A few days back some merchandising material for Star Wars Rebels suggested that we’d be seeing Obi-Wan Ben Kenobi as a character in the upcoming in-canon animated series, which was followed by rumours that Billy Dee Williams has also done some voice work as Lando Calrissian. Well, we now we have confirmation from Rebels co-creator Simon Kinberg that the show will feature some familiar faces from the Original Trilogy, with the executive producer sharing his thoughts about writing such iconic characters with Collider…
“Writing dialogue for any of the legacy characters is as big a thrill as anything I’ve ever had in my life. I said this to [producer Kathleen Kennedy] that when I open up a Final Draft document, and I tab over to “Character” and it’s a character from the original films—to be nameless until people see them—but if it’s a character from the original films, just typing in those letters and then that being the recorded name in that name database for that script is as surreal, and perhaps more so, than anything I’ve experienced in my career.”
Looking beyond Obi-Wan, you’d have to imagine Mon Mothma, General Dodonna, Captain Antilles and even Princess Leia, C-3PO and R2-D2 are pretty much dead certs to appear at some point in the series. How about Wedge Antilles? Admiral Ackbar? Biggs Darklighter? Which Original Trilogy characters would you like to see making an appearance in Rebels?
Star Wars Rebels is set to get underway in the Fall, with a voice cast that includes Vanessa Marshall (Justice League), David Oyelowo (Lee Daniels’ The Butler), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Scooby-Doo), Taylor Gray (Bucket and Skinner’s Epic Adventures), Tiya Sircar (Vampire Diaries), and Steve Blum (The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes).
Originally published May 10, 2014. Updated November 29, 2022.
