STAR WARS: REBELS

Last week the internet almost imploded with the news of the release of the cast of the upcoming episode 7, and the list pleased me somewhat, the stars of the original trilogy are all returning, which seems like auspicious news. Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac, two of my favorite current actors, have also joined the cast. Also joining the ensemble is Andy Serkis, an actor mostly known for playing CGI characters such as Gollum , King Kong and Captain Haddock. Serkis' presence in the cast suggests that he will perhaps be playing a CGI, motion capture character, which is incredibly de rigueur right now. Also returning are C-3PO and R2D2, in addition to Chewbacca, all of whom are fan favorites.

However, this post is not specifically about Episode VII, but about the recently announced animated television series, airing on Disney XD in the autumn of 2014. Since reaching an licensing agreement with LucasFilm, and especially now since acquiring the company for 4.05 billion in 2011, Disney has developed a number of animated series based around the star wars characters and universe. During the 1990's these were developed by LucasFilm in conjunction with ABC or Cartoon Network, however since 2008's The Clone Wars, they have aired exclusively on Disney owned channels. Early series had limited success, and The Clone Wars, despite running for six seasons could only be described as a partial success. A few early episodes were bundled together as a feature film and released to cinemas, a move which rarely works and concurrently the film was panned by critics. The latest season was aired on Netflix instead of on cable, and will be the end of the series.

Although i try to keep television posts on Popcorn@Movies to a minimum, and i would normally never dream of writing about an animated television series, the trailer, recently released for Star Wars Rebels succeeded in piquing my attention. The trailer, which lasts all of  15 seconds (and which can be found HERE) features some pretty stunning animation. The series looks almost photo-realistic, with the exception of the human characters, who are animated in an asian inspired manga style. It seems that the merger with Disney has been good news for LucasFilm's animation department, as the quality of animation looks to be extremely high, particularly for a television budget.

I am oddly excited for this series, whilst i would previously never really care about a series airing on Disney XD, this looks to be a well produced, exciting and fun animated series, wit unusually high production values. As the first real product of the merger between Disney and LucasFilm, it looks to be an auspicious start, and should give Star Wars fans high hopes for the upcoming Episode VII.