Spark of Rebellion

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion is a feature-length television movie by Lucasfilm and Lucasfilm Animation. The film aired on Disney Channel on October 3, 2014 as a kickoff to the series of the same name, which will air on Disney XD.

Originally intended to be a one-hour special, Disney announced that it was rebranded into a movie in February of 2014. The movie and series take 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 Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape.

On October 26, 2014, an extended cut of the film aired on ABC, which included an additional scene featuring Darth Vader.

Plot
"This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi order and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi: Trust in the force. Do not return to the temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged, our trust, our faith, our friendships. But we must persevere, and in time, a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you, Always."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi's message to the Jedi.

Fourteen years after the end of the Clone Wars, the Jedi and the Republic have fallen with the rise of the Galactic Empire.

In the Capital city on the planet Lothal, a group of Rebels known as Kanan Jarrus, Garazeb Orrelios and Sabine Wren attack and steal a small supply of Imperial crates but their stolen goods get stolen by a orphaned boy named Ezra Bridger. He gives chase through the streets and out of the city with Kanan and Zeb on his tail along with several Imperials. Ezra is soon chased by a TIE Fighter which destroys his speeder and just before it could shoot him, the TIE is destroyed by a ship known as the Ghost. The Rebels help him aboard with the crate he stole and head for space with four more TIE fighters on their tail. In order to lose the pursuing fighters, the Rebels head for space and once they are clear they make the jump into hyperspace. All the while, the incident has caught the attention of Agent Kallus who intends to find the Rebels and put an end to their rebellion.

The Rebels return safely to Lothal and land near a small town known as Tarkintown, named after Grand Moff Tarkin and homed to many farmers who had their farmlands taken away by Tarkin. While Zeb, Sabine and Ezra deliver the food they stole for the townspeople, Kanan and Hera deliver the stolen blasters of criminal-lord Cikatro Vizago who gives them some information about Wookiee prisoners being sent to a slavery camp.

Ezra returns to the Ghost where through the force, discovers a Holocron and a Lightsaber in Kanan's quarters. As Kanan and Hera notice, Ezra is force-sensitive and so they decide to secretly test him to see if he can use the Force and could be trained as a Jedi.

The Rebels depart from Lothal on their next mission to rescue the Wookiees and arrive aboard an imperial transport ship. unfortunately the whole thing turns out to be a set up and then suddenly out of hyperspace appears an Imperial Star Destroyer. Hera sends Ezra to warn Kanan, Zeb, Sabine and Chopper who are all walking into a trap. Ezra manages to get to them just in time, and they make a run for it back to the Ghost as the Star Destroyer captures them with a boarding party waiting. They manage to escape but, thanks to Zeb, Ezra is captured by Agent Kallus and is left behind.

While imprisoned on the Star Destroyer, Ezra is able to open the Holocron using the force which displays message from Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, warning all surviving Jedi about falling of the old Republic and the rise of the Empire.

Ezra manages to escape from his prison by instigating stormtroopers into opening his cell, and learns about where the Wookiee prisoners are actually being taken--to the spice mines of Kessel. The Rebels return undetected and board the Star Destroyer to rescue. They find find him and escape to Kessel after Ezra reports on what he had learnt from the imperials.

The Rebels arrive and attack the Imperials but as they gather up the Wookiees, they are ambushed by Kallus and his men. With the Rebels surrounded and pinned down under heavy fire, Kanan comes out from cover and presents the lightsaber Ezra found, revealing his Jedi identity to Ezra, the Wookies and the Imperials. While fighting off the Stormtroopers, Ezra goes after a young Wookiee being chased by a Stormtrooper. He manages to rescue him and remove the binders on him, but they are cornered by Agent Kallus, until the Rebels show up and rescue them.

They depart from Kassel and send the Wookiees on their way before returning Ezra home. Kanan explains to Ezra that he is force-sensitive and gives him the choice to join them and learn the ways of the Jedi while Agent Kallus reports to The Inquisitor of his findings.

Cast

 * Taylor Gray as Ezra Bridger
 * Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Kanan Jarrus
 * Steven Blum as Garazeb Orrelios
 * Tiya Sircar as Sabine Wren
 * Vanessa Marshall as Hera Syndulla
 * David Oyelowo as Agent Kallus
 * Jason Isaacs as The Inquisitor
 * James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Keith Szarabajka as Cikatro Vizago
 * David Shaughnessy as Cumberlayne Aresko and Myles Grint
 * James Earl Jones as Darth Vader (extended cut)

Trivia

 * While speaking to Hera, Kanan calls Ezra a "Street Rat" which is what Aladdin is called in the film of the same name.
 * Kanan's description of the Force to Ezra pays homage to the original speech made by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope.
 * When Ezra was warning Kanan and Zeb aboard the Imperial Freighter, he yells out Admiral Gial Ackbar's famous line "It's a trap!".
 * In the extended version of the film, Darth Vader's character design is close to the original concept that was used during the early production of A New Hope.