Suvudu Universe

Many eager Star Wars fans, including myself, are anticipating the premiere of Star Wars Rebels later this year. To herald the arrival of the new animated series, toy shelves will undoubtedly be equipped with a full range of shiny new promotional merchandise, including LEGO Star Wars sets. Kiddiwinks, an exclusive LEGO store and online shop that offers the widest range of LEGO products in South Africa, recently caught the attention of the Star Wars fan community with their online collection of new products for June 2014, which had a few surprising details about the upcoming series.

First up is The Phantom (Item No: 75048, Ages: 7-12, Pieces: 234). Although there are no images associated with these products, the product summaries offer further insight.

Take on evil Imperial forces in The Phantom with opening cockpit, 2-way spring-loaded shooter, rear cargo compartment and more.

Fly The Phantom into battle against the evil Empire!

Join the Rebel resistance against the evil Empire in The Phantom attack shuttle, as seen in the exciting Star Wars: Rebels animated TV series! Place young Rebel hero Ezra Bridger in the detachable cockpit and store his cadet helmet and blaster in the cargo…

The buzz around town is that The Phantom is a secondary attack shuttle that detaches from the back of The Ghost. Pete Morrison of Lightsaber Rattling proposed this back in October 2013. I don’t remember which episode of MakingStarWars.net‘s “Now, This Is Podcasting!” I mentioned this, but I likened the concept to the Firefly-class vessel Serenity from Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Serenity had two short range shuttles attached to it along the sides, one of which was rented out by Inara Serra. The idea of having a shuttle detach from the back of The Ghost is innovative and resourceful for sticky situations. I could already imagine The Ghost on the offensive and then The Phantom is launched midway through a battle. The camera zooms in as it detaches and then it does this wild spin to evade an incoming shot from the opposition in a Battlestar Galactica (2003) kind of way. My love for other fandoms is showing!

Another detail we discover in this summary is the name of young Rebel hero Ezra Bridger. Upon learning this, the Ezra that first came to my mind was Ezra Cornell, the co-founder of my alma mater, Cornell University. That had nothing to do with Star Wars, but I still felt the need to say it! As pointed out by Pete of Lightsaber Rattling, there is another Bridger in the Star Wars universe. A Force-sensitive male, Waldan Bridger, was a Jedi Knight, who fell victim to General Grievous during the Clone Wars. Whether there’s a connection or not, I’m happy that we know the name of at least one member of this rebellious crew, especially when back in November 2013, I spotted the name KANAN on this index card from the storyboard room and Rebels Report quickly pointed out the name EZRA.

Also, @RebelsReport, I think this storyboard card has the name "KANAN" written on it. #StarWarsRebels http://t.co/79o0ukxoM8

—
Johnamarie Macias (@BlueJaigEyes) November 10, 2013

Ezra also appears to be some kind of cadet, given that he has a cadet helmet. We know that the Empire is recruiting and persuading civilians to join the ranks of the Imperial Army. Could it be that Ezra has enlisted at an Imperial Academy or training facility? Remember when Luke said, “If these new droids do work out, I want to transmit my application to the Academy this year.” Maybe Ezra transmitted his application? Maybe his training officer is a familiar clone trooper face? I should stop before I let my imagination run away with me again.

Next up is The Ghost (Item No: 75053, Ages: 9-14, Pieces: 929).

Pilot The Ghost with 2 cockpits, 360-degree rotating gun turret, spring-loaded shooters, detachable escape pods, Holocron and more.

Join the Rebel heroes aboard The Ghost!

Get ready to battle the Empire with the Rebel heroes’ awesome starship – The Ghost – as seen in the thrilling Star Wars: Rebels animated TV series! Stay on course with Rebel minifigures in the two cockpits and put Zeb on patrol in the 360-degree rotating…

Anyone else hear bounty hunter Cad Bane say “holocron” in the back of your head? On a side note, he was easily one of the most memorable and devious characters of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of a holocron, I highly recommend watching “Holocron Heist,” “Cargo of Doom,” and “Children of the Force.”

A holocron present on The Ghost has the implication that a Jedi is also involved. Assuming that this LEGO piece isn’t a random attachment, how did the crew of The Ghost come to possess a holocron? Was there a Jedi hiding out on Lothal with this valuable item, and knowing that the Inquisitor was hot on his or her trail, decided to entrust it to Ezra and the rest of the gang? Or was that the rebels’ first goal–to steal a holocron in Imperial possession? Where am I pulling out these ideas, you ask? I was glancing over this screenshot taken by Rebels Report and it definitely appears as if The Ghost is escaping a hangar, but in the second picture (next to the planet in the top right corner), I see someone holding a square-ish object. I could be reading too much into it, but it could be possible.

Zeb! I don’t know what to make of good ol’ Zeb. I want to say Zeb’s a highly capable droid. My closest friend has the theory that Zeb might be a non-human–Nautolan, to be precise, for no reason in particular. Earlier today, Megan (@blogfullofwords) over on Twitter suggested that Zeb could be a Wookiee. Megan could be close, though! Rebels Report also took a screenshot of a storyboard with what appears to be a Wookiee. Whether it’s a droid, Nautolan or Wookiee, we all got the impression that Zeb’s not human.

If you are interested in what other Star Wars Rebels merchandise might show up on the horizon, definitely keep tabs on the upcoming International Toy Fair, where manufacturers and distributors showcase their toy and entertainment products, from February 16-19. You never know, we might get lucky and get more details!

Also, if you haven’t seen it already, take a gander at the Star Wars Rebels concept art published over at the official Star Wars Tumblr and stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

One of Kilian Plunkett’s concepts for the Ghost, our protagonists’ ship in Star Wars Rebels.