Suvudu Universe

San Diego Comic Con 2014, the mother of all geek and pop culture conventions, is finally upon us! To prepare for a week loaded with Star Wars news, Lucasfilm and Disney kicked off the geek celebration with an extended Star Wars Rebels trailer. Incorporating clips and dialogue from the first full trailer and the teasers (Spark and Ignite) released earlier this year, this extended look also dishes out brand new footage of the highly anticipated animated series.

To start off, we see the return of James Arnold Taylor as the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi. The hologram of Kenobi originates from the holocron and unveils the warning message briefly mentioned in Revenge of the Sith. The image on the left shows Ezra in an Imperial holding cell, similar in design to the one Ahsoka Tano sat in during the final arc of season five. We see Obi-Wan Kenobi’s hologram on the right, but the hologram isn’t displaying in the Imperial holding cell. Based on the background, the activation of the holocron in this instance happened in the Ghost. Ezra may have activated it both times, starting the message in one scene (in the Ghost) and finishing the recording in another (in Imperial capture).

Capital City on Lothal is exceptionally beautiful at night, but I wanted to highlight this part because “Duel of the Fates” picks up right at this moment in the trailer. Hearing that song gave me chills, and I can only imagine what composer Kevin Kiner has cooked up for the series. Having heard the Rebels theme song that premiered at WonderCon 2014 a million times by now, I wonder if each individual character will have their own theme similar to what Ahsoka Tano had in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

When Ezra explains that he has no parents, Hera turns to him with a sympathetic (or perhaps, empathetic) look. Hera’s history remains a secret, but we know she is a freedom fighter and carries the Syndulla name. Though many suspect she’s related to Cham Syndulla in some way, I believe the name “Syndulla” has become a legend among her people. My theory is that she took up the name herself because she believes and supports a free Ryloth and a galaxy without Imperial rule. Or, she could be his niece, but I like my theory more!

Let’s face it. If we went into space and experienced jumping into hyperspace travel for the first time, we would have Ezra’s mind blown expression. In our latest podcast episode, Jason Ward of Making Star Wars kindly reminded listeners that children will be experiencing Star Wars for the first time through Rebels and will bear a similar kind of expression–an expression I will, no doubt, have myself even after all these years of being a Star Wars fan.

At Star Wars Celebration Europe, fans received a Star Wars Rebels pin of the Ghost symbol and the URL on the side of the pin led fans to the Sienar Fleet Systems propaganda poster. That same poster appears in the background of the image on the left. Additionally, we see what could be a Sienar Fleet Systems employee on the right. He’s wearing similar headgear and gloves. I believe this is also the man who was kicked out by the stormtroopers before Sabine started her diversion plan, as previously seen in the Sabine clip exclusively shown at Star Wars Weekends. I look forward to keeping my eyes on the background to find more propaganda posters and other similar material on the walls when the show premieres.

Star Wars Rebels cast and crew will be present at San Diego Comic Con 2014 on July 24 at 6:00 PM PST. We may finally get our premiere date tomorrow, so stay tuned!