STAR WARS REBELS: Details Revealed at Celebration Europe
The first details on the new animated Star Wars project have been announced.
During the Celebration Europe event in Essen, Germany, executive producer Dave Filoni talked about the new show and how it’s going to fit within the rest of the Star Wars universe, saying there’s going to be more collaboration “across many fronts”. With Simon Kinberg’s involvement in both the new animated series and Episode VII, it’s likely this means more of a “shared universe” between the movies and television projects.
Kinberg and Greg Weisman both made appearances via video to talk about how excited they are to be involved in the project.
The look of the show will borrow a great deal from the concept art of Ralph McQuarrie. Filoni says, “I looked at his paintings, and there are tons of paintings that he did that have never made it to the screen.” They’ve even created a number of digital brushes that emulate McQuarrie’s visual style. The color palette and the “lived in” look of the original trilogy will also be a big influence as well. Filoni says they are paying attention to the separation between Imperial colors and those of the Rebellion.
Besides some familiar ship designs, such as the Star Destroyer, there will also be a new ship: the Ghost, which will be central to the show. Most of McQuarrie’s designs evolved as the movies were fully realized, but Filoni says he’s working as if the original art depicts a time just slightly before A New Hope.
The show will have a one-hour premiere on the Disney Channel in Fall 2014, followed by a regular run on Disney XD.
Filoni says, “…if you told me as a kid growing up in Pittsburgh that I’d be mentored by George Lucas and then Kathleen Kennedy, my head would have exploded.”
