What's shakin' loyal Rebels viewers it's Andy Gutierrez coming to you from inside Lucasfilm
with a penultimate episode of Rebels Recon.
This week we saw the return of not one but two fan favorite characters
and now I'm here to show you how it all came together.
So step with me into my very own world between worlds,
this is Rebels Recon.
Taken to the Jedi Temple by Loth-wolves,
Ezra and Sabine discover a portal that transports Ezra to a world between worlds.
Master Yoda?
Obi-Wan?
Where are you?
Realizing the mysterious world gives him the ability to change fate,
Ezra rescues Ahsoka from her duel against Darth Vader on Malachor.
Ahsoka?
Ezra?
When the Emperor attempts to seize control of this power
Ezra makes a narrow escape destroying the Jedi Temple
and allowing the padawan to say a final goodbye to his master.
Goodbye Kanan.
This week we not only got to see the return of Ahsoka but of the Emperor as well.
I sat down with the cast and crew to talk about what the Emperor was really after in the Jedi Temple,
a little more information about the Mortis gods,
the world between worlds, and Ahsoka's fate.
Check it out!
In this episode we see the Empire excavating the Jedi Temple is this the sort of thing that they do regularly?
I don't know if I'd say regularly
but it is an expression of Palpatine's interest in arcane knowledge.
What I love about this episode is that it actually exposes something that is not part of the regular Rebel mission
and it's not the known entity of what they're doing.
What you get a little bit more understanding around is what the Emperor might be after in terms of furthering his own power
Not just about taking over control the galaxy and ruling over the order
but what other devious things he might be wanting to discover that sort of secure him is the ultimate power in the universe
We've long discussed in meetings that the Emperor would be somewhat obsessed with history
and the Sith and that's one of the reasons why he was looking for the temple on Malachor
and one of the things he knows about is this kind of place or a gateway where he can control through
time and space different events through the Force.
What was it like working with the original Palpatine, Ian McDiarmid as a voice actor in this episode.
He was incredible.
When we did introductions he is the most charming gentleman
and then we started the record and he just went right into the Emperor.
It was like he just switched it on. It was like whoa.
He's fantastic.
It was a fun bit.
I didn't really ever see that happening but to hear Ian say Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano was pretty cool.
Pretty magic moment in my time here at Star Wars, that's for sure.
Because we had already sort of crossed a lot of the same bridges with Obi-Wan, Tarkin, and Yularen
We'd done enough characters that have appeared in live-action
by the time we got to the Emperor it was easier to figure out
what would work and what wouldn't work because we've done enough characters in that sort of vein.
He was one of the more sort of painless designs.
Ian McDiarmid has a very distinctive profile so as soon as you get that big Hulk nose in
and put in the scary orange eyes, you know that that voice is going to be there, you could almost just do that.
Ugly and old is always gonna be easier than pretty and young.
So no offense to Ian McDiarmid or anything but saying the character of the Emperor is fairly ugly and old
So it makes life easier.
The painting on the wall of the temple is representation of the Mortis gods seen in The Clone Wars.
Can you give us some insight on the Mortis Gods for those who need a refresher?
The Mortis gods were a concept created by George when we worked on The Clone Wars.
And he had us do this arc that basically dealt with Anakin being tested by these Force wielders,
as George called them, to see if he was this prophesied chosen one,
which seemed to be a common prophecy among many different Force wielding groups.
And they were the first creation by George of somebody other than a Jedi or a Sith that could wield the Force
and do it on a almost godlike level.
So I'd been working on somewhat history of what they are really
and where could they have come from and what all that meant
back when we did Clone Wars and then I resurrected it here in Rebels to tie things a bit together
and make certain storylines possible.
It was a challenge to have the story point where the wall actually comes alive.
For the first time on Rebels we actually did some 2D animation and we integrated into our 3D animation pipeline.
We worked with a studio called Ghost Bot.
We worked closely to make sure that it was seamless the integration.
It's really neat to see this 2D kind of painting come to life.
It was sort of a collaboration of figuring how could we make this a little more mystical?
How could it not just be a still painting but like once things start moving and getting up
then it becomes this other world or the sort of enchantment kind of feel.
Trying to figure out the logistics of it was something that was definitely new to us
but I think in the end came out really good.
The thing about Mortis was the notions of Force can take you places.
So the Force basically is deeper and more powerful than anyone can ever imagine.
Yes, there's an impressive ability to move things with your minds,
to do Jedi mind tricks, to fight with a lightsaber but that is ultimately a real mortal manifestation...
Right.
...of the force there's bigger deeper things out there.
This is one of the most trippy episodes of Rebels.
How did Dave explain the whole world between worlds thing to you?
The way Dave explained it was actually pretty clear.
More clear than the Loth-wolves and how they interact with the Force
but it's essentially a place where you can go and access anything.
Time is not a concrete thing. Time is flexible.
You can go forward, backwards, any which way.
This idea was very driven by Filoni and thinking about how we'd utilize the Temple before,
what was actually happening there and the way in which all of these things can be connected through the Force.
And I think it is very much in some ways in the spirit of the cave on Dagobah.
Because we've sort of got a glimpse of something very similar in earlier seasons we were able to sort of build on that.
We built a relatively small planetarium that has the main paths on it
and then the hope is that by using background paintings you sell the audience on the idea that this thing just extends.
This was a really interesting thing to see come to life.
The fact that there were these portals of different areas that you could go back to.
And basically we were walking on paths so like we added like little sort of ripples and things to Ezra's footsteps
and stuff as he's going through here, and different times where there's voices going on that he's hearing.
Dave really wanted this to feel like this vast empty space.
That it just felt like you were just walking almost like in a snow globe.
Imagine if I had little, tiny LED lights hanging from string all around this room and I shut off the lights
and you're just walking along among those stars as opposed to space
that feels like everything's plastered to the outside.
And so that was very important for us to have that, that in these constellations they were always in frame.
I always have several small goals.
And one of the things I wanted to do was find a way to tie together all of the Star Wars films and animated series in one place.
So that people get this idea that this is all a connected thing.
That they're not desperate from each other.
That they are inclusive of each other.
And I believe that Star Wars has this grandeur to it.
I believe the Force has this infinite space to it.
So I started seeding in season one this idea of a place where there are stars.
When Ezra's in the Jedi Temple and he gets his lightsaber crystal he is in that World Between Worlds.
He just doesn't know it yet because he's too naive and he's not fully unlocked.
The next time he's there with Yoda
and Yoda obviously knows about it because Yoda is talking to him through this is some kind of conveyance
where they can both exist in this place but they probably aren't very far from where they are physically
It doesn't have anything to do with the physical.
It has to do with kind of where they believe they are and where they are mentally.
So finally when he unlocks all the secrets he can go into this place
and have more of an awareness of what's actually going on.
And this is when the full world has revealed to him and then he knows that evil also wants it.
Because things like that, that are too good to be true evil always wants those things to destroy them and to use them for ill purposes.
We finally get the answer to what happened to Ahsoka in this episode.
Was this the plan all along or did this come along naturally after telling the story of a Ahsoka and Vader's confrontation?
I believe that this was always Filoni's intention.
So much time and thought had been put into not only the battle between Vader and Ahsoka
but what it would mean for the destiny of that character.
That it was always in mind as we were moving forward with subsequent stories.
I think also one of the significant things of Ahsoka coming back into the story at this moment
is that she also helps teach Ezra this final lesson that Kanan was trying to portray to him.
She is very much in that moment a conduit for his understanding to understand
what it means to let go, to understand what it means to live with loss.
And if you think about it losing Kanan is like losing his third parent
and how significant that moment is for him and how devastating it is for him
to know that he could have the power to be successful and bring him back.
But it actually sacrifices everything that they've done before.
How did you learn about Asoka's fate?
Of course in typical Dave Filoni fashion he keeps you hanging until the very last minute.
Prior to the episode he came in and he broke down the entire episode.
That's really when I found out what was happening.
And we actually recorded this episode and these scenes several times.
We did some rewrites and then also even just to emotionally get to the right place.
I just really liked this idea of giving fans the completion of that battle
and seeing that moment again from a different point of view.
The fun thing for me was that I could tell this whole story about her and meeting Ezra
and what's going on and then end precisely where I ended before in season two.
So you're not really farther ahead than you were with her but you learned a bit of the story that you didn't know existed.
So now you know that she really is descending that staircase in the triangle doorway
because you see the triangle doorway behind her and everything is set up for her to hook up with that moment.
Whatever happens after, I mean who knows at this point.
Has Dave given you any clues as to what Ahsoka will do now?
Dave has given me no clues.
I truly do not know where Ahsoka is going or what's next for her
but to be able to continue Ahsoka's storyline was a dream come true.
When she walked away in Clone Wars down those steps, I honestly didn't know if we'd ever see her again.
So with Rebels that's just another chapter there's so much more to learn about her.
So I hope this is not the last chapter I hope we'll find out more about her.
[Chopper sounds]
[R3-A3 sounds]
Oh gosh, are you okay?
[Explosion]
Oh wow!
[Chopper laughing]
I have searched high and low for Pablo Hidalgo to ask him your pressing Star Wars questions
but he's managed to stay hidden.
However I have one last place I haven't check yet.
Let's see if we can go find him.
[In the distance] Hey, Andi.
[In the distance] Oh hey, Andi.
[In the distance] Hey, Andi!
[In the distance] Chopper sounds
[In the distance] Oh hey, Andi
[In the distance] Hola, Andi
[In the distance] Hey, Andi
[In the distance] Oh hey, Andi
Hey, whatsup Andi?
Hey, Pablo
Where are we?
Oh hey, Andi
I was gonna ask you the same thing.
I have no answers for you but hopefully you have an answer for me.
Cuz I have a question.
Yeah, I'm not doing anything.
Okay, Stacie Poulsen has a question about Rebel Assault she asks,
That's exactly happened.
In fact she probably got promoted in order to carry out the mission that we see her undertaken Rebel Assault.
It's a lot like General Lando Calrissian and General Han Solo getting their commission's before the Battle of Endor.
Hmm, good to know.
Congratulations Hera!
How do we get out of here?
No idea.
Have questions about Wolves and Door and World Between Worlds
or any other Star Wars Rebels questions you want answered?
Tweet them to @StarWars using the hashtag #RebelsRecon and we'll answer what we can online
or maybe, just maybe Pablo will answer it here on the show one last time.
But now here's the moment you've all been waiting for.
Your exclusive first look at the series finale of Star Wars Rebels.
Enjoy!
We were expecting you last rotation.
I had trouble escaping Lothal.
The Empire's blockade is tougher than ever.
That would be no problem for me.
Hondo, I see you got my message.
At your service.
Thanks for watching Rebels Recon.
We'll be back next week with our last episode ever.
Which is pretty sad right?
But in the meantime check out the episode guide for Wolves and a Door and A World Between Worlds on StarWars.com
Thanks for watching and may the Force be with you.