STAR WARS REBELS

The Force is strong with Sabine Wren. And we can prove it with words.

UK Broadcast Disney XD, TBC US Broadcast Disney XD, 16 October

The good thing about Mandalorian armour is that you have to work hard to look anything but cool wearing it. The flipside is that as soon as you take off the helmet, chances are you’ll struggle to live up to the hype – just ask Jango Fett. Star Wars Rebels’ Sabine Wren works both sides of the equation, however. In fact, she’s the show’s standout character.

In armour, she’s every bit the Mando warrior Star Wars mythology teased when we were kids. This Imperial Academy escapee is a skilled tactician, munitions expert and tireless fighter who relishes being good at her job, and enjoys the cool tech that’s part of it.

But the Rebel underneath is much more interesting. “I feel in the end [Sabine’s] every bit as important as Ezra as far as being a lead on this show,” Rebels co-creator Dave Filoni told SFX last issue, and he’s got a point.

While wannabe Jedi (and professional whiner) Ezra Bridger struggles with Dark Side demons and a more typical Star Wars hero’s journey, Sabine’s had to evolve without the Force. In the show’s early days you felt like she’d been created as a clichéd effort to emphasise the “Rebel” in Rebellion – the multicoloured hair, the penchant for graffiti – but she’s grown into a key member of the Ghost crew, to the point where she’s wielding the mythical darksaber and being touted as the potential leader of the Mandalorian race.

We know that Hera, Chopper and the Ghost will survive long enough to feature in Rogue One, but Sabine’s destiny is still uncertain as we head into the show’s final season. Whatever her fate she’ll live on via cosplay, but we’d be just as interested in seeing her spin-off movie as Obi-Wan’s. Richard Edwards