Star Wars Rebels: Why It’s Even More Important to the Franchise 10 Years Later

Star Wars Rebels first premiered on this day (October 3rd) ten years ago (2014) on the Disney XD channel. At that time, the Star Wars franchise was in a very different place: Disney had taken the reigns of Star Wars from George Lucas, but the Sequel Trilogy opener, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was still a year away from release. Fans of Star Wars animation were still reeling from the cancellation of The Clone Wars, and few were hopeful about a new series tracking the beginnings of the Rebel Alliance, featuring an entirely new set of characters. 

Like Clone Wars, Rebels wasn’t an instant smash hit; despite a strong premiere event that aired across multiple Disney platforms (including ABC), the viewership eventually settled at less than a million viewers per episode – but still enough of a cult following that Disney and Lucasfilm kept it going for four seasons, and a total of 75 episodes airing between 2014 – 2018. 

However, since ending its run, Star Wars Rebels has only seen its importance to and influence over the Star Wars Saga grow, exponentially – a reminder of Star Wars’ longstanding tradition of beating the odds and standing the test of time. 

Why Star Wars Rebels Has Only Gotten Better With Age 

It may seem less remarkable now, at a time when many feel there is far too many forms of Star Wars content, but Rebels was truly a pioneer series in many key ways. 

First, Rebels was the first piece of Star Wars onscreen content to expand the story beyond the Skywalker Family. Not only did the series introduce a new Jedi character (Kanan Jarrus), at also introduced a new pivotal Force-wielder (Ezra Bridger); a pivotal character from Mandalorian culture (Sabine Wren), and new dark side threats like the Jedi-hunting Inquisitors. The show felt like it was breaking new ground in the Star Wars Saga, and opened new doors of possibility that made a film like Rogue One a viable prospect (a film that even includes a Rebels character cameo). From Rebels and Rogue One sprang spinoffs like Andor and sequel series like Ahsoka, which are two of the biggest hits for Star Wars TV, with both series currently in production on their respective second seasons (at the time of writing this). 

Yet within all that novelty, Star Wars Rebels showrunner Dave Filoni also managed to explore some big connective threads to the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy and its Clone Wars series spinoff. This included the continuing story of former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano (as Rebel operative “Fulcrum”); the final arc of Darth Maul’s story and his fated rematch with Obi-Wan Kenobi; the retaking of Mandalore and appointment of Bo-Katan Kryze as its leader; the first meeting of Ahsoka and Darth Vader, and her confirmation that the Sith Lord was her former master Anakin Skywalker – and many other key moments of Star Wars canon. 

As the form of “success” achieved by movies and TV shows has changed in the last decade, it’s a testament to Star Wars Rebels’ underlying quality that the show has grown exponentially in reach, thanks to clips from the show consistently going viral on social media and video platforms; pundits producing re-watch and explainer breakdowns dedicated to the show’s arcs and themes – not to mention the legacy of Rebels convincing Disney/Lucasfilm to carry it characters and storylines forward into live-action, in series like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and soon (presumably) the Star Wars films set in the New Republic era. 

In fact, in the last ten years, fans asking the question “Do you have to watch Star Wars Rebels?” has only become more and more commonplace – as has the resounding answer of “Yes!” From those who know. Before Ahsoka Season 2 arrives, this anniversary is as good a reason as any to jump into Star Wars Rebels on Disney+.