Forget Alien Day today. Forget the arrival of Avengers: Infinity War tonight. EW has the scoop of the morning that is literally all I can think about or dream about … Star Wars: Resistance.
Fresh off the heels of the incredible finale of Star Wars Rebels, Dave Filoni is returning to the universe for the third time, bringing a galaxy far, far away to 2D for the first time since the Clone Wars micro-series. With this announcement, Filoni joins the ranks (and maybe surpasses) Robert Watts, Lawrence Kasdan, Gary Kurtz and Kathleen Kennedy as some of the most influential, most prolific people in the telling of this saga.
From the Entertainment Weekly article:
Just as the animated Rebels series explored the build up to the original Star Wars, a new anime-inspired series will give fans a window into the history leading up to The Force Awakens.
Star Wars: Resistance will focus on Kazuda Xiono, a young pilot recruited to help spy on the First Order — coming into contact with such familiar figures as X-wing hotshot Poe Dameron and the menacing Captain Phasma. And Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie have already signed on to voice their characters.
Even before Resistance, the Star Wars franchise has such a rich history within traditional animation. The much-maligned Star Wars Holiday Special’s only redeeming quality is a stunning Nirvana-drawn introduction to Boba Fett. The dearth of any new movies in the late 80’s was peppered with richly colored episodes of Ewoks and Droids. And then the afore-mentioned Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars show on Cartoon Network is often forgotten (in the shadow of the hugely popular Filoni addition) but is still incredible, stylistic and important.
That’s why Star Wars: Resistance is so exciting.
Playing in the most-fertile storyline sandbox available in the Star Wars universe (the period between Episodes 6 and 7), Filoni has the ability to continue his Ahsoka Tano saga, while introducing us to even more iconic characters. The return of Poe, BB-8 and Captain Phasma is just a cherry on top, with possibilities of new, iconic characters to the canon.
For everyone begging to see more of a Luke Skywalker Jedi Academy or the adventures of Hera and her green-haired son or Sabine and Ahsoka’s journey to find Ezra and Thrawn … I bet we’ll see that too. In the meantime, shut up about your terrible Snoke theories.
Some predictions of my own:
- We’ll continue the Resistance formation threads set in the well-written Bloodline (pick it up, along with author Claudia Gray’s previous Lost Stars). I am very excited to see this crystallization of the neo-Republic, just like Rebels told its story of multiple cells coming together and homogenizing. And I’m sure a certain royal member of the fight will have a role.
- General Syndulla and Rex will have to be back, in some capacity. When dealing with dog fights and Resistance pilots, I would love to see them take pronounced leadership roles among the group, with their deaths (or absence in the sequel trilogy) really being felt.
- As a fan of the Rogue Squadron novels and games, the hope that these Resistance pilots will take center stage … whether Snap Wexley or Paige Tico … is the best part of it all. (But, really, all I want: Give. Me. More. Tallie.)
At the end of the day, Star Wars works hand-in-hand with animation. And all I can really think about is this incredible fan-made dog fight. If we get even an eighth of this fan-made animation, it will be a treat to have as part of the Star Wars universe.
Bring it on, Dave.
