Warning: spoilers ahead for Star Wars Rebels.
The Star Wars saga has taken large and small screens alike by storm, and we very recently discovered that Disney and Lucasfilm have yet another TV project in the works that sounds pretty exciting. Called Star Wars Forces of Destiny, the project will be comprised of animated shorts following the adventures of some of the biggest heroes in the franchise throughout different eras. Disney has revealed the basic plots of some of those shorts, and one just so happens to reveal the fate of one of the most pivotal characters of the Star Wars Rebels TV series: Hera Syndulla.
According to Disney, one of the Star Wars Forces of Destiny shorts will follow Hera Syndulla and Princess Leia as they team up with Han Solo... on the forest moon of Endor, where they'll work with Ewoks to fight the good fight. As any Star Wars fan knows, Leia and Han are on Endor hanging out with Ewoks during the events of Return of the Jedi, which was of course the last film in the original trilogy. Hera will evidently survive however long Star Wars Rebels runs on Disney XD as well as the events of Rogue One, A New Hope, and Empire Strikes Back.
Of course, we already knew that Hera would be alive at least until the climactic Battle of Scarif. Rogue One Easter eggs revealed that she's going by "General Syndulla" by that point, and she's still fighting for the Rebellion with her trusty (and surprisingly murderous) droid Chopper in her beloved Ghost. We even saw the Ghost in the thick of the action above Scarif, but we didn't see if the ship made the hyperspace jump to escape. Given that a lot of Rebellion ships were destroyed at the Battle of Scarif, there was no saying if Hera and the Ghost survived. Huzzah for Hera living long enough to hang out with the Ewoks circa Return of the Jedi!
Unfortunately, none of the material for Star Wars Forces of Destiny (via EW) gave away whether or not any of Hera's Ghost crew was still with her or even alive during the Battle of Endor. Sabine will be featured in the shorts at the Rebel base on Yavin 4, but no details are available about when Sabine will be there. Her shorts could take place during the upcoming Star Wars Rebels seasons or circa Rogue One/A New Hope. Hopefully we'll get to see Hera and Sabine together in Forces of Destiny.
As somebody who is mighty worried about Kanan in the wake of Season 3, however, the news doesn't make me feel any more confident that everybody's favorite cowboy Jedi will live beyond the events of Rebels. Admittedly, it would make more sense for the Star Wars saga continuity if Kanan (and Ezra) were dead at least by the time Yoda starts training Luke, and yes, the Season 3 finale seemed to be foreshadowing Kanan's death a la Obi-Wan to push Ezra forward on his journey, but I just really don't want to have to watch the poor guy die.
All of that said, I'm pretty psyched about all the female Star Wars characters who are going to be showcased in Forces of Destiny, and I'm especially glad that the ladies of Star Wars TV will be featured as well as the big names from the movies. Although Leia, Rey, and Jyn are among the most well-known heroines of the saga, Hera, Sabine, and Ahsoka deserve their own adventures as well.
The first of the Forces of Destiny shorts will begin to debut on Disney YouTube in July, and they'll culminate on the Disney Channel this fall. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in Star Wars TV and movie news, and don't forget to check out our midseason TV premiere guide and our summer TV premiere schedule. If you're curious about all the exciting developments at Star Wars Celebration, check out our exclusive gallery of photos.
