Ten years ago today, Star Wars set off in a fantastic new direction. October 3, 2014 was the day Star Wars Rebels first aired—and with it, a whole new generation of Star Wars heroes and villains were born. These characters have gone from animation into live action and become some of the most enduring, and popular, pieces of the franchise.
To celebrate the anniversary, we cracked open the io9 archives to highlight the full scope of our coverage: some of our best pieces, interviews, and a whole bunch more. All of which started a year prior, October 2013, the first time we wrote about Rebels on the site. You can see it in the below link.
[Note: These little bolded boxes are our highlighted articles and will continue throughout.]
That same week brought our first look at a character from the show (the Grand Inquisitor), concept art, and more, even though we were still a year away from its debut. Teases continued throughout the year until, at San Diego Comic-Con 2014, audiences were given their first full glimpse of the show. Here were io9’s thoughts.
Yup, we loved it from day one—and when the first episodes finally debuted on October 3, 2014, we were all in.
The first season wowed us with the return of Darth Vader, spinning lightsabers, and a whole lot more. We even named one moment, when the Inquisitors used the remains of Luminara Unduli to draw in Kanan, as one of the best moments of the year.
Season one ended in March of 2015, and we proceeded to dive into its reveals, mainly the return of Ahsoka Tano, a truly landmark moment for creator Dave Filoni and Star Wars in general. Plus, it was around here, between seasons one and two in 2015—before even the release of The Force Awakens, this rumor started…
Which, years later, happened in a big way on the Ahsoka show. But of course that was completely unfathomable at the time since Star Wars TV wouldn’t exist for another four years.
Season two debuted in October 2015, before The Force Awakens, and here’s when we started doing weekly recaps. We won’t be posting all of these, of course, but you can find them at the Star Wars Rebels tag and here was the first…
Season two continued the show’s excellent storytelling and tight balance of characters new and old. Princess Leia made an appearance, we learned more about B-Wings, and the relationship between Zeb and Kallus began. It was also around this time that io9 began to think about the end game of the series and the implications it could have.
Season two was also when io9 began a long-standing relationship with Rebels creator Dave Filoni. We interviewed him often about the show, including our breakdown of the season two finale which aired in March 2016. A few months later, at Star Wars Celebration, Filoni dropped his biggest bombshell yet: Grand Admiral Thrawn was coming to Rebels and Star Wars canon.
This was something we here at io9 were very, very excited about. So luckily, we were able to talk to Filoni about it while at Celebration. That full interview is here.
September 2016 brought the start of Rebels season three and it’s when the show really got cooking. Remember when Ezra had a vision about twin suns? Or when Wedge came onto the show? The reintroduction of the Darksaber? Plus, the release of Rogue One saw several little Rebels Easter eggs sneak into live action for the first time, like Hera’s ship, the Ghost, and Chopper.
In the middle of season three, Disney renewed the show for season four and everyone had a sense it was building to something huge. We’d seen Mon Mothma start the Rebellion, Sabine’s struggle, and so much more. And though it wasn’t the finale, season three had the unforgettable episode “Twin Suns,” which saw Obi-Wan Kenobi finally kill Darth Maul. We were lucky enough to chat to Filoni all about it.
In April of 2017, it was announced that the fourth season of Star Wars Rebels would be its last. Things kicked off in October of that year and it was clear early on that Rebels was not messing around. We spoke to Filoni about his expectations and the future as the season went along and fell in love, once again, with Hera Syndulla. Then, in March of 2018, the show came to an end. Here is our final official recap.
Of course, the end wasn’t really the end. We talked to Filoni about what happened in the finale, pondered what was next for Ahsoka and Sabine, and then attention shifted to the next animated show, Resistance.
A few years passed, but Rebels never left our minds, and then in 2021 it happened: news began to leak that Filoni was going to continue the story in live action. An Ashoka show cast actress Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn, and more. The show even brought back Hera and Jacen Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, and Kanan Jarrus, albeit it briefly in that last case.
Now, with season two of the show gearing up, Star Wars Rebels remains as impactful on Star Wars 10 years later as it was 10 years ago. A true landmark in a galaxy far, far, away.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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