Is Lucasfilm Announcing a New Star Wars Animated Series Soon?

When Disney purchased all of Lucasfilm back in 2012 for more than $4 billion dollars, it was mostly so they could make newStar Warsmovies for a very long time. But asStar Wars fansknow, there is a lot more to it than that. One of the biggest pillars of the expandedStar Warsuniverse in the modern era has been animated shows, such asStar Wars Rebels, which is currently getting ready to finish its third season. Interestingly enough, Disney and Lucasfilm have not yet renewed the show for a fourth season and that has led to some speculation that we may be getting a brand new Star Wars animated show as early as next year.

A report fromCinelinxfrom last year claims that Disney and Lucasfilm are planning on endingStar Wars Rebelsafter three seasons, and given that they haven’t yet renewed the show, there seems to be some evidence piling up for that being the case. WhenStar Wars Rebelswas renewed for a third season, it was done back in November of 2015. We are way past that point now for a potentialStar Wars Rebelsseason 4, so one has to wonder what the hold up is. It could very well be thatStar Wars Rebelsis coming to an end and a newStar Wars animated serieswill be coming to fill the gap next year.

HardcoreStar Warsfans are familiar withDave Filoni, who served as the Supervising Director onStar Wars: The Clone Warsand at least was in the same position onStar Wars Rebelsup through season 3. Assuming Lucasfilm does move ahead withStar Wars Rebelsseason 4, it will happen withoutDave Filonibecause it was revealed last year that he has stepped into a larger position at Lucasfilm and is “creatively overseeing future animation development.” It is very possible he has been developing this potential new show and that we will learn more about it after theStar Wars Rebelsseason 3 finale airs.

The thing withStar Wars Rebelsis that it was always meant to be a limited thing. The show takes place in the time period between the events ofStar Wars: Revenge of the SithandStar Wars: A New Hope. By the end ofStar Wars Rebelsseason 3, we will at least be relatively close to the events ofRogue One: A Star Wars Story, which featured quite a fewStar Wars RebelsEaster eggs. So it is possible the impending showdown withGrand Admiral Thrawnwill be the end ofStar Wars Rebels. If that is indeed the case, there is almost no way that Disney and Lucasfilm would have no animatedStar Warsseries airing next year. That being the case, we would probably wind up getting an announcement about the alleged new series, which would probably be the brainchild ofDave Filoni, atStar WarsCelebration this April. SinceStar Wars Rebelsseason 3 will have its final episode on March 25, the timing would be pretty perfect.

There is also a possibility thatStar Wars Rebelsseason 4 will still happen and Lucasfilm will announce anew Star Wars showat Celebration this year as well. IfStar WarsRebels season 3 is the last of the series, it looks like they will be going out with a bang. Not only will there be a big showdown with Grand Admiral Thrawn, but the midseason trailer forStar Wars Rebelsseason 3 revealed that a rematch between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul is on the horizon. At the moment there is nothing official from Disney or Lucasfilm, so much of this is just putting the pieces of a puzzle together, but it is definitely starting to feel like we may be seeing a newStar Warsshow sooner rather than later. As for what that show could be? We’ll probably have to wait until April to find that out.