Simon Kinberg and Dave Filoni Talk Star Wars: Rebels.

Star Wars: Rebels writer-producer Simon Kinberg and executive-producer Dave Filoni both talked about the upcoming animated show, discussing their duties, the thrill of writing for Original Trilogy characters and how does it tie in to the wider Star Wars Universe…


From Collider:

SIMON KINBERG: I am the co-creator of Star Wars Rebels, the executive producer of the show, and I’ve written a bunch of episodes.  So when it airs, it will be in a sort of “Movie-of-the-Week” format where two episodes air back-to-back, and I wrote those two episodes.  And then I wrote the season finale that we’re just working on now… And then as the executive producer, I will read all the scripts.  I will sometimes run a pen through them and rewrite stuff in the scripts that lots of other really talented writers have worked on.  I will watch cuts of the show, I will give notes on whatever I think about performance or score or animation, but they have such an amazing team of people, many of whom are Clone Wars alums like Dave Filoni, who’s as much of a creative voice on the show as anybody.  So they put a great team together.  They really know what they’re doing.  And I will come in, and look at stuff, and give input, and occasionally write episodes.  So the first season I’m responsible for writing three episodes—the first two and the last one. 

star wars

The reporter tried to make Kinberg confirm Billy Dee Williams’ involvement with the series but instead we got a hint that not only one but several OT characters will appear in Rebels:

KINBERG: Writing dialogue for any of the legacy characters is as big a thrill as anything I’ve ever had in my life.  I said this to [producer Kathleen Kennedy] that when I open up a Final Draft document, and I tab over to “Character” and it’s a character from the original films—to be nameless until people see them—but if it’s a character from the original films, just typing in those letters and then that being the recorded name in that name database for that script is as surreal, and perhaps more so, than anything I’ve experienced in my career.

Another interesting thing about this interview is that Kinberg said that the series will have 16 episodes. Later Collider edited out that line from the video. Obviously he was not supposed to say that. 

rebels

Now to Dave Filoni’s interview with Empire Online:

You obviously worked on The Clone Wars as well, so are there going to be tie-ins to that? Are you going to maybe answer questions that were left hanging?

I’ll just say that. I think people would be disappointed if there wasn’t some connection, but at the same time I want the Star Wars Rebels characters to shine in their own right, and I want them to capture a new generation of fans as each, you know, moment in Star Wars storytelling does. They need their own space as well.

In operational terms, is there a Star Wars central command? What you’re coming up with is official canon, so do you guys have to co-ordinate with the big screen side as well? I’m guessing that Simon Kinberg is sort of a conduit of that.

The answer would be yes. I am aware of things that are going on all over the Star Wars galaxy. The same story team that is collaborating with the creatives on the feature collaborates with me, so I have a direct link to everything going on, which is incredibly exciting and incredibly stressful because of all the secrets that we now carry inside our astromech units.

It’s important to us as a group of creatives that all the Star Wars storytelling we’re doing be a level of canon that works with each other. That’s an exciting thing. 

rebels

Speaking of generations, are they Stormtroopers rather than Clone Troopers in this series?

Oh, they’re using Stormtroopers, yeah. I’ll give you the big nerdy breakdown.
In my opinion, having made The Clone Wars and now working with Stormtroopers, I would say that a Clone trooper could outgun a Stormtrooper rather easily. A Clone trooper was bred, born, raised to be a soldier. Lucky for them, the Jedi gave them a lot of personality, but they were very dedicated soldiers. Stormtroopers are drafted into service; you can join through academies. If you watch A New Hope they stand around and say, ‘Hey, you seen the new BT-16?’ They seem interested in their job but you question their dedication. They’re treated as expendable by the Empire, and they definitely can’t shoot anything.

When Obi Wan says, ‘Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise’, I think he’s making that up on the fact that he used to fight with clones, so he assumes that a Stormtrooper is really good. Much to his shock those guys can’t hit an R2 unit in a naked hallway, let alone be precise. So I like Stormtroopers, I find them very interesting. The Stormtroopers have better gear, better weapons in a lot of ways but it’s just a different war they are fighting than the Clone troopers’ was.

One thing that was also exciting for this show is that, despite being set at a time when we might not expect to see really any Jedi, we do see Kanan with a lightsaber.
 
Yes, you will see a lightsaber involved. But we’ve tried to pick our moments when we have an all-out lightsaber battle, to make it a real special thing for the show. It’s a character moment as much as anything. For example, think of it: Luke, he didn’t even fight with a lightsaber in A New Hope. Obi Wan did briefly against Vader, but we didn’t see a full-on, all-out lightsaber combat with Luke Skywalker until The Empire Strikes Back. And when he does confront Vader it’s a pretty big mistake because he learns just how out of his depth he is. We try to make all of these fights not just about combat or swords; it’s about a character driven moment that tells the audience something about where we’re going.

star wars

Will Darth Vader and Palpatine appear at all?
 
I can’t say specifically. All I can say is that this time period, between episodes III and IV, is a dominant time period for the Emperor – and Darth Vader, for that matter. They control the galaxy through fear and our Rebels are insignificant to them. But it is to their own undoing that they don’t recognize the spirit of individuals and what that spirit could add up to in the fight against the Empire.

We want to have an Emperor that’s behind the scenes and so lofty in his power that it would take a lot to bring that spider out and down into the web that he’s woven. Our Rebels are little flies and they hit the web string and it plucks it, so first you get a certain level of Imperial officer after you. Then if you cause a bigger vibration then you get a bigger level; maybe an Inquisitor shows up. You’ve got to really start to undo the web before you get to Vader and ultimately the Emperor, and, you know, good luck to our guys if they draw that kind of attention.

One criticism that Star Wars has had to face recently was the lack of women in there. You had some great female roles in The Clone Wars and there are already two lined up here; is that something you’re trying to combat?

In Star Wars, one of the most exciting things is the ability to add new and exciting characters. In my time working on Star Wars, whenever I talk to writers or new creators that want to be a part of it it’s a very strong instinct for people to want to say, ‘What about a girl? What about a woman?’ Back on Clone Wars when we decided for Anakin Skywalker to have a Padawan we knew it had to be a girl; there was no question about it and it didn’t even enter our mind to make it a boy. We felt very strongly that we didn’t want to create just another Luke Skywalker and so we created Ahsoka Tano.

rebels

Doing Rebels, we had another interesting dilemma in which we’d just created Ahsoka and we didn’t want to do another young girl character-hero so we created Ezra. But I still wanted to have a lot of exciting women characters represented on the show, so we created Sabine and Hera – and they are fulfilling different roles. Hera is the pilot so she’s playing the more traditional Han Solo role, if you will, and Vanessa Marshall, playing Hera, does an incredible job.

Then Tiya Sircar as Sabine, really came out of an idea that I was developing in Clone Wars which was this band of female Mandalorian warriors led by Bo-Katan called the Night Owls. I thought they were really an exciting group of characters. So when I was talking to Simon and Greg about characters we create I said, ‘Why don’t we do a Mandalorian girl?’, and they were all over that and though it was very exciting. So she’s a different shade of Boba Fett, if you will.



Website | + posts

Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.

Born on April 24, 1980.

Val Trichkov (Viral Hide)

Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

28 thoughts on “Simon Kinberg and Dave Filoni Talk Star Wars: Rebels.

  • May 10, 2014 at 10:58 am
    Permalink

    He said ‘an inquisitor shows up’. An. So it means there are many! And the one we saw is just one of them?

    • May 10, 2014 at 11:02 am
      Permalink

      We are Inquisitor, for we are many. Many is more.

    • May 10, 2014 at 2:59 pm
      Permalink

      The Imperial Inquisitors originated in a roleplaying book by West End Games called Galaxy Guide 9 – Fragments From the Rim. There are a number of them, searching for Jedi stragglers in the Outer Rim where Rebels takes place.

    • May 10, 2014 at 5:21 pm
      Permalink

      Cool. Thanks for the explanation.

  • May 10, 2014 at 11:02 am
    Permalink

    “If you watch A New Hope they stand around and say, ‘Hey, you seen the new BT-16?’ They seem interested in their job but you question their dedication.”

    I never had reason to question the stormtroopers’ loyalty to the Empire. Casual conversations about BT-16s or whatnot only humanized them.

    “When Obi Wan says, ‘Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise’, I think he’s making that up on the fact that he used to fight with clones, so he assumes that a Stormtrooper is really good.”

    I don’t think he was making that up, but people have been changing our perception of the OT the more they dive into the past. I’m sure Rebels will bring with it more changes to our understanding of things between III and IV, probably for the worst overall. Seems a bit too happy right now.

    “One thing that was also exciting for this show is that, despite being set at a time when we might not expect to see really any Jedi, we do see Kanan with a lightsaber.”

    Case-in-point.

    “We try to make all of these fights not just about combat or swords; it’s about a character driven moment that tells the audience something about where we’re going.”

    Well, at least this part seems very promising.

    • May 10, 2014 at 1:38 pm
      Permalink

      You can’t deny the fact that Stormtroopers can’t really shoot at anything. And the Clone troopers didn’t talk about BT-16s when at work.

    • May 10, 2014 at 5:20 pm
      Permalink

      I have no problem with stormtroopers not being able to hit targets most of the time. It’s the same thing as when henchmen shoot at Indiana Jones and so many other action movies. I don’t need an in-universe explanation to justify their crap shooting.

      Unless their weapons were set to stun, a shot could easily prove fatal, the exception being when Leia was hit in the shoulder. Still, they kept our heroes on their toes, so I wasn’t bored with them.

    • May 11, 2014 at 2:50 am
      Permalink

      If you watched The Clone Wars then you’ll know that Filoni is very good at making Star Wars. The first few seasons were kinda meh, but as it went on it got better. The final episode of season 5 made me say, “whoa” and made me more excited for Star Wars than any of the prequel movies did. And now Filoni has all that experience behind him. As long as Disney doesn’t soften it too much it’ll be good.

    • May 11, 2014 at 3:20 am
      Permalink

      I’ve watched several episodes from Season 6. I agree that The Clone Wars is much better than the Prequel Trilogy, but it still doesn’t feel like the classic Star Wars I fell in love with. Even Empire was a lot of fun throughout.

    • May 12, 2014 at 1:18 am
      Permalink

      Season 6 wasn’t even that good. Just a bunch of random episodes from an incomplete season…although the one on the salt flat planet was awesome.

  • May 10, 2014 at 11:06 am
    Permalink

    The more they explore, the more they add, the more they change.

    • May 10, 2014 at 2:09 pm
      Permalink

      To a certain point of view. What is changing is either the eu, or the ideas that we have come up with.

    • May 10, 2014 at 5:16 pm
      Permalink

      I’m fine with the EU changing, but I don’t like how my perception of the years between III and IV are changing because of a kid’s show. I’m not saying I want The Clone Wars’ dark tone and maturity, but this is supposed to be a serious period.

  • May 10, 2014 at 2:39 pm
    Permalink

    “only imperial storm troopers are so precise”

    I think I just discovered that the OT is my religion.

  • May 10, 2014 at 3:11 pm
    Permalink

    I’m excited to watch this show. Looks awesome.

  • May 10, 2014 at 3:20 pm
    Permalink

    Is it me or does this Kinberg fellow sound like a ten-year-old?

    • May 10, 2014 at 4:07 pm
      Permalink

      No, but you sound like a jealous eight year old. Moooomy, Simon won’t let me pway with the wookiee!

    • May 10, 2014 at 4:39 pm
      Permalink

      Are you really that immature?

    • May 11, 2014 at 7:22 am
      Permalink

      What do Wookies have to do with my comment? How do you know, maybe I hate them with a passion? Also, you seem to refer to a specific Wookie; a friend of yours, or simply part of your sexual fantasy?

    • May 11, 2014 at 6:03 pm
      Permalink

      its just you

  • May 10, 2014 at 6:10 pm
    Permalink

    Not gonna watch this show. I need at least one untarnished legendary time period in my Star Wars. Stories set before Ep IV should be about a mighty oppressing Empire at its height, Darth Vader hunting down the remaining Jedi Knights, and not some silly Warcraft characters and an alien Imperial sith-a-like goofing around. It is a time, a dark time, which Obi-Wan remembers with sorrow. When the galaxy lost its freedom to the Emperor, his bureaucrats and, yes, his Stormtroopers. A shame they continue to make a joke of the legions with the coolest uniforms.

    • May 10, 2014 at 7:04 pm
      Permalink

      There is no getting around the fact that we see stormtroopers being terrible shots and even the best of them-according to the emperor– getting whipped by little teddy bears with sticks and stones.

    • May 11, 2014 at 3:10 am
      Permalink

      Both things are bad for Star Wars.

    • May 11, 2014 at 3:12 am
      Permalink

      That girl in Rebels who spray paints on the storm troopers. That’s like somebody spray painting a Nazi soldier back in the 1930s. I know Star Wars has always had its goofy moments, but can’t take this show seriously.

  • May 10, 2014 at 7:46 pm
    Permalink

    First scene in ANH, stormtroopers lose a single man capturing a chokepoint from Rebel troopers.

    They just have the bad fortune to keep shooting at people who have destinies. Of course they miss, if they hit the movie would be over. Quantum immortality at work.

    • May 10, 2014 at 10:12 pm
      Permalink

      Now that’s thinking like a writer instead of an obsessed fan who believes this stuff is real.

  • May 11, 2014 at 3:11 am
    Permalink

    I am sort of torn on the all stormtroopers are not precise concept. Reason being (and I know that the EU is no longer canon) thus far it is not very clear as to if, whether or not, Han Solo is still going to use aspects from the EU as his background such as Corellia, or even that he was once an Imperial stormtrooper. If the latter were still to be believed, then Filoni is basically saying that Han sucks at shooting as well… and that is just plain wrong. Unless of course Han got better immediately after he quit the academy because he escaped their apparent can’t hit an R2 unit in a naked hallway cursed luck? Dunno… dunno.

    They also kind of tweaked Obi-Wan’s perspective with the ‘only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise’ line, but seeing as how Lucas did this with the entire original trilogy – shifting stories, yet still making it work until of course he shifted stories so much he could no longer make it work *cough* DVD/Blu-ray Special Editions *cough* – I think that is more in sync with his style, and therefore more credible.

    • May 11, 2014 at 9:47 am
      Permalink

      Yeah, what it comes down to is an aspect of careless writing that has cursed the franchise from the beginning; second hand characters, especially the stormtroopers, are treated like tools for the plot rather then people with skills and training wearing battle armor. It’s one reason ROTJ always felt so bitter sweet to me (leaning more toward bitter). But on the upside, when the writers of this show need them to be precise and accurate, they will be.

Comments are closed.

LATEST POSTS ON MOVIE NEWS NET