From Wolf Pack to Rebels – A Spark of Rebellion is born!

How do you know you are a true Star Wars fan? When you audition for a role in a series called “The Wolf Pack” and decide after reading the script that they are trying to rip of Star Wars because of all the similarities. When things like a Sun Sword and a Wookiee enter into the plot, it gets eerily similar to what you might find in Star Wars.

That is exactly what Star Wars Rebels star, Freddie Prinze Jr., thought as he was reading for the role of Kanan Jarrus in what he thought was going to be “Wolf Pack”. Prinze says, “I went in and I saw some Character breakdowns on the wall at Disney and I looked at them and I’m thinking, these guys are either ripping off Star Wars real bad or this is a Star Wars thing.”

Star Wars Rebels strong female characters

During the sit-down, we also talked to executive producer Dave Filoni. One of the things he talked about that I really thought was great was the role of strong female characters.

Freddie Prinze Jr. tells us, “Clone Wars is a good example where we can show good and evil, strong, powerful women at a young age to a more young Adult age as far as young Female Protagonists.” In regard to Rebels, Dave says, “So when we direct like Hera (The female Twi’lek who owns and pilots the Ghost), I say, I want you to say and be and do any of the lines you would have given Hans Solo.  I don’t want you to change them in any way. I want this Character as a being that would react like Clint Eastwood when he got shot.”

I think that is a powerful statement right there. A female character who is as enigmatic as Hans Solo and as strong as Clint Eastwood. That is a great female lead!

Executive producer Dave Filoni on Clone Wars and Rebels

When asked why they decided to do Rebels, Dave said that as they were wrapping up Clone Wars, and with the big Disney purchase, it just felt like time for a change.

“We wanted to come up with something new that represented this kind of new era of Star Wars and working with Lucas Films Story team, we all quickly came up with the idea of Star Wars Rebels. The Story Team introduced the idea to make an A-Team-like scenario and it just made sense.”

In you are interested in a little background of the whole Star Wars history, here is a fun little time-line to help you out.

Freddie Prinze Jr. – Super fan!

One of the things that surprised me most from this interview was how big of a Star Wars fan Freddie was. I mean, sure if you are gonna play the part you have to have some knowledge, but he was hard core! He told us about a time when he was about 4yrs old playing Star Wars as Luke, and he was going down a slide with a broken flag pole and ended up with a battle scar on his chin.

During the interview it was pretty clear how much Freddie loved playing this character. He is a true Star Wars fan through and through, and we wouldn’t want it any other way!

Freddie Prinze Jr. on his character, Jedi Kanan Jarrus

While watching the screening for Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion, it wasn’t obvious right away that Kanan was a Jedi. He is trying to avoid the attention of the empire so he keeps his lightsaber hidden away, and it isn’t until the young Ezra discovers it that his true Jedi character becomes known.

One of the things that is important as the series progresses, is that Kanan never really finished his training. Freddie Prinze Jr. says of his character, “He’s not the normal Jedi. He’s not together. He doesn’t have it all figured out. He has maybe 3 answers. You’ll literally see him sort of B.S. Ezra on some things. Where Master Yoda would say, There is no try, there’s only do, Kanan will be like, Give me your best shot. He makes mistakes because he was young and he didn’t get to complete his training in the way that an Anakin or the way that Luke could.”

Are you ready for the Star Wars Rebels?!

Star Wars Rebels” premieres with a one-hour movie “Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion,” FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 (9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel — perfect for a family movie night!  The half-hour series will premiere on Disney XD on MONDAY, OCTOBER 13 (9:00 p.m., ET/PT).

I really cannot say enough good things about this movie and series. I was literally at the edge of my seat the entire time, and the whole thing had me wanting for more by the time we were done watching the movie and the first episode. It is clear that this was created with true Star Wars fans in mind.

Follow @DisneyChannelPR and @StarWars for the latest news on #StarWarsRebels, and check out StarWars.com  for more exciting news on the series.

May the Force Be With You!!!

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Disclosure: I received an all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles for the coverage of several press events for Disney. All opinions are 100% my own.