Star Wars Rebels is set to return to Disney XD in the States tonight for a special double-length season two premiere entitled ‘The Siege of Lothal’, which will see Darth Vader out for vengeance against Ezra and the crew of the Ghost for their actions against the Empire in the first season of the animated series.
Speaking to MTV, creator Dave Filoni has been discussing Vader’s involvement in the show, stating that: “I think you don’t want to overuse a character like that, and you don’t want to have characters like Darth Vader in a situation where he’s going to lose relentlessly. As we were figuring out the story of the rebels in Season 1, we didn’t want to put Vader in that position. So we waited until their skills kind of grew and as a group they became more formidable. We thought, ‘Okay, after Season 1 they’ve caused a lot of trouble, let’s send in the heavy artillery and kind of smack them down a little bit. Put them back in their place with Darth Vader.'”
SEE ALSO: Darth Vader strikes in first clip from Star Wars Rebels season 2 ‘The Siege of Lothal’
Vader won’t be the only familiar face in the second season of Rebels, with Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Ahsoka Tano making her return in the season one finale, and Filoni went on to discuss her role in the series going forward: “She’s very much a warrior, but she’s also sort of a mentor and in some ways spiritual leader of the group, [but] she’s not directly tied to our rebels all the time…. One character that I used as a reference point for the writers was if you look at the way Gandalf kind of operates in The Hobbit, he’s in and out of the story because he’s working on many levels and doing many other things all the time. I really see Ahsoka that way, where she’s maneuvering a lot of pieces on the board and putting people in positions, but then it’s really up to them to make something of the situation.”
SEE ALSO: New clip and three featurettes for Star Wars Rebels season 2
Continuing the epic tradition of the legendary Star Wars saga, “Star Wars Rebels” unfolds between the events of Star Wars Episodes III and IV and tells the story of the motley but clever crew of the starship Ghost who together face threatening new villains, encounter colorful adversaries and embark on thrilling adventures. In its second season, “Star Wars Rebels” will feature recurring appearances by fan-favorite characters including Darth Vader and Ahsoka Tano.
‘The Siege of Lothal’ will air on Disney XD tonight. Follow all of our Star Wars Rebels coverage here and the rest of our Star Wars coverage here.