Star Wars rebeLs Season Two
Not just for younglings
released OUT NOW! 2015-2016 | PG | Blu-ray/dVd
Creators simon Kinberg, dave Filoni, Carrie Beck
Cast Taylor Gray, Freddie Prinze Jr, Vanessa Marshall, Tiya sircar
If you’d dismissed CG show Star Wars Rebels as the kids’-only arm of that galaxy far, far away, you’ve made a big mistake – the Episode IV prequel series has evolved into the Lucasfilm empire’s geekiest, most fan-centric piece of storytelling. This is an essential part of the Star Wars mythos that fills in key gaps in the canon as it explains how small Rebel cells grew into a fullyfledged Alliance. The Rebellion didn’t appear from nowhere, and season two goes deeper into the ship-stealing, Force training and unpleasant Imperial entanglements that will one day give Luke Skywalker a shot at blowing up a Death Star.
But while it’s packed with satisfying nods to the movies (Princess Leia!), the Clone Wars TV show (Captain Rex!) and more obscure areas of Expanded Universe lore (ever wondered about the origin of B-wings?), crucially Rebels’ second season never forgets that Star Wars should first and foremost be about adventure and excitement. With only a couple of these 22 episodes falling short of a very high bar, it’s fun, funny and goes to some surprisingly dark places. Plus, season two wheels out Darth Vader as its Big Bad – what more could you want?
Extras The DVD comes with fun, info-packed “Rebel Recons” recaps for each episode (six-seven minutes a piece, and also available on the Star Wars YouTube channel) featuring behind-thescenes material and cast/crew interviews. There’s also a “Connecting The Galaxy” guide to Easter eggs and hidden references that feels rather too brief at just three minutes long. The Blu-ray gets an extra featurette where showrunner Dave Filoni discusses Ahsoka Tano’s climactic face-off with her old master, Vader. Richard Edwards
The emblem of Clone Wars/Rebels pirate Hondo Ohnaka’s gang appears on Maz Kanata’s castle in The Force Awakens.