The year wait betweenStar Wars: The Force AwakensandRogue One: A Star Wars Storyseemed like a very long one for fans of the franchise, but they were rewarded quite nicely. By most accounts,Rogue Onedelivered on its promise and is currently crushing it at the box office. For die-hardStar Warsfans, the movie had quite a bit to offer in terms of Easter eggs and references to the greaterStar Warsuniverse. In fact, there were a few big references to the animated seriesStar Wars Rebels, which firmly connects the show to the live-action universe. Executive ProducerDave Filonirecently shed some light on those references in the movie.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly,Dave Filonitalked about whatStar Wars Rebelsstuff actually made it into the movie and how that may affect things moving forward. For one, fans of the show might have noticed that the Ghost, the ship prominently featured and used by the crew in the Disney XD series, showed up a couple of different times in the movie. Most notably, the Ghost can be seen with the Rebel fleet during the battle of Scarif, which means that theStar Wars Rebelsgang was most definitely involved.Dave Filoniconfirmed that this could have some fun implications on the show in the future. Here is what he had to say.
“I already have some theories about the story behind it. I can imagine doing that entire [Scarif] battle from their point of view, whoever is on the Ghost at that point.”
In addition to seeing the Ghost during thebattle of Scarif, there is also a quick shot on theRebel baseon Yavin 4 in which the ship fromStar Wars Rebelscan be seen. The events in the show take place about five years before the events ofStar Wars: Rogue One, and the show has more or less been moving at a rate of a year per season, so it would still be a little while before we see this possible retelling of the Scarif battle from the perspective of theRebelscrew. Those who don’t watch the show shouldn’t necessarily feel left out, though.Dave Filonialso pointed out that these references are only meant to add a layer of depth for those who do watchStar Wars Rebelsand they certainly won’t alienate those who don’t.
“None of the things we put in really jump out at you. If you don’t watch Rebels, there’s never a moment where you’re staring at the [movie] screen going, ‘Why was that important?’ For the people who do know, they get that added level of immersion.”
One of those thingsStar Wars Rebelsfans may or may not have noticed was the droid Chopper. It really was an extremely quick “blink and you’ll miss it” kind of moment. It happened when the Rebel communications officer alerted Mon Mothma about the Scarif mission. During that scene, Chopper could be seen very briefly off to the left of the shot. It turns outDave Filoniwas actually there when that scene was shot.
“I was actually on set when they filmed that scene with him in the hangar. Everybody working on set knew Chopper, and referred to him the way you would about a dog. They all liked him, they think he’s funny, but they know he’s grumpy.”
Chopper was most definitely something fun for Star Wars Rebels fans to see, but there was another, perhaps much more significant reference that showed up in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. At one point at the Rebel base on Yavin 4, a “General Syndulla” is paged on the intercom. Many fans of the show have assumed this was referring to Hera Syndulla, the captain of the Ghost. There was also the possibility that it was her dad, Cham Syndulla, also a general in the Rebel Alliance. Dave Filoni confirmed that is absolutely mean to refer to Hera and that means there are big things on the horizon for her character. Here is what he had to say about it.
“I can clarify that’s absolutely Hera being paged, not her dad. The movie gives that away, but I would rather have all the [references] be right. Hera will eventually become a general in the Rebel Alliance.”
Disney and Lucasfilm have an entire team of people dedicated to keeping the newStar Wars canonin order and that is no small task. So having these references toStar Wars Rebelsand tying the worlds from the animated show into the live-action movies in this way is pretty cool for fans and leaves a lot of opportunity to explore some of these things in the future, both in movies and on the show. It was announced just yesterday that Forest Whitaker will return to reprise his role asSaw Gerrerain the back half ofStar Wars RebelsSeason 3, giving fans even more connective tissue to these merging worlds. In case you missed some of these references and Easter eggs on your first watch, be sure to keep an eye (and ear) out on your next viewing ofStar Wars: Rogue One.
