So a few months ago (before the announcement that season four would be the final season) I wrote an article mapping our predictions I had for the upcoming season of the beloved animated show Star Wars Rebels. With the season premiere rapidly approaching and the truncated amount of episodes for said season four (sad face…) I felt it was time to revisit some of my original predictions and update the odds. I also have what I consider to be a HUGE prediction for season four, and if you’ve been listening to our podcast, The Exhaust Port, you know exactly what I’m referring to. If not, what are you waiting for??? And yes, even though these are my predictions and opinions, some could delve into hypothetical ***SPOILERISH*** territory, so you’ve been warned. If you’re proceeding, skip below the image and let’s get to it!
Slam Dunk Predictions – for the most part, these are still slam dunks, with many of them being revealed in the season four teaser trailers that have dropped.
- Thrawn is obviously still going to be the main villainous presence in season four (remember that HUGE prediction I mentioned? Yeah, more on Thrawn at the bottom), with the lovely devious Governor Arihnda Pryce also serving in that role once again. After reading the wonderful Thrawn novel by Timothy Zahn my expectations for her involvement in season four have escalated, by the way.
- Of course, somebody is going to die, although I’m on the fence as to who. Kanan is still the most obvious choice, but if Filoni is gonna Filoni he might flip the script and kill off Ezra. Time will tell.
- Vader and/or some for of Force-using Inquisitor type will arise, as again, the Jedi need to be dealt with, so nothing has changed in regards to my opinion on that one.
- We aren’t going to see Ben Kenobi again (thank goodness), you can book that one.
- We already know from the teaser that Saw Gerrera is going to return and well, be Saw Gerrera, so that prediction is safe and sound, as are the introduction of the revered X-Wing fighters.
- So that leaves Wedge’s injury and a trip to Dantooine… If I’m a betting man I’m gonna say we are going to see Wedge’s injury that was mentioned in the Aftermath trilogy of novels during the upcoming season. I mean, why not. Dantooine I’m not too sure of. With only 13 episodes (instead of the normal 22) there isn’t a lot of time for peripheral storylines. That sucks, but it is what it is. So I’m gonna say, no Dantooine…
Even Money Predictions – things start to get tricky here…..
- Out of all of these, the only ones I’m going to leave in this category are Leia returning to the show for an episode or an arc and Kaytoo & Cassian making a cameo
- I’m going to move the disappearance (not death) of Thrawn into the slam dunk category (again, more on that at the bottom)…
- Ahsoka’s return seems iffy to me. Just a gut on the latter, but I think Filoni and crew are saving her return for another project. Again, just my gut feeling, nothing else.
- At this point I’m leaning towards scrapping the return of the Bendu (at least in Rebels), the exploration of the Massassi (although this could happen, I wouldn’t guess any huge Force-related revelations would arise from it, which is a major bummer given the opportunity, I hope I’m wrong), and there’s little to no chance for the reveal of ‘The Presence’ from the season two finale and the Sith Holocron or the reemergence of Revan into canon (at least as far as Rebels is concerned… but don’t worry, he’s coming, trust me).
Wishful Thinking Predicitons – things get a little interesting here…
- At this point, I would lean towards one of my ‘wishful thinking’ predictions to actually come to fruition, and that’s an appearance by Director Krennic. He’s mentioned by Tarkin in the teaser trailer, so I’m betting he pops up, albeit briefly. And that’s awesome!
- Next up would be my prediction of more Palpatine. Well, there were rumors of Ian McDiarmid recording dialog for a Star Wars related project, so we might get our wish here. Having said that, I wouldn’t expect anything major, but hey, any Palp’s is awesome Palp’s — especially with the OG voicing him!
- Moving on to my very wishful thinking of retconning the Sith race via the Massassi, this looks even more unlikely than before, and again, is a bummer given the opportunity and the vehicle the combination of Kanan & Ezra, Yavin 4, and the Legends history from there (Exar Kun / Naga Sadow, etc), but I just don’t think there will be time given the shortened season.
- Draven and Kallus one in the same? No, but I still stomp my feet and say this is a huge missed opportunity, but whatever… Moving on..
- Starkiller? No, not the base, the incredibly powerful Force user from the Force Unleashed series of games. It’s since been revealed by Filoni that he had considered this prior to introducing the second round of Inquisitors but scrapped it. Thank goodness. Stay away Starkiller, stay away – you’re a wack character who was WAY too powerful. Just give us a worthy Inquisitor / Jedi hunter for track down and harass Kanan and Ezra, that’s it.
- More AP-5? Fat chance on that one given the shortened season, which is certainly a bummer as I absolutely love his dry humor…
- Aphra? Nah, again, no time.
- Kalani and his contingent of Battle Droids? You know, maybe, just maybe. I mean why not, they set it up and I can’t imagine anywhere else they could use them, so an appearance is certainly not out of the question here.
Now for my HUGE new prediction. Bear with me here… If you’ve read the novel Thrawn you know his endgame in regards to his association with the Empire, his fear of looming threats in the unknown regions, and his never-wavering allegiance to the Chiss Ascendency. So here goes. I think whichever Jedi survives season four of Rebels (one will die, book it) will join Thrawn and return to Chiss space with him, to aid in the future preparations for the perceived looming threat(s). We know Thrawn has an affinity for the Jedi (hence his high regard for Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi he was revealed to have worked with during the Clone Wars) and I think he could view the Jedi and their mysterious powers as a very valuable asset for the Chiss. This opens up more storytelling opportunities for Thrawn, the Chiss, Eli Vanto (from the Thrawn novel), and the surviving Jedi in the future, with author Timothy Zahn expressing heavy interest in writing a series of Thrawn novels. I have made this prediction for the past month or so on various episodes of The Exhaust Port, and I feel as strongly about it now as I did then – actually even more so. Time will tell, but if I’m correct please remember you heard it here first.
Thoughts? Agree, disagree? Let me know, I’d love to hear from you all. Star Wars Rebels season four premieres on Disney XD on October 16th, and no matter what, it’s been a fun ride. My guess is to make sure you have plenty of tissue on hand as we near the end….
~Todd
