The Star Wars universe these days spans countless characters from movies, books, and TV shows. For many of us, the crew from the original trilogy of Episodes IV - VI has a special place in our hearts. A few of those originals have appeared on Disney XD's Star Wars Rebels, ranging from a still-dastardly Darth Vader to a young Princess Leia. Now, Star Wars Rebels is set to reveal the rebellious origin story of one of the most lovable characters from the first trilogy. Wedge Antilles himself will turn up in an upcoming episode.
Rebels will reveal that Wedge started out in his intergalactic flight career as humble cargo ship pilot. He was evidently recruited by the Empire for a more exciting life than he ever would have lived flying supplies to and fro in the galaxy far, far away, but he soon discovered that he wasn't entirely on board with some of the Empire's demands of him. The seeds of rebellion will be planted early on.
Wedge is one of the most unsung heroes of the Star Wars franchise. Luke Skywalker may have gotten the credit for blowing up the first Death Star in A New Hope, but Wedge is the only pilot to have been present for and actually survived the destruction of both Death Stars after the events of Return of the Jedi. He played an important role in getting most of the Rebellion off of Hoth in Empire Strikes Back. Wedge is responsible for such one-liners as "Look at the size of that thing!" and "Whoa, that got him!" If any rebel deserved the revels with the Ewoks at the end of the trilogy, it was Wedge.
Star Wars Rebels' introduction of Wedge could be one of the most fun twists of the series to date for longtime Star Wars fans. We've never really known much about Wedge. In fact, we barely even got to see what Wedge looked like outside of a cockpit without a helmet on. He could be a perfect character from the original trilogy to bring back to Rebels. He may not be Luke or Han or even Chewbacca, but who doesn't love Wedge Antilles?
Of course, not all viewers of Star Wars Rebels will have necessarily seen the original trilogy, so they may not have the same urge to high-five Wedge whenever he comes on screen. Still, it looks like his interactions with Sabine in his episode of Rebels should work to escalate some of the drama as more and more people begin to drift away from the Empire and toward the Rebellion. He could be a significant character to the next chapter of Star Wars Rebels even without his legacy as an original trilogy individual. Check out a first look at Wedge in Rebels:
Wedge's role in Rebels does beg the question of whether or not a version of Wedge could pop up in the Star Wars: Rogue One movie. Rogue One is set to follow the story of a group of rebels on their mission to steal the plans to the first Death Star, which was famously destroyed by Luke Skywalker in A New Hope. Could Wedge's appearance in Rebels be a setup for a Wedge appearance in some manner or other in Rogue One? After all, Rebels executive producer Simon Kinberg has already hinted that there can be universe crossover between the movies and TV shows of the Star Wars franchise.
Tune in to Disney XD on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. ET to see the latest of Star Wars Rebels, and don't forget to check out our fall TV premiere schedule for a look at what else you can catch on the small screen.
