Star Wars Rebels is set to fill the animation gap left wide open by the cancellation of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which ended abruptly without closure for its fans.

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Perhaps what’s more infuriating for the fans is that The Clone Wars was stopped in motion due to the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII, directed by J.J Abrams. They’ll be wondering how Disney have time to work on a totally new series, rather than continue an established one. Earlier this year, Simon Kinberg – writer of one of the upcoming Star Wars Spin-off films, spoke to The L.A Times’ Hero Complex. “I’ve worked in franchises where they have a long legacy, like the X-Men, or like Sherlock Holmes even, where you have a big fan base, and you have a lot of material to draw from. But I haven’t worked in anything like ‘Star Wars.’ It’s definitely like the cultural referent for our generation. So it’s daunting and exciting,” he explained. Rebels will be set in the two decades between Episode III and Episode IV, and will follow the adventures of the Rebel Alliance as they attempt to escape the the Empire.

Greg Weisman and Dave Filoni will return as executive producers; Filoni filling a similar role to that of his Clone Wars work, which should appease some fans. What’s more, the new series will be produced by Lucasfilm Animation, so fans of The Clone Wars can expect something similar to their favourite sci-fi animation.

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