‘Rebels’ Season 3 Trailer: 5 Things You May Have Missed

Graham Apol
TV Star Wars
TV Star Wars

With a season finale like Twilight of the Apprentice, the hype for Season 3 of Star Wars Rebels is understandably high. Fans immediately began speculating what was in store for the next season of this animated Star Wars tale. Their anticipation paid off when the new Season 3 trailer dropped at Star Wars Celebration Europe this past month. So much exciting content was revealed, including a few things you might not have noticed at first. Between Imperial Mandalorians and the iconic reveal of Grand Admiral Thrawn, it can be easy to miss a few things.

Fans have covered a lot of ground already, but there’s more of Season 3 to discover. What else is Rebels bringing to the table next season? Here are five parts of the new Rebels trailer you may have overlooked.

New Fulcrum

Rebels Season 3

The first part of the trailer showed some unmistakable facial markings accompanied by a disguised voice. This style is reminiscent of the rebel informant Fulcrum (Ahsoka Tano) from Season 1. However, series director Dave Filoni has made it clear that Ahsoka isn’t coming back, at least not on Rebels. Her story in the Rebellion ends with Season 2. So who could this mysterious new voice be? Maybe Princess Leia Organa, future leader of the Rebel Alliance. Or even Imperial Agent Kallus who, when we saw him last, seemed to be rethinking his loyalties to the Empire. Acting as the new Fulcrum may be the beginning of his long road to defection.

Return of the Darksaber

Rebels Season 3

Blink and you’ll miss it. One of the final shots in the trailer features Sabine Wren wielding a Darksaber, the weapon of choice for Mandalorian Pre Vizsla during the Clone Wars. Its reappearance on Rebels shrinks the degree of separation between Sabine and Death Watch by a factor of a thousand. Its mere presence speaks volumes to Sabine’s character and family. Voice actress Tiya Sircar hinted at Celebration Europe that Sabine will be seeing certain characters from her past this season. Those characters will undoubtedly shed more light on Sabine’s familial ties and the factors led her to the Darksaber.

Dark Troopers

Rebels Season 3

The Season 3 trailer also gave us a quick glimpse of Ezra in combat against several Dark Troopers. These Imperial battle droids first appeared in the LucasArts game, Dark Forces, which introduced fan-favorite character Kyle Katarn. Dave Filoni has always enjoyed throwing in callbacks to the Legends continuity wherever he can. We, the fans, have always enjoyed seeing such callbacks. Filoni said at Celebration, “Let’s expand the universe.” Dark Troopers are a welcome edition to the Canon universe, almost as much as Thrawn himself. Almost.

Dathomir Magick

Rebels Season 3

One of the scenes in which Maul advises Ezra appears to take place on Dathomir, the homeworld of the mysterious Nightsisters during the Clone Wars. Since Maul hails from Dathomir, it makes sense that he would bring Ezra there to continue his training in the Dark Side. Maul clearly sees a potential apprentice in Ezra, but he may very well have other motives. The Season 3 trailer featured some Nightsister-looking powers. If this is indeed Dathomir, Maul could be exploiting Ezra’s power to revive the spirit of Mother Talzin, Maul’s creator.

Kanan’s Eyes

Rebels Season 3

I’m going to resist making the popular comparison between Kanan and Ezra, and The Force Unleashed characters Rahm Kota (the blind Jedi) and Starkiller (the dark apprentice) and stay on point. Kanan sports a new mask in Season 3 to compensate for the sight he lost in the Season 2 finale. But several shots in the trailer showed Kanan without it, including the image above. It seems at some point in Season 3, Kanan comes to terms with his lack of vision. His journey in doing so, and how Maul factors in, remains to be seen.

The best part is, as with all series: the trailer is just the tip of the iceberg. This and much more awaits fans in Season 3 of Star Wars Rebels this fall. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Fandom’s recap of the Star Wars Rebels Season 3 panel.

Graham Apol
Hello there! I am but a humble Star Wars nerd who is most content when there is a story to write or a Lego set to build.