Excitement for the second teaser trailer to Star Wars: The Force Awakens dominated Star Wars Celebration last week, but the first trailer for Star Wars: Rebels Season 2 also premiered at the event, showing never-before-seen footage and a certain asthmatic Sith Lord. Rebels, which initially launched with skepticism among many older Star Wars fans, came into its own in the last half of its first season. With a diverse cast of characters, and a tone and aesthetic resembling that of the Original Trilogy, Rebels asserted itself as Disney’s first critical and commercial success with the Star Wars franchise.
Take a look at the trailer below and see what’s in store for the galaxy’s crack team of Imperial-hating insurgents. Please be aware that the trailer contains major spoilers for Season One.
As the trailer suggests, Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Hera (Vannessa Marshall) and the rest of the Ghost crew are still with the Rebels that saved them from Grand Moff Tarkin’s wrath at the end of the first season. They seem to be busy stealing from the Imperial-controlled planet of Lothal, giving food, supplies and resources to the planet’s oppressed citizens. However, the Empire is none too happy about that, and the Emperor (Sam Witwer) has sent two Sith acolytes and Darth Vader (gloriously voiced by James Earl Jones) to root out the “traitors.” Vader, who was implied to be the central antagonist of the series after the death of the Inquisitor (Jason Issacs), immediately sets a much darker tone for the show. We see the Dark Lord of the Sith masterfully flying his TIE-Advanced Fighter, killing countless Rebel pilots. His confrontation with Kanan and Ezara (Taylor Grey) is also quite dramatic as he engages a clearly outmatched Kanan in a lightsaber duel.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars fans will be happy to see some returning faces. Captain Rex (Dee Bradley Baker), a fan favorite, returns as an elderly war-veteran, apparently abandoned and disillusioned by the Galactic Empire. It has always been questioned as to what the Empire did with its clone soldiers after the Clone Wars. It looks as if Rebels will have the chance to explore that missing piece of Star Wars history.
Star Wars: Rebels returns to Disney XD later this year.
What about you reader? Impressed by the first trailer for Rebels? Are you a fan of the show? Let us know in the comments below!
