As a newly formed adult, I’ve learned to do a great many things. For instance, I do my dishes every day. I call my bed cover a duvet, not a comforter. I’ve traded posters for photos with my Girlfriend Unit 3000. But there is one thing that my inner child, teenager and young adult just won’t let me kick to side: cartoons. Animation, when it’s done properly, has the ability to transport you to a world that has no limits. It takes you to a place that is fresh, exciting and difficult to construct. It can set the groundwork for fantastic story telling. This is what we have seen with Star Wars Rebels. Up until this point, Rebels an emotional weight to it, while still being fun to watch. It teaches us about growing up, dealing with the realities of the world, and accepting that even your mentors don’t know everything. What results is a show that has heart. For this, it has won a place in mine.
Now there has been some buzz on the Internet lately that Rogue One might feature some characters from my beloved Rebels. YouTube Channel Star Wars HQ has more on this here. But the questions I would like to explore a bit is (a) who might they bridge over? And (b) what might this story look like? While I can’t provide absolute answers to these questions, I can tell you who I think might make sense to bridge over: Ezra Bridger. I know this might seem an obvious choice, but here is why I think so.
At the end of Season 2 of Rebels, the stage is set for Ezra to turn to the Dark Side. He has been introduced by Darth Maul to the darkness and has been tempted to explore this new potential power. This has influenced him so much that he even managed to open the Sith Holocron. In Season 3, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect to see his slow decent into evil, while his master looks on with sadness and regret. This would create an interesting parallel with the story of Anakin and Obi Wan in the prequels. It would also give Disney the opportunity to re-tell that story in a way that weighs more heavily on the philosophical differences between the Dark Side and the Light.
As Ezra falls to the darkness, it would not be unreasonable for Vader to take notice of him. They have encountered each other before. Last time, Vader had already extended to Ezra an offer to join the Dark Side. Season 3 may be the season where we witness Ezra take Vader up on that offer, but not until the very end. From this point, Ezra would be the launching point for a new story that would parallel nicely with one from the extended universe. It would provide the opportunity to make Starkiller’s story canon. Between the end of Season 3 and the beginning of Rogue One, Ezra would essentially become Starkiller (for those who don’t who his story, check out this video). And it is this new evil Ezra that we would either see or hear about in Rogue One.
So those are my thoughts. What do you guys think? Would it be totally unreasonable to expect Ezra to take on the role of Starkiller? Or would another character be more appropriate?
Leave a comment if your heart so desires, and may the Force be with you.
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