‘Star Wars Rebels’: Season 4 Predictions

The second trailer for the latest and final season of Star Wars Rebels was released recently. With the season released in just a few days, it’s time for some predictions.

So, what does season 4 of Rebels need to cover? A major plot area that needs to be concluded is Lothal. If we take a look back at season 1, the original problem was taking back Lothal from imperial occupation. This is, of course, most important to Ezra, and that is shown quite clearly in the latest trailer. He speaks of Lothal, and of his desire to help the people there, saying to the other, “We promised my people support.” I believe that this is where he will come into conflict with Mon Mothma’s rebellion. The rebellion will state, as they always do, that they don’t have the resources or the manpower to run the campaign, nor do they want open war with the Empire. Now, to be honest, it’s probably quite a sensible decision, as the rebellion needs time to grow and then launch strategic attacks. However, this will, of course, frustrate Ezra, pushing him away from the central rebellion.

This is where Saw Gerrera will come in. He will appeal to Ezra’s need to do something that gives clear results. We hear him in the trailer speaking to Mon Mothma, saying that “If you continue to allow this war to be fought on the Empire’s terms, you are going to lose.” This mirrors the conflict we see in Rogue One between Saw and the main rebellion. I think this will appeal to Ezra, and he has quite similar views to Saw. Like Saw, Ezra wants to physically fight the Empire, to see clear progress in the short term. However, Mon Mothma is seen telling Ezra, “We are not ready for open war.” Although this is probably true, the Empire is much stronger and has more resources, it will push Ezra away from the rebellion. It seems that Saw will try to recruit the crew of the ghost, as he does say, “You can continue to run Mon Mothma’s errands, or you can do something that actually matters.” This will split the crew. Ezra will want to join Saw, but Hera will want to stay with the rebellion. I’ll talk about the other crew members shortly. Now, we know from Rogue One that Hera, chopper, and the ghost remain with the rebellion, but, does this mean that Ezra will be leaving the ghost crew?

Furthermore, Ezra is definitely questioning the rebellion. He speaks to Kanan about how it’s not choosing to fight that matters, but how they chose to fight. Ezra then says, “Maybe we’re choosing the wrong way.” Again, this could be referring to the way the rebellion fights the Empire, small disruptions whilst playing the long game. Ezra is having doubts about it and wants to take more immediate action. To some extent, he is facing the same struggle that Jyn faced during Rogue One; no one is willing to fight directly and quickly. This will push him further away from the rebellion, and more towards Saw. I think it’s likely that Ezra will split from the rebellion, which explains his absence in the later films.

There’s also Kanan to consider here. From the trailer I get the impression that, like Ezra, he doesn’t want to remain in the main rebellion, but for different reasons. I think he wants to completely leave the rebellion, not to join Saw or any other group, but to leave the fight completely and be with Hera. He is seen confronting Hera in the trailer, saying “When are you going to feel you’ve done enough for this rebellion?”, to which she replies, “Well, I haven’t really thought about it.” This quite clearly shows that Kanan wants to leave or retire from the rebellion and return to a normal life, but Hera has always been so caught up in the fight that she never actually planned on leaving. Kanan then replies to Hera, saying, “So I guess you never really thought about us?” So, hopefully this means that this series is finally going to explore the Kanan-Hera relationship, which to be honest has been a bit of a mixed opportunity so far. It could also cause a dilemma for Kanan, as he’d have to choose between Hera, who will stay with the rebellion, and a normal life. I think it’s also possible that the relationship will build up throughout the series, and then Kanan will end up dying, possibly in a sacrifice protecting Hera. This would be quite a nice ending, as it explains the absence of Kanan but also leaves Hera feeling guilty, but even more determined to defeat the Empire.

So what about Sabine? Now, she has the most obvious reason for leaving the rebellion, which is of course to return to Mandalore. We see, at multiple points in the trailer, Sabine on Mandalore and holding the darksaber. I think we can be quite certain that Mandalore will play a large role in the next series, and Sabine will be very involved in this. We see in the trailer that Mandalore is under lockdown, with full out war raging between the mandalorians and the Empire. We even see the Empire using machines that completely disintegrate the mandalorians. Sabine will have to return and prove her loyalty by uniting the people of Mandalore and fighting for the planet to be freed. Plus, we have the return of Bo-Katan, which will be great to see, another character returning from the Clone Wars. I’d love to see a full-scale battle between the mandalorians and the Empire, which I expect will end in the freeing of Mandalore from imperial control. This will leave Sabine with a difficult decision. I think she’ll either decide to stay on Mandalore with her people, or she’ll return to the ghost but leave Bo-Katan in charge.