1) Star Wars Rebels References
Here’s something you might not know: the story of Rogue One was originally conceived as an episode of a proposed live-action Star Wars TV series that eventually fell through when Disney bought the property. Instead, the series was very loosely adapted as animated show Star Wars Rebels. Fittingly, Rogue One references the series in several subtle ways.
First up, speaking of Vanessa Marshall, her character on Rebels gets a name-check in the movie. When the Rebel forces are preparing to take off from Yavin, “General Syndulla” is mentioned over the tannoy system. This is an obvious reference to Hera, the captain of the Ghost.
… Which also appears in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story! The ship – notable for its distinctive diamond shape and four thrusters on the back – can be seen in the assault on Scarif. In the same shot, you can see a Hammerhead corvette, which also first appeared on Rebels (although it was heavily based on the Hammerhead cruiseliners from The Knights of the Republic video game).
While this is going on above, during Jyn and Cassian’s search for the Death Star plans, another Rebels reference occurs. In amongst the files is one marked “Black Saber.” This is presumably a nod to the Dark Saber wielded by a resurrected Darth Maul in the show. Lastly, faithful Rebel droid Chopper can be seen rolling along at the Rebel base on Yavin.
This high level of synergy between the film and TV divisions of the franchise is a joy to behold from fans, and we really hope that future films will follow suit.
