Star Wars Rebels

Star Wars Rebels is an animated series produced by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation. The series takes place between Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which the Galactic Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the surviving Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape!

The series premiered on October 3, 2014 on Disney Channel with a one-hour special - Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion, and aired as a series Monday nights at 9:00 pm on Disney XD channels worldwide starting October 13. The Spark of Rebellion DVD was released on October 14, 2014. It was confirmed on November 30, 2015 that the series would renew for a third season in 2016.

Plot summary
The series is set approximately 5 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin), fourteen years into the reign of the Galactic Empire. The general premise is described as follows:

"It is a dark time in the galaxy, as the evil Galactic Empire tightens its grip of power from world to world. As the series begins, Imperial forces have occupied a remote planet, ruling with an iron fist and ruining the lives of its people. But there are a select few who are brave enough to stand up against the endless Stormtroopers and TIE fighters of the Empire: the clever and motley crew of the starship Ghost. Together, this ragtag group will face threatening new villains, have thrilling adventures, and become heroes."

Cast

 * Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) - A charismatic 15-year-old con artist, thief and pickpocket living on the Outer Rim world of Lothal. Unbeknownst to him, he is able to use the Force, and has used it to get out of certain predicaments. Stealing to survive, he has no real loyalty to anyone.
 * Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) - A renegade Jedi Knight and leader of the Ghost crew along with Hera. He keeps his lightsaber under lock and key and brandishes a blaster instead to avoid the attention of the Empire. He is sarcastic, but also distraught over the destruction of his culture and former way of life.
 * Garazeb Orrelios (Steve Blum) - A seasoned and intelligent Lasat enforcer who serves as the muscles of the Ghost crew.
 * Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar) - A female Mandalorian with expert knowledge of weapons, combat, and explosives. She is also a graffiti artist who tags Imperial facilities with anti-Imperial propaganda after an attack, decorates her quarters on the Ghost, and frequently modifies her armor with conflicting colour schemes.
 * Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshall) - The Twi'lek female who owns and pilots the Ghost. She is the mother-figure of the crew, and brings them all together.
 * Agent Kallus (David Oyelowo) - A high ranking agent of the Imperial Security Bureau who serves under the Inquisitor.
 * The Grand Inquisitor (Jason Isaacs) - The main antagonist of Season One. The Inquisitor was an unnamed Pau'an who wielded a double-bladed lightsaber and was tasked by Darth Vader to hunt down the remaining Jedi left in the galaxy.
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) - A Jedi Master and former friend of Darth Vader (when he was known as Anakin Skywalker), who currently resides on the desert planet of Tatooine.

Production
Lucasfilm Ltd. veteran sculptor Darren Marshall, who worked on Star Wars: The Clone Wars prior to its cancellation in 2013, developed sculpts for the core characters of Star Wars Rebels before leaving Lucasfilm in June 2013. By December 2013, the production crew had finished developing the series' first season and had begun animating the first script.

After the second episode of the series was aired, a second season was already confirmed.

Release
Star Wars Rebels was first announced on March 11, 2013, as an unnamed animated series set to replace Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Its name and premiere date were announced in a press release on May 20, 2013. It premiered in October 2014 with a televised movie on Disney Channel written by Executive Producer Simon Kinberg. Following the premiere, the series moved to Disney XD.

Crew
Several crew members from The Clone Wars, which was pulled from the air in 2013, are returning for Rebels:
 * Dave Filoni - Creator, Executive producer and Supervising Director
 * Joel Aron - CG supervisor
 * Athena Portillo - Producer
 * Kilian Plunkett - Art director
 * Keith Kellogg - Animation supervisor
 * Paul Zinnes - Asset supervisor