The midseason trailer that dropped earlier Friday for Star Wars Rebels season 2 was a doozy. There are tons of references to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, teases for the future, and character and artifact and location appearances that made our jaws drop.
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We went through the three-minute trailer frame by frame to try to catch every little bit, surprise, and nod that we could (there are twenty of them), and just got even more excited.
Check out the trailer, then come back here to see everything we found, and let us know what else you saw that we may have missed in the comments. The series returns to Disney XD January 20, 2016 with “Princess on Lothal”
Sith Temple?
The towering temple that Ahsoka, Ezra, and Kanan visit has no visible markings on it, but its pyramidal side and red top seem to indicate that it’s no Jedi Temple. Indeed, looking at the Legends universe and the context of the rest of the trailer, it appears we’re seeing our first in-canon Sith Temple in visual form, and it’s stunning. After all, Ahsoka says at the very start of the trailer, “There’s always a bit of truth in Legends”
Red Kyber Crystal
If there are three things we know for sure about the Sith, it’s that, since Darth Bane, there are only two, their lightsabers are red, and almost none of them follow that first important rule that there are only two.
The red kyber crystal seen in the trailer (twice) seems to be locked away for some reason, so it may have a specific importance. In the Legends world, Sith’s crystals were also manufactured, synthetic, instead of the naturally-growing blue, green, and rarer yellow, purple, white, and other shades, so it’s possible this is a look into that process. Either way, more red crystals are never a good thing.
Cham Syndulla
Ah, yes, meet Cham Syndulla. If that name sounds familiar, you’re making at least one of three connections: Yes, that’s Hera’s last name, too, and yes, that’s her father. He also appeared on Star Wars: The Clone Wars as a Twi’lek revolutionary. He also also starred in Star Wars: Lords of the Sith, one of the early novels written in the new canon, taking place between the events of Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Rebels – in that book, he directly encountered Darth Vader, so he’s probably someone that’s reeeeeeal good to have around for the Rebels crew right about now.
Princess Leia
Yes, we have known for a week or so now that Princess Leia is on her way to Rebels, but outside of the little clip we hadn’t seen her in action. Her words to Ezra are also extremely important, especially with him questioning how/why/what for to fight.
Giant Spiders
The giant spiders that Sabine is fighting are probably just that – after all, giant spiders will always be terrifying. In the Legends-era comic book Star Wars: Legacy, a descendant of Han and Leia, Ania Solo, rode a Nalydian giant spider, so it’s not the first time they’ve ever been introduced into the mythology. But those were tamed creatures, used much like horses.
A Third Inquisitor
Ever since the names, or at least identifications, of the new Inquisitors were mentioned, we’ve wondered if we’d see more. After all, they’re the Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother. Well, wonder no more, as at least one more – fully masked – Inquisitor joins the fray this season. We also spotted this new Inquisitor fighting Ezra later in the trailer.
Jedi Temple Guards?
We see a ton of these yellow lightsaber wielding characters at various moments in the trailer. There are ten of them seen fighting two Inquisitors – which seems to say they’re real, and not just parts of some Force-vision. Kanan also talks directly with one, and then appears ready to fight three of them.
These lightsaber wielders appear to be Jedi Temple Guardsmen. Seen in The Clone Wars, and also in the comic book Star Wars: Kanan #8, the Jedi Temple Guard all wield yellow sabers, and wear garb very close to what we see in this trailer. They’re elite members of the Jedi Knights who conceal their identities behind masks to display their complete detachment. The question, then, is how the heck are this many Jedi alive, if they are? And with the Jedi Temple on Coruscant converted into the Imperial Palace at this point, what Jedi Temple are they even guarding? They are seen with the old Jedi Order symbol on banners in front of and behind them, and even on the shoulders of their uniforms, so they’re associated somehow.
Darth Vader
Vader has been looming over this season after last summer’s two-part premiere, a spectre in the background. Well, it looks like he’s taking more of a hands-on approach in the latter half, appearing several times in the trailer, including alongside some Inquisitors; maybe we’ll be finding out a bit more about their connection to him, too.
Yoda
Yoda’s voice was heard on season one, guiding Ezra to his own kyber crystal in his first Jedi trial. Now, it seems, he’ll appear to Ezra in a full-fledged vision, to impart some of his trademark Jedi wisdom. Yoda has always been cautious – perhaps to the point of pessimism – about any encounters with the dark side, and that doesn’t seem to be stopping here.
New Planets, New Creatures
There are a couple of new planets shown in the trailer, including an ethereal blue one and the yellow, ringed planet shown before some very key and tense moments in the footage. There are also new creatures, like the aforementioned giant spiders, and some kind of flying space whales. There’s also a strange structure on a planet that looks like some kind of giant pod, with a new flying droid and vehicles around it. No real background or inside knowledge here, just an acknowledgement of new stuff being added in, and the mysteries they bring with them.
Anakin Skywalker
In the “crap, I’m tearing up over a cartoon” portion of the trailer, Ahsoka shows Ezra images of Anakin Skywalker fighting from within a Jedi Holocron.
“He’s amazing,” Ezra says. “You should’ve seen him in person. He was my Master,” Ahsoka replies, going from impressed to sad in a heartbeat. Coupled with this? Later in the trailer we hear Matt Lanter’s voice, the voice of Anakin from The Clone Wars, with Vader on the screen. He says, “Ahsoka? Why did you leave? Did you know what I’ve become?”
Terrifying and heart-breaking.
Sith Holocron
The Jedi Holocron isn’t the only one that opens in this trailer, as Ezra is also seen opening a Sith Holocron. In the Legends stories, that’s even harder to do than a Jedi storage device – a Sith Holocron typically requires a major source of dark side energy, from some pure, deep hatred or inflicting physical pain on yourself. Hopefully, for Ezra’s sake, that has changed a bit here.
Darth Maul
Meet The Old Master – Darth Maul. Now, this is extremely interesting. Last we saw in The Clone Wars, Sidious, Maul’s “old master” had struck him down, and killed his brother and apprentice, making him the master of none. He said he had plans for his old apprentice, though. Given the robed look, and the fact that all the Inquisitors carry double-bladed red lightsabers, could Maul be their teacher? Or is he simply the guard of this Sith Temple we’re pretty sure they’re at? Or even crazier, has he somehow turned to the light side of the Force, betraying his Master once and for all?
BT-1, is that You?
We see a little skirmish here between Chopper and another astromech, black/dark grey with orange markings. Those are the colors seen on BT-1, the homicidal astromech seen in the pages of the Darth Vader comic book, teamed with an equally killer Threepio-doppelganger named Triple-Zero. Now, it looks like the dome may be different here, so we’re being cautious in our hope, but man, it would be cool to see someone from the comics cross into this realm.
Things Look Bad for Zeb and Rex
Both Zeb and Rex find themselves in precarious situations in this trailer. Zeb is staring down the barrel of a blaster in the hands of Agent Kallus, and Rex, seen only briefly early in the trailer jumping to/from danger, has his name screamed out in concern by Sabine. It’s not a stretch to think we’ll see a major death this season, and these two just shot to the top of the possible list.
Mandalorians!
Sabine finds herself flanked by two Mandalorians in full armor in the trailer, who are later seen again, firing at an unseen foe. Are these guys friendly to the cause? Do they have a direct connection to Sabine like the other one we met this year? She has an incredibly mysterious backstory, even with her solo episode this season, so hopefully this will have some more answers.
New (Old) Lasat
The Lasat race was nearly killed off by the Empire, with Zeb believing he’s at the most one of the last few. Well, there are at least two more out there, as we see in the trailer. They’re a pair of older Lasat – which makes us wonder if they could possibly be Zeb’s own parents. They also seem to bring with them a mysterious artifact that glows with yellow lightning, sure to be an important story element.
Kanan – Balance or Temptation?
Sure, we’ve seen Kanan get angry before, but we certainly haven’t seen him wield a red lightsaber. Yet in what certainly appears to be a training room in a Jedi Temple, when facing what certainly appears to be three Jedi Temple Guards, Kanan is seen with anger on his face, wielding not just his own blue-bladed weapon, but a red one, as well. It’s a disturbing and worrying moment, for sure, but if you found out there was a whole temple full of Jedi when as far as you knew they were extinct, you’d be pretty pissed, too.
Cross Guard Lightsaber
Kylo Ren’s cross guard lightsaber, with vents that emit short blades to help keep it stable, was said to be based on “an ancient design” in published story group material. That means this could be an earlier version. You know, with a cross guard lightsaber and a Sith kyber crystal, those two things couldn’t combine to be… Nah, Kylo Ren wouldn’t ever take Ezra’s old hand-me-downs, right?
Vader. Versus. Ahsoka.
Since pretty much the instant we knew Ahsoka would be on Star Wars Rebels, the first question on everyone’s minds/lips/internet write-ups was: Will she cross paths (and blades) with Darth Vader? Well, wonder no more, as we see the makings of an incredible fight in this trailer between the former Master and Padawan.
Knowing she isn’t around for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, though, this does make us wonder if #AhsokaLives can be true once more.
