Forces Of Destiny Episode Sets Up Empire Strikes Back Deleted Scene

The latest animated series in the Star Wars Universe features some of the most iconic and popular characters in the franchise, taking place in between the moments seen in the movies and on television.

Series writer Jennifer Muro previously stated the goal for Star Wars: Forces of Destiny was to show the everyday heroism these characters have that speak to their strong wills and identities.

The latest episode features Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Chewbacca, set on Hoth’s Echo Base in the early moments of the Empire Strikes Back. It also tees up one of the movie’s deleted scenes which has since become a beloved moment in obscure Star Wars canon.

In the episode, Chewbacca has gone missing in the bowels of Echo Base, prompting Leia and R2 to search for the wookie. When they find him, he’s scared in the clutches of a sleeping wampa. The snow creature is awoken by C-3PO’s incessant chatter on the coms, causing Leia to spring a daring rescue.

This particular episode references deleted scenes in Empire Strikes Back when wampas get loose in Echo Base. Later in the movie during the Empire’s invasion of the Rebel base, a group of unsuspecting Snowtroopers happen upon a contained wampa, leading to a grim demise for one among the ranks. It’s a humorous scene that probably shouldn’t have been cut except for it showing C-3PO actually do something heroic for a change. Which, if you think about it, is pretty out of character for the cranky protocol droid. You can watch that deleted scene here.

The Echo Base wampa has been referenced a few times in the canon, including in the Shadows Of The Empire book and video game that takes place in the Empire Strikes Back-to-Return of the Jedi timeframe.

You can watch the latest episodes and all future installments of the new animated series on the Disney YouTube page — all episodes will air on Disney Channel throughout the day on July 9, with a Forces of Destiny special set to be aired sometime this October.

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Rey, Ahsoka Tano, Jyn Erso, Princess Leia, Sabine Wren, and other icons of a galaxy far, far away will take center stage in Star Wars Forces of Destiny — a new animated micro-series and initiative celebrating some of Star Wars’ most beloved and inspirational characters. Announced by Disney and Lucasfilm today, Star Wars Forces of Destiny launches in July with a series of animated shorts (2-3 minutes each) on Disney YouTube, exploring all-new adventures of the fan-favorites.

A two-part TV special featuring eight additional shorts will follow on Disney Channel in fall 2017. Significantly, Daisy Ridley (Rey), Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso), Tiya Sircar (Sabine Wren), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), and Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata, narrating the series) will all reprise their roles for the show. Developed by Lucasfilm Animation, Star Wars Forces of Destiny will remain true to the Star Wars canon, showing how choices both big and small ultimately shape the destinies of beloved characters.