One of the unexpected delights for fans in Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story were the easter eggs that tied into the Star Wars Rebels animated series. Not only did the Ghost, the ship featured in the show, turn up in the spinoff, but Chopper the droid briefly popped up at the Rebel base on Yavin IV and there was even a brief reference to a “General Syndulla” – a nod to the Ghost’s captain, Hera.
While chatting with Comic Book Movie in a recent interview, Hera’s voice actress, Vanessa Marshall, was asked what she felt when she discovered that her character was referenced in Rogue One. Naturally, she was overjoyed:
“Fantastic, I almost started crying. I had to remember I was in a public place and had to contain myself. I thought I was losing my mind and started asking, ‘Did that really just happen?’ I went to see it a million times and every time, I was just blown away. It’s good to know that she still exists at that point, so that’s a good thing, but also being such a huge fan of every Star Wars film that’s been released, having a character I’ve played in an animated series be mentioned…it was really rewarding.”
So, does Marshall hope to see Hera actually appear in the movies at some point? You bet she does. The actress commented that she’d like to see Hera join Saw Gerrera – originally from Star Wars: The Clones Wars and played by Forest Whittaker in Rogue One – in making the jump to cinemas.
“Of course! Who knows, if she can serve the narrative, it would be awesome. It would be great to see her on film and it was incredible to see Saw Gerrera come to life. I loved Saw in the Alderaan arcs in The Clone Wars and was so thrilled they took a character from the animated series and transitioned him into live-action to play such a pivotal role. If they did that with Hera, that would be magnificent but it’s all about what serves the narrative and not necessarily just let’s give Hera a cameo. I bow down to the overall journey at hand and I really can’t wait for the movie to come out in December and I’m so excited. That’s really what’s keeping me going [Laughs].”
Of course, Hera isn’t the only character who could crossover to the films. Fans have also been calling for The Clone Wars’ Ahsoka Tano to appear in live-action for years, with The Defenders’ Rosario Dawson publicly announcing her interest in the role. Likewise, a while back, some fans theorized that Benicio Del Toro’s character in The Last Jedi was Rebels‘ Ezra Bridger.
We’ll just have to wait and see if Hera, Ahsoka, Ezra and the rest ever make it into the movies, but in the meantime, Star Wars Rebels‘ third season arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray on August 29th, while the fourth and final season arrives on Disney XD this Fall.