've never heard of".

So when you introduce Jedi characters in the time period between III-IV you have a very unattractive choice: either they live and undermine a large part of Luke's character arc in the films, or they all die off conveniently.

Also, for those wondering about “The Old Master”, here’s a screen grab with some adjusted levels...

That looks like Maul. In fact, I think it has to be. Last we saw of Maul he and Savage were defeated by the Emperor and the Emperor said he had "other uses" for Maul. It didn't sound like a good thing.

It's the unlikeliest thing they could ever do but... a redemption arc for Maul???

It's the unlikeliest thing they could ever do but... a redemption arc for Maul???

Unless he is Snoke...

Personally, I cannot see how Kanan, Ezra, or even a hidden Ahsoka can exist after (or even a few years before) "A New Hope." I mean, no way Yoda and Obi-Wan's dialogue in "Empire Strikes Back" goes challenged ... by a kids' cartoon.

What is more, if you want to be pedantic, Yoda doesn't say "the last of the force users you will be." He says "the last of the Jedi you will be." Jedi is a title pertaining to a formally recognized member of the Jedi Order. Its a title and a role .

When the council told Ahsoka she had earned her knighthood, she rebuffed them and walked. She refused the mantle of Jedi. And, a padawan is not a Jedi. A padawan is merely a candidate in training who may or may not become a Jedi, much like a monastic novice may or may not enter orders as they progress.

Kanan was never inducted into the order, which now only exists in Obi and Yoda prior to RotJ. If they don't make Kanan a Jedi - offer the mantle - he's just a force user with a lightsaber who was reared by Jedi for a time. This is the case irrespective of how powerful and skilled and knowledgeable in the force he eventually becomes.

Ezra is the same. He can be trained by Ahsoka and Kanan, and talk to Yoda's disembodied voice until he's blue in the face, but he's not a Jedi until he's passed the trials and real Jedi inducts him into the ranks. Ahsoka and Kanan cannot do that for him. It has to be Obi, Yoda, or later on, Luke.

This falls flat pretty much instantly given that everyone calls Kanan and Ezra "Jedi" all the time in the show, and they never bother to set up the distinction you're claiming.

To be clear, I'm not really bugged by Rebels having Jedi characters. They're central to the genre and a lot of my favorite moments have been Kanan teaching Ezra about the Force. But the original trilogy painted a very clear picture of Luke being the last of the Jedi, and when the old EU was discarded I was hoping one thing it would take to the grave was the annoying tendency for Jedi survivors to pop up all over the %&$#ing place. It just really undercuts the romanticism and weight of Luke being the last Jedi if there's an asterisk at the end that says "except for like a hundred of these mooks you've never heard of".

So when you introduce Jedi characters in the time period between III-IV you have a very unattractive choice: either they live and undermine a large part of Luke's character arc in the films, or they all die off conveniently.

Personally, I'm hoping Filoni gets a bit more creative than simple death, or if there is death, we have survivours in various conditions. Kanan is a prime candidate for this. He's already war-weary before things have even begun. The only things keeping him going are his friends and if he loses too many of them, or Ezra goes dark side, I can full well see him cracking at the seams and crumbling into a PTSD-laden wreck of a man. The most evil thing would possibly be combining the two and having Kanan retire to Alderaan.

I mean, if we "know" they're all going to die, it does kill suspense a bit. Hence why I like the introduction of Maul tempting Ezra to the dark side, too. It opens new possibilities outside of decapitation by lightsaber. I would love there to be open questions again, such as 'Who lives?', 'Who dies?', 'Who gives up?' and 'Who goes dark?'. I have high hopes season 2 will give me those suspenseful moments and be coherently unpredictable.

Luke being the last Jedi, can only be considered true if you believe Yoda and Obiwan who totally haven't lied to Luke about anything right?

More info! Filoni comments on some of the scenes shown in the new trailer...

http://www.ew.com/gallery/star-wars-rebels-gallery

Luke being the last Jedi, can only be considered true if you believe Yoda and Obiwan who totally haven't lied to Luke about anything right?

And they'd never do that right? They are totally trustworthy Jedi Masters right?......Right?

On another note, the new trailer looks freaking great, can't wait!

Am I the only who thinks the big ship at about 1:20 is either a Qaser Fire or some kind of larger sister design?

Luke being the last Jedi, can only be considered true if you believe Yoda and Obiwan who totally haven't lied to Luke about anything right?

Because they never lied to Luke about anything, right?

Plus, do they say that Luke is the very last Jedi, or do they say that Luke is their last hope?

Luke being the last Jedi, can only be considered true if you believe Yoda and Obiwan who totally haven't lied to Luke about anything right?

Because they never lied to Luke about anything, right?

Plus, do they say that Luke is the very last Jedi, or do they say that Luke is their last hope?

I seem to remember that Yoda called Luke the last of the Jedi. But then again, Yoda saw himself as the last of the Order.

It's one of those "point of view" things that him and Kenobi were found of, meaning they weren't telling the truth.

As far as Kanan and Ezra's existence and Yoda's line to Luke about "last of the Jedi, will you be," Dave Filoni actually addressed this an earlier interview around the time of Season 1. It's buried back in the thread, but from how Dave sees it (at least at that time), Yoda wasn't really aware of those two running around, and so as far as he knew, Luke was the last of the Jedi at the point that Yoda was breathing his last breaths.

Of course, that may have changed, as we've got a scene that looks to take place on the Star Wars equivalent of the astral plane with Ezra having a direct talk with Yoda. Of course, the full context of that scene might reveal it to be something else, such as the Yoda we're seeing being a manifestation of the Force that has no connection to the actual Yoda. Guess we'll find out in the weeks to come.

Granted, with Yoda being stuck on Dagobah, he doesn't have any reliable means to check on the status of other Jedi survivors that won't wind up drawing attention to him in the process. Dagobah was remote, wasn't on most of the galactic star charts, and was absolutely teeming with life, making it a pretty good place for a Jedi Grand Master to lay low until the time came to train his final student. Downside was he was cut off from the galaxy and only had vague notions through the Force as to how bad things were. Luke shined bright enough to be a notable threat to the Emperor, and thus Yoda would know about him through the Force, but Kanan and Ezra likely don't shine as bright under most circumstances.

Lets put it this way if Luke hadn't overheard Yoda and Obiwan talking he wouldn't even know he had a sister. So if they didn't plan on telling him about Leia and they aren't sure he is going to defeat the Emperor and stop Vader why would they tell him about any other Jedi who might be alive. They know they are sending Luke on what amounts to a suicide mission so its unlikely they would mention anyone else that he could compromise like he did his sister later in the movie.

Lets put it this way if Luke hadn't overheard Yoda and Obiwan talking he wouldn't even know he had a sister. So if they didn't plan on telling him about Leia and they aren't sure he is going to defeat the Emperor and stop Vader why would they tell him about any other Jedi who might be alive. They know they are sending Luke on what amounts to a suicide mission so its unlikely they would mention anyone else that he could compromise like he did his sister later in the movie.

Yoda confessed to Luke that "there's another Skywalker" on his deathbed.

As far as Kanan and Ezra's existence and Yoda's line to Luke about "last of the Jedi, will you be," Dave Filoni actually addressed this an earlier interview around the time of Season 1. It's buried back in the thread, but from how Dave sees it (at least at that time), Yoda wasn't really aware of those two running around, and so as far as he knew, Luke was the last of the Jedi at the point that Yoda was breathing his last breaths.

Of course, that may have changed, as we've got a scene that looks to take place on the Star Wars equivalent of the astral plane with Ezra having a direct talk with Yoda. Of course, the full context of that scene might reveal it to be something else, such as the Yoda we're seeing being a manifestation of the Force that has no connection to the actual Yoda. Guess we'll find out in the weeks to come.

Granted, with Yoda being stuck on Dagobah, he doesn't have any reliable means to check on the status of other Jedi survivors that won't wind up drawing attention to him in the process. Dagobah was remote, wasn't on most of the galactic star charts, and was absolutely teeming with life, making it a pretty good place for a Jedi Grand Master to lay low until the time came to train his final student. Downside was he was cut off from the galaxy and only had vague notions through the Force as to how bad things were. Luke shined bright enough to be a notable threat to the Emperor, and thus Yoda would know about him through the Force, but Kanan and Ezra likely don't shine as bright under most circumstances.

We've already seen Yoda communicating remotely with both Kanan and Ezra in the episode where he get's his crystal, so things have definitely changed since Filoni made that comment. That said, it was also established that Yoda was only aware of them because they were in the temple, meaning it'd be easy for him to lose track of them and presume them dead.

Good point Cuddly about Yoda's interaction with Ezra and Kanan being due to their presence in the Lothal temple.

I wouldn't be surprised if Ezra and Yoda's conversation later this season has a similar justification, with Ezra being in a temple of one type or another. Based on the previews, might well be that Sith-looking temple we saw.

Ok... so now Kanan's Lightsaber can easily slice through an AT-AT's leg. Very easily mind you. I am going to guess that the AT-AT had like 1HT left after the 4 missile shots it took. AND that Kanan's lightsaber has a Sapith crystal in it with the Breach 2 upgrade. AND that an AT-AT's leg is really only an Armor 3. Allowing Kanan to roll a Triumph on the attack roll getting past the 3 armor and slicing both legs in half for the epic win.

Yes?

Don't think too hard on it. They probably weren't referring to this RP when they made it. Call it a called shot, assigned difficulty and if he succeeded, epic stunt

Agreed. Apologies, I should have noted that I was total cool with the sequence. Actually thought it was pretty BA. Was just trying to relate what had happened to what has been published, considering it is now canon and somehow, somewhere someone is going to say... "But that one time, in Rebels, Kanan one shotted a AT-AT. So, now so should I."

Man, I hope the Empire upgraded the armor on those things between the last episode and Hoth or else everyone's going to be giving Luke a lot of dirty looks when Leia tells this story.

Interesting - the Empire still has clone stormtroopers as of this late date. The Stormtrooper who captured the Governor was voiced by Steve Blum. That trooper reported in that Leia had been kidnapped seconds after the officer talked to another trooper voiced by Steve. So unless that Trooper is the Flash, he's a clone.

Now in reality, Rebels has a limited budget for voice work, and they have most of their main cast doing small parts and pick up rolls - but it's still an easy excuse for making sense in story.

Luke being the last Jedi, can only be considered true if you believe Yoda and Obiwan who totally haven't lied to Luke about anything right?

And they'd never do that right? They are totally trustworthy Jedi Masters right?......Right?

On another note, the new trailer looks freaking great, can't wait!

"From a certain point of view."

If you take the point of view that says a Jedi is someone who is trained by a master in the ways of the force and the Jedi code until a point when the masters deem them fit to become a knight, usually involving some sort of trial, then Obi Won and Yoda are not lying to Luke any more than they did when they told him Vader killed Anakin. Kanan never completed his training beyond padawan, Ezra is learning from him, and Ahsoka left the order. Luke, on the other hand, was trained by two masters and his trial, from Yoda himself, was to deal with Vader.

Interesting - the Empire still has clone stormtroopers as of this late date. The Stormtrooper who captured the Governor was voiced by Steve Blum. That trooper reported in that Leia had been kidnapped seconds after the officer talked to another trooper voiced by Steve. So unless that Trooper is the Flash, he's a clone.

Now in reality, Rebels has a limited budget for voice work, and they have most of their main cast doing small parts and pick up rolls - but it's still an easy excuse for making sense in story.

I just figure it's hand-waved as an effect of their helmets, and that as part of their training the troopers are all trained to speak a certain way, to better reinforce the notion of the Empire as a monolithic force that you can't stand up to.

Plus, as you said the reality is saving money by having the main cast (especially those with the talent for it like Steve Blum) do additional voices as needed.

Well, the AT-ATs we see in Rebels were noted to be the initial production run by Dave Filoni during the Rebels Recon where they first showed up. Given the Empire tends to follow the "go big or don't bother" mindset, they probably had a huge production run of these first-gen AT-ATs, and will be using them for a while.

So in the several years that occur between Rebels and ESB, it's entirely likely that the Empire will buff up the walker's armor, as well as decrease the overall size (probably to account for the heavier armor).

Well, the AT-ATs we see in Rebels were noted to be the initial production run by Dave Filoni during the Rebels Recon where they first showed up. Given the Empire tends to follow the "go big or don't bother" mindset, they probably had a huge production run of these first-gen AT-ATs, and will be using them for a while.

So in the several years that occur between Rebels and ESB, it's entirely likely that the Empire will buff up the walker's armor, as well as decrease the overall size (probably to account for the heavier armor).

Plus, they weren't designed to face Jedi. In fact, by the battle of Hoth, the Jedi were thought to have been extinct, and Luke was very much in the learning stages. So they may not have needed to upgrade.