We all know that Disney likes its synergy, though usually that extends between the marketing and theme park departments around big releases. But in this era of franchise multiplication and Marvel connectivity, the Star Wars universe is looking to be a little more unified than usual, with executive producer Simon Kinberg telling Entertainment Weekly that upcoming ‘toon Rebels may have more links to J.J. Abrams’ new cinematic outing than previously thought.
It’s a little surprising, given that Rebels is set years before Episode IV, itself a good three decades prior to the events in Episode VII. But with the teams now all working under one roof on a variety of Star Wars-related projects, there’s a lot more connectivity. Kinberg, for example, is working on both Rebels with Dave Filoni and as a creative consultant on** Episode VII **and beyond.
“It’s a very integrated process, there’s real communication between all the filmmakers because we’re all part of a larger timeline,” says Kinberg. “There is absolutely communication and integration between the different stories. We are very aware of what they’re doing in VII, and we also have to click into place with Episode IV.”
So what can we expect? Probably not Han Solo falling into a time vortex and showing up grey and grumpy on Rebels. Think more on the Easter egg level.
“There are characters, vehicles, imagery that are introduced in the show before we’ve ever seen them in the movies, possibly including VII,” Kinberg hints. Given that Rebels will have a more youthful tone than the movies, it’s not likely that the links will be too explicit, but it’s good to know a little thought it being put into these things.
Star Wars Rebels is set to kick off on the Disney XD channel both here and in the US on October 3. Star Wars: Episode VII is out on December 18 next year.