The end is nigh for Star Wars Rebels. The animated series returns to Disney XD in just a few short days to air the final handful of episodes of its fourth and final season and ahead of that, we now have a new clip from the next installment, which teases a major moment for Kanan.
The scene shows him making the wise decision to hand the mission to rescue Hera over to his unofficial Padawan Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), as he believes his feelings for her might lead him to make a mistake and compromise it. This shows a lot of maturity and a true Jedi mindset from Kanan, calling back to the other times in the Star Wars franchise when Jedi masters have let their apprentices lead the way.
While talking to ABC News, Rebels showrunner Dave Filoni explained that this represents a big moment for the character, as it marks the point that he sees how Ezra’s become just as capable as him.
“This is a big decision moment. Kanan is smart enough to know that his emotions around her could actually cloud his judgment and what he would choose to do… It is a nice transference moment. There’s always this thing where you have a student, and they’re becoming more and more adept than the master.”
“What a nod from Kanan to say, ‘I trust you with this.’ This is really important to him, this idea that Hera is in peril. You would think that there’s no way that Kanan wouldn’t take up the responsibility of leading this mission.”
If Filoni’s comments are sounding a bit ominous about Kanan’s future, then that’s probably the case. The producer recently posted an emotional piece of art on his Twitter account featuring Kanan’s reflection in Hela’s goggles that seemed to suggest that he might not make it out of Rebels‘ final season alive. Likewise, a listing from the upcoming season 4 soundtrack revealed the very spoiler-y track name “Kanan’s End.”
With that in mind, Filoni went on to tease how closely guarded the end of the series is, with only a small inner circle knowing all the secrets.
“There’s only a small group of people that actually know the entire ending of the series. I have all their names written down in my office. I know exactly who knows what. It’s my best attempt to keep all of this from getting out.”
Despite Rebels reaching the end of the road, there will be more Star Wars TV series coming up. Filoni confirmed that he’s busy with work on a mysterious new project and promised fans that they won’t be left wanting in the future.
“Everything needs its time and place to come to life and exist. I’m very busy on things right now, and excited about what we’re working on. There won’t be a lack of Star Wars in the future, that’s for sure.”
Star Wars Rebels returns to Disney XD on Monday, February 19th.
