Five Reasons Why Star Wars Rebels Is an Absolutely Essential Watch

(Warning: the following many contain spoilers for the Star Wars: Rebels series and The Mandalorian)

Lucasfilm creative Dave Filoni is perhaps best known for his Emmy Award-winning series Star Wars: the Clone Wars. But, with the popularity of his latest project The Mandalorian, fans are brushing up on the producer’s second canon addition to everyone’s favorite galaxy far, far away—Star Wars: Rebels—for answers to some of the lingering questions surrounding Din Djarin’s companions.

Set five years before the Battle of Yavin, the Emmy-nominated show follows young Jedi Ezra Bridger as he joins the growing rebel alliance. While lighter in tone than its Clone Wars counterpart, the series is packed with incredible action sequences, humor, and well-rounded portrayals of found family, which really begs the question: why were so many people sleeping on this show in the first place?

Here are five reasons why Star Wars: Rebels is an absolutely essential watch for any Star Wars fan but especially those with questions about The Mandalorian:

1. Iconic Cameos

Ezra and his fellow crew members travel all over the galaxy in their ship the Ghost, and, like Din Djarin, they bump into plenty of familiar faces.

Have you ever wanted to see a young Princess Leia con an entire squad of stormtroopers out of their own ship? Maybe you’re curious about how Wedge Antilles ended up in an X-wing next to Luke? Ever wonder what a long car ride with Mon Monthma would be like? Probably not.

It’s a lot of fanservice…but generally, it’s tasteful, and Filoni has a proven track record of successfully blending his own original characters with the larger Star Wars narrative. For the most part, the same is true here.

2. Mandalore and the Dark Saber

If you’ve only seen The Clone Wars before watching The Mandalorian, you might be confused about the fate of the Dark Saber. If you watch Rebels...well, you’ll still be confused but less so. At least you’ll figure out how the blade left Maul’s possession and ended up in Bo-Katan’s hands. That is, until Moff Gideon stole it.

Another great thing about the show is how it explores Mandalorian lore. One of the Ghost’s crew members Sabine Wren is a Mandalorian, and the series devotes several story arcs in seasons three and four to her culture and the Mandalorians’ complicated response to imperial occupation.

But if the politics make you think too much of the prequels, don’t worry. This is Mandalore, remember? There are plenty of combat scenes, including one harrowing battle over thin ice between Sabine and Gar Saxon.

3. Grand Admiral Thrawn

If you’re not a Rebels fan, you’re probably unfamiliar with Grand Admiral Thrawn and his sneaky, art-collecting smirk. Thrawn first appeared as the main antagonist in Timothy Zahn’s popular novel Heir to the Empire, which was followed by two sequels. However, Disney has thrown the trilogy into the Legend’s vault, and it’s no longer canon (we know, we know, we hate it too).

In Rebels, Filoni brought back his own incarnation of Thrawn as the main villain of seasons three and four, which means you have just enough time to go and watch the show before Star Wars: Ahsoka comes out on Disney+. Then you’ll know why it’s so important she finds him.

4. Hera Syndulla

Along with Senator Organa and Mon Mothma, Filoni introduces Hera Syndulla as one of the initial architects of the rebellion. She’s gutsy, brave, intelligent, and, as captain of the Phoenix squadron, she’s known as one of the best pilots on the Outer Rim. If all that wasn’t enough to pique your interest, she’s also the Space Mom™ of the Ghost crew, raising Ezra and Sabine through their teen years.

With Cara Dune’s exit from the Star Wars Universe, at least in visual media, several rumors have suggested that Hera might take her place as one of the main characters in Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic. If that’s the case, Rebels will be an essential watch for those fans interested in her complicated backstory.

5. Ezra Bridger

We think it’s fair to say, without spoiling too much, that the Rebels’ series finale is somewhat of a cliffhanger, especially concerning the fate of the show’s main protagonist Ezra Bridger. Fans have been waiting literal years for answers, with Ahsoka’s hunt for Thrawn being the closest update we’ve had in a while.

With the rumored casting of Mena Massoud as the live-action Ezra Bridger in Star Wars: Ahsoka, there’s hope the Jedi will play an important role in the upcoming series. Before that happens, you’ll probably want to know who Ezra is and how he rose from street thief to one of the rebel alliance’s best Jedi commanders.

So there you have it—five perfectly good reasons to go watch Star Wars: Rebels. But there are many more than what we’ve listed above. With The Bad Batch still months from its premiere, there’s no better time to catch up on another Dave Filoni classic. Happy watching, and may the Force be with you!