Star Wars Rebels

The timing of Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One made a natural fit for the healthy crossover between the pair, but might we expect any visual references to continue through Episode VIII? A new report suggests the next official chapter in the saga may feature some creatures previously limited to animation, with distinct connections to The Force.

If you thought Star Wars Rebels taking on a few Rogue One characters was big, you haven’t seen the half of Season 3. I mean, you literally haven’t, but you’ll need to after watching this new 2017 trailer, featuring more familiar sights, Mandalorian action, and one of the biggest Star Wars cameos of all!

Most everyone has had a chance to sit with the many surprises of Rogue One, but if you want to know how it really all began, we’re headed back to Geonosis. So discovers Star Wars Rebels, as a new 2017 premiere trailer takes us from where Saw Gerrera saved the rebellion to when the rebellion saved him.

Rogue One made impressive effort not just to tie into the original Star Wars films, but also the animated Star Wars Rebels in at least three instances. We’ll even meet a younger Rogue One character on Rebels in 2017, though the film’s visual guide might also tease another Rogue favorite making an animated debut at some point in the series.

While Rogue One is just a standalone and won’t be getting a sequel (you could argue that the original trilogy is technically all the sequel it needs), Saw Gerrera, one of the more intriguing characters in the movie, will be back for more projects in the Star Wars universe.

In a world where Marvel can’t seem to get their TV and movie branches to cooperate, Star Wars managed to delight fans of either medium with back-and-forth appearances for Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One. Now, a Lucasfilm story group member speaks out on the interplay between the two, teasing “Rebels and Rogue One are all just the start of a larger strategy.”

The fun thing about a sci-fi franchise as big as Star Wars is how everyone wants to be in it. There are a ton of “secret” cameos in the two newest films — the most high profile of which, so far, is Daniel Craig as that Stormtrooper in The Force Awakens — but Rogue One also got its share. There are a ton of voice cameos in the movie, most of which are from members of the filmmaking crew and voice actors who usually lend their talents to the Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated series.

Star Wars Rebels has already cemented a major Rogue One connection ahead, though fans of either might have caught the various easter eggs sprinkled throughout this weekend’s film. Now, Lucasfilm reveals a closer look at said Rebels cameos, while producers discuss revisiting Rogue One in a future season.

Word broke over the weekend that Star Wars Rebels might deepen its connection with Rogue One by the animated return of Saw Gerrera, himself originally a creation of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Now, not only is Rebels confirming Saw’s return in 2017, it seems Forest Whitaker himself will reprise the role! Get a first look in a new clip.

Star Wars fans taking in Rogue One this weekend may have noticed some surprising connections to the animated iterations of a galaxy far, far away, including multiple Rebels easter eggs and a notable Clone Wars connection. That connection may get much more overt, as new promo art reportedly places Saw Gerrera in line for a Star Wars Rebels appearance this season.