"Star Wars Rebels" (2014–2018) is an American 3D CGI animated television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation. The series follows a motley group of rebels conducting covert operations to thwart the sinister Galactic Empire, including Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, Zeb Orrellios, Chopper, and Sabine Wren. The 2023 live-action series "Ahsoka" serves as a direct continuation of "Rebels", following on from the events of its series finale.
Overview.
Note: Only characters appearing over multiple seasons appear in this list.
Main characters.
Ezra Bridger.
Ezra Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray), call sign Spectre 6, is a teenaged human street urchin and con-artist with Force abilities, whose parents were imprisoned by Imperial forces. The episode "Empire Day" reveals he was born the same day Palpatine inaugurated the Galactic Empire.
At the start of the series, his main motivation is to find his parents. In the pilot episode the Jedi Padawan Kanan Jarrus decides to take him as his apprentice. In "Path of the Jedi", Ezra is formally inducted into the Jedi Order, when Yoda's voice helps him to find a kyber crystal to create his first lightsaber, which after being constructed, is blue and features a built-in stun blaster patterned after his street urchin trademark weapon, an energy slingshot. In the second-season episode "Legacy", he discovers that his parents were killed in a prison revolt. In "Shroud of Darkness" it is revealed Kanan fears Ezra might turn to the dark side, which partially happens when the former Sith Lord Maul draws him closer in "Twilight of the Apprentice", and in further episodes also keeps calling him "apprentice", showing a marked interest in him. His first lightsaber is also destroyed by Darth Vader. In the season 3 premiere episode "Steps Into Shadow", Ezra replaces it with a green-bladed lightsaber. In the same episode, Ezra is promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander of the Phoenix Squadron, and also assumes field leadership of the "Ghost" crew, due to Kanan's blindness preventing him from continuing the role. However, due to his reckless leadership at the time, he was suspended from command as Lieutenant Commander until further notice. The episodes "Shroud of Darkness", "The Holocrons of Fate" and "Twin Suns" reveal Ezra's main motivation of the third season, to "find the key to destroying the Sith", who he interprets as the exiled Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. After eventually finding and talking to Kenobi however, Ezra realized his true mission is to be with the other rebels and help them fight against the Empire. During the season 3 finale, by taking command of a squad during the battle against Grand Admiral Thrawn's fleet, it shows that at this point, Ezra's status as Lieutenant Commander has been fully restored.
Ezra becomes somewhat lost after the death of his master Kanan, but begins to understand Kanan's final lessons after he penetrates the Jedi Temple in "A World Between Worlds". His connection to the Force-sensitive creatures of Lothal increases, and in the penultimate episode "A Fool's Hope" and the one-hour series finale "Family Reunion – and Farewell" (both of which aired March 5, 2018), Ezra summons both the Loth-Wolves and the Purrgil to defeat Thrawn, Pryce, and the Imperial forces on Lothal. Because the Purrgil have shattered the bridge observation ports on Thrawn's Star Destroyer, onto which he has been taken, Ezra uses the Force to create a protecting air pocket for himself and Thrawn, and deliberately and selflessly allows himself to be taken away with Thrawn by the Purrgil.
On his character, Gray stated: "He's a pickpocket, he's a little thief. But he's doing it all because he needs to survive". Executive producer Greg Weisman said: "We see this whole series very much through Ezra's eyes. As his eyes get opened to what the Empire's capable of, his eyes are opened to the fact that there are people who care, who are trying to fight the good fight, and he becomes one of them."
The character made his live-action debut in the series "Ahsoka" (2023), portrayed by Eman Esfandi, in which he depicted as having been living in another galaxy on the same planet as Thrawn for over a decade.
Kanan Jarrus.
Kanan Jarrus (voiced by Freddie Prinze, Jr.), call sign Spectre 1, is one of the last surviving Jedi of the fallen Republic whose real name is Caleb Dume. The episode "Legacy" reveals that Kanan entered the Jedi Order before getting to know his parents. The comic "" explores how before the events of "Rebels", Caleb Dume is a human Jedi Padawan student of Jedi Master Depa Billaba, until Order 66 made the clone troopers betray and kill the Jedi Order, including Kanan's Master.
During the Dark Times, Caleb is forced to take the identity of Kanan instead of his real name, in order to hide his Jedi heritage to survive, as explored in the book "" which also explains how he met Hera Syndulla a few years before the events in "Rebels". At the beginning of "Rebels," Kanan is the co-leader of the "Ghost" crew with Hera. Despite Kanan having not finished his own Jedi training himself, after seeing the potential in Ezra Bridger, he decides to take him as his Jedi Padawan. In "The Lost Commanders" he initially finds it difficult to trust Captain Rex, due to having experienced Order 66. In "Shroud of Darkness", Kanan was promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight by a vision within a Jedi Temple on the planet Lothal. In the episode "Twilight of the Apprentice" after visiting the planet Malachor, Kanan is blinded by Maul. While still part of the missions and his Force abilities compensating for his acquired handicap, he is from then on forced to take a less active role as a leader. Season 4 confirmed Kanan and Hera as a romantic couple.
In the episode "Jedi Night", Kanan sacrifices himself while rescuing Hera from being killed by Governor Pryce in the year 0BBY. In the following episode "DUME", Ezra has a vision of a giant Loth-Wolf with a white trident-shaped mark on its forehead that introduced itself as Dume (voiced by "The Force"). Dume directs Ezra into traveling to the Lothal Temple with the surviving "Ghost" crew. The wolf is later assumed by Ahsoka in the episode "A World Between Worlds" as an extension of Kanan's will through the cosmic Force into the Loth-Wolves to teach Ezra a final lesson and prevent both the final and the most powerful secrets of the Lothal temple from being fully compromised. Sometime after his death and before the Battle of Endor, Hera gives birth to their son Jacen Syndulla.
Executive producer Dave Filoni describes the character as a "cowboy Jedi". Animation supervisor Keith Kellogg said: "He is a Jedi but he's not a Jedi in the traditional sense that we've had before on the show. He's a little more rough around the edges. He's kept his lightsaber locked away, so he hasn't used it in a long time." After being blinded, Kanan has been compared to the "Star Wars Legends" character Rahm Kota from "", another Jedi who was blinded, which led Pablo Hidalgo from the Lucasfilm story group to say on Twitter, that both characters were inspired by Zatoichi.
Hera Syndulla.
Hera Syndulla (voiced by Vanessa Marshall), call sign Spectre 2, is a Twi'lek from the planet Ryloth who is the owner and pilot of the "Ghost". She is the daughter of Cham Syndulla, who appeared in the episode "Liberty on Ryloth" of "" before reappearing on "Rebels". She and Kanan share a strong connection; in season 4, they are confirmed to be lovers, and episode 15 introduces their son Jacen Syndulla. Hera has trained herself as a pilot of outstanding skill, known to some as "one of the best star pilots this side of the Outer Rim." commanding the respect of friends and foes alike. In "Wings of the Master", Hera was promoted to Captain of the Phoenix Squadron by Kanan's recommendation, and in "Rebel Assault" she has advanced in rank to General.
In the 2016 film "Rogue One" a voice is heard asking General Syndulla to report to a meeting in the Rebel Base of Yavin IV, confirming her rise to the rank of General. The "Ghost" is among the ships seen during the dogfight over the atmosphere of Scarif, but it is unknown if Hera was piloting her ship during such events, as Dave Filoni said: "I can imagine doing that entire [Scarif] battle from their point of view, whoever is on the "Ghost" at that point."
Hera also stars in the animated micro-series "Star Wars Forces of Destiny", an animated short features Hera teaming up with Princess Leia, Han Solo and Ewoks, while on the forest moon of Endor. This was also confirmed in the 2018 series finale "Family Reunion – and Farewell", where it is revealed that she fought in the Battle of Endor and that she and Kanan have a son named Jacen Syndulla.
Hera reappears in the videogame "" as the superior officer of former Imperial Captain Lindon Javes and Vanguard Squadron, overseeing the development of the first prototype of the "Starhawk" class of New Republic battleships some time after the Battle of Endor.
A younger Hera appears in "" with Chopper in the episode "Devil's Deal". In this appearance, she has more of a French accent.
Hera returned in the 2023 series "Ahsoka", portrayed by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Filoni has stated: "She is a very strong-minded character, kind of the heart of the group, keeps everyone together when they would otherwise fall apart".
Sabine Wren.
Sabine Wren (voiced by Tiya Sircar), call sign Spectre 5, is a 16-year-old Mandalorian graffiti artist, Imperial Academy dropout and a former bounty hunter with expert knowledge of weapons and explosives. As a member of the "Ghost" crew, she acts as their chief engineer and cargo transport, weapons and demolitions expert, as well as their linguist, being fluent in a wide variety of languages. Originally a dedicated student and fledgling inventor for the Empire, she deserted when one of the weapons she had created was planned to be used against her own people.
In "The Protector of Concord Dawn", Sabine is revealed to come from House Vizsla, thus leading her to be related with Death Watch, a Mandalorian terrorist group in "The Clone Wars". The episode "The Antilles Extraction" reveals she was the one who helped pilot Wedge Antilles defect from the Empire and join the Rebellion. The episode "Imperial Supercommandos" reveals her mother, Ursa Wren, is sided with the Empire. In "Visions and Voices", Sabine acquires the Darksaber, a weapon used by Death Watch and also by Darth Maul during the Clone Wars. In "Trials of the Darksaber", Sabine's past is fully revealed, and Kanan trains Sabine in lightsaber combat (Sabine does not use The Force). By the next episode, Sabine decides to stay with her family in order to help unite the clans against the Empire. Sabine returns to the group in "Zero Hour" when Grand Admiral Thrawn leads his forces to attack Atollon.
In the series finale epilogue, it is revealed that Sabine stayed on Lothal, living in Ezra's tower. Earlier in the episode, Ezra told her that "I can always count on you", which she took to mean that he needed her to stay on Lothal and protect his people; however, in the epilogue, she understands what Ezra really meant and joins Ahsoka Tano in finding him and bringing him home.
Sabine also stars in the animated micro-series "Star Wars Forces of Destiny".
CG supervisor of lighting and FX Joel Aron said, "She's adding something that we haven't really seen before in the "Star Wars" universe. You have a character that is expressively creative through art—whether it's the color of her hair or what she's done to her armor." Her last image in the series finale is with deep purple hair cut short.
In November 2021, "Deadline Hollywood" announced that Natasha Liu Bordizzo had been cast to portray Sabine in live-action in the 2023 series "Ahsoka".
Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios.
 Garazeb Orrelios (voiced by Steven Blum), call sign Spectre 4, nicknamed "Zeb", is a Lasat who was the Captain of the Lasan High Honor Guard, whose people were one of the first species to rise up against the Empire in its early days, which responded by committing a genocide campaign against them. This near-extinction has left him with a gruff demeanor, but he has remained loyal to the struggle against