One of the great things about Star Wars Rebels is how it’s able to bridge the gap between the original trilogy and the prequel movies, as it’s set in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. In recent years, that’s meant that it’s been able to link up with Rogue One, with Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera joining the show. It’s possible, then, that Rebels could also crossover with Solo: A Star Wars Story, the upcoming Anthology film set to explore Han Solo’s early days.
Unfortunately for any fans hoping to see the scruffy-looking nerf herder appear on the series though, Star Wars Rebels showrunner Dave Filoni doesn’t think it’s ever going to happen, as he told Gizmodo the following:
“I don’t know if there’s anything Ezra Bridger could really add to the saga of a Han Solo type character. We already had Lando in our show, but we have to be careful about it being a variety show. We’ve had a lot of characters come in and out and I always get worried about small galaxy syndrome.”
While no Star Wars fan would complain if Han Solo was to meet The Ghost crew, it’s probably for the best that Rebels puts its own story first rather than shoehorning in familiar faces left, right and centre.
Filoni went on to explain how he approaches any kind of crossover with the movies, saying that it has to be done for the right reasons.
“You just have to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons and that you really want these characters to cross over.”
Having said that, the exec producer did mention that if Han was to appear on Rebels, he’d most likely cross paths with Hera Syndulla, so the two rival pilots can argue over who has the better ship. After all, Hera has been referenced in the movies before (see: her namecheck in Rogue One).
“There is some rationale that, if she should survive Star Wars Rebels, being an ace pilot, it seems more likely that Hera would be the one that knows someone like Han Solo. I’ve had rather large arguments about which ship is better, the Ghost or the Falcon, but that doesn’t really seem relevant for anything [the Rebels] are doing.”
Star Wars Rebels continues with episode 5, “The Occupation,” arriving on Disney XD next Monday.
