Star Wars: Rebels Rumored To Introduce Mara Jade
Plus, Rebels may have more ties to Episode VII than we expected.
This article is more than 2 years old
When Disney announced that a new animated series called Star Wars: Rebels was going to kick-off a new era of Lucasfilm, fans were excited to return to explore the Star Wars in the years leading up to A New Hope. Rebels takes place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, with the Galactic Empire expanding its evil reach to the outer rim planets. Now rumor has it that a beloved character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe will be popping up in Rebels: Mara Jade.
According to StarWars7News.com, Star Wars Expanded Universe fan-favorite Mara Jade will be introduced in the animated series. Moreover, her introduction in the toon will pave the way for her introduction in Star Wars: Episode VII, which, according to the site, will take place in the year 30 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), three decades after A New Hope.
Mara Jade was at one time a special agent for Emperor Palpatine, a smuggler, and then later a Jedi Master who sat upon the Jedi High Council. She also later married Luke Skywalker…after she tried to assassinate him. Mara Jade is the mother of Ben Skywalker, Luke’s son, who rumors suggest may be played by Breaking Bad’s Jesse Plemons.
The site also claims that Han Solo and Princess Leia’s twins, Jacen and Jaina Solo, will be featured in the film, with Ben Skywalker playing the Luke role to Jacen and Jaina’s Han and Leia. Here’s what StarWars7News has to say (typos included):
It can be said, that Rebels will introduce Mara Jade, into the film canon, sometimes appearing with the Inquisitor and she will be the living mother of Ben Skywalker.
Episode seven takes place, in 30 ABY. Jacen, and Jaina will be to Ben what Han, and Leia were to Luke. Ben is around the same age as his cousins. Chewie will be alive, and this is an all new timeline from 4 ABY forward.
Pablo Hidalgo, and Leland Chee have been consulting with Kathleen, and JJ, on EU elements, and characters from the database.
As of 2015 Books and comics will be part of the same canon, as Movies, TV and Netflix. Rebels has very strong connections to the ST, it will bring EU characters, ideas, and planets into the canon and it introduces two original characters for the ST, one Imperial, and one Jedi.
StarWars7News.com later updated their initial post with confirmation from their inside sources that Rebels and Episode VII will be connected, and that the new Star Wars movie would also be connected to the remaining episodes of season six from The Clone Wars.
“UPDATE!
After the article was posted we received some more tips that there’s definitely some truth in this. It comes from people close to the production. And here’s something more — not only Star Wars: Rebels will have a connection with the new trilogy but also some of the new upcoming Clone Wars bonus content…
I’m not sure how credible comments posted on an article on StarWars7News.com can be, so take this rumor with a Bantha-sized grain of salt. While it would be cool if Episode VII would be more like the Star Wars Expanded Universe, it’s all just rumors and speculation at this point.
Rebels writer/producer Simon Kinberg recently discussed the tone of the upcoming animated series. While Rebels will be somewhat darker than The Clone Wars, it will mainly be an adventure story full of swashbuckling action. Kinberg also teased the possibilities of Darth Vader making an appearance, which would be awesome!
Rebels will follow a band of teenage renegades that start to sabotage the Imperial stranglehold on Lothal. They do anything they can to undermine the new Emperor’s power and form the very early stages of what will become the Rebel Alliance.
Star Wars: Rebels will air sometime in October 2014. It will premiere on the Disney Channel, and then move to Disney XD.
