'Star Wars Rebels' Executive Producer Dave Filoni Talks Season Three

By: Dominic Jones

The third season of Star Wars Rebels kicks off this Saturday at 8:30pm on Disney XD and the promotion is in full swing this week.  Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni sat down with io9's Germain Lussier to discuss several topics relating to Season Three, including Darth Maul and the dwindling role of Jedi and Force users in the galactic conflict.

Filoni said,

“A lot of [season three] is centered on one line [in A New Hope].  Tarkin tells Vader the fire of the Jedi has gone out of the universe. So you have to start to enter this period where it seems like the rule of the day isn’t people who wield the Force but it’s more people that are controlling military might and starfleets. They seem to be the ones in control by the time of A New Hope.”

He also discussed Maul's role in Season Three, saying,

“The Maul storyline is not a main storyline [of season three].  He’s in episodes but he’s not in an overwhelming number of episodes. I didn’t want to overplay him. You don’t want him to be in that weekly guest role. So when he shows up you know it’s important and it’s a key moment for him.”

Additionally, Filoni laid out how he looked at the characters arcs and conflicts this season, saying,

“Between Empire and Jedi, [Luke and Leia] are already in the act of saving Han. Luke knows he’s going to have to confront the Emperor. There’s a period there where they’re making some very serious decisions about what they’re going to do next and a lot of that is not just because they’ve come in contact with the greatest powers of the galaxy but they have some of the great power of the galaxy. We’re in a similar situation where Ezra has come in contact with Darth Vader, he’s been a part of defeating Inquisitors, and he’s seen what evil power can do.

So it’s really about power, how we use power and claim power for ourselves.  Which is ultimately the path between selfishness or selflessness, which is always underneath the story of Star Wars.”

You can read the entire interview with Filoni over at io9!

The third season of Star Wars Rebels debuts this Saturday September 24th at 8:30pm on Disney XD. Check out my advance, spoiler free review of the premiere "Steps Into Shadow", here.

 

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