Production has begun on Star Wars Rebels, an exciting, all-new animated television series based on one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time.  Scheduled to premiere in fall 2014 as a one-hour special telecast on Disney Channel, it will be followed by a series on Disney XD channels around the world.

Leading the development of the series is a creative team of exceptional talent. Screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) is an executive producer on Star Wars Rebels and will write the premiere episode. He is joined by Dave Filoni as executive producer, who served as supervising director of the ®Emmy nominated Star Wars: The Clone Wars since 2008. Executive producer Greg Weisman brings with him a wealth of animation experience with credits such as Young Justice, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Gargoyles.

Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Channels Worldwide, said, “The entire team at Lucasfilm has provided extraordinary creativity and innovation for over three decades, and we’re thrilled to be bringing the expansive and imaginative world of Star Wars to Disney XD’s viewers.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to explore new corners of the Star Wars universe,” said Kathleen Kennedy, president, Lucasfilm. “I think Star Wars Rebels will capture the look, feel and fun that both kids and their parents love about Star Wars.”

The action-filled series is set between the events of Episode III and IV – an era spanning almost two decades never-before explored on-screen. Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape. Details about the show are a closely guarded secret at this point.

Star Wars Rebels will be produced by Lucasfilm Animation, featuring many of the key talents that made Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Fans attending Star Wars Celebration Europe (http://www.starwarscelebration.eu/) will be the first to get an exclusive look at the new series. Casting will be announced at a later date. More information about this developing project will be found on www.StarWars.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/starwarsrebels.

Honestly, I’m pretty excited that this is set in-between the Prequels and the Original Trilogy. One, it allows them to continue story threads started in Clone Wars (I see no reason why Ahsoka, Asajj Ventress, Darth Maul, and  Mother Talzin couldn’t show up). And also, it’ll be pretty awesome to see things that are even closer to the Original Trilogy Era. While a post-Return of the Jedi series would be cool, I’m sure we’ll probably get one at some point after the Sequel Trilogy.

“It’s a little too soon to know exactly what’s in store but I’m excited, absolutely, to get to work on another prestigious sci-fi series.”

There’s not much else in the way of news other than he just signed on, but still give the story a read.

“We’ve devoted serious time and attention to revisiting the origins of Star Wars as inspiration for our process on the new movie, and I’m thrilled that returning to the UK for production and utilizing the incredible talent there can be a part of that,” said Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm.

The interiors of the Original Trilogy and The Phantom Menace shot in Britain, but when it came to Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, the majority of those productions were filmed in Australia, with just a bit filmed in the UK. Coupled with word that ILM may be considering a London-based office, this is really no surprise.

• Bad Robot’s Bryan Burk, who is serving as one of the producers for EPISODE VII, has indicated that they are on track to begin shooting that film in early 2014. (via Collider)
• Mark Hamill has confirmed that Carrie Fisher is returning for EPISODE VII, while admitting that he has had one creative meeting with Kathleen Kennedy in which he expressed his desire to have less CGI and more practical effects in the film. (via Ain’t It Cool)
• EA has acquired the licensing rights from Disney to create STAR WARS video games. They are interested in fans expressing what they would like to see on Twitter with the tags @EA_DICE @VisceralGames @BioWare and #starwarsnextgen. I have already requested a Terraria-like STAR WARS game featuring the Ewoks and utilizing material from the old cartoon, the TV movies, and of course, Return of the Jedi. (via IGN)
• Dave Filoni posted a piece of artwork on his Facebook that appears to be an incomplete TIE Fighter suspended from a crane, along with the heading, “It’s hard to believe that I have worked at Lucasfilm almost eight years, and this is the first time I have ever gotten to draw a TIE fighter.” Speculation are that it’s for the new animated series, though whether it’s a TIE being built sometime between the Prequels and Original Trilogy or being demolished following Return of the Jedi is anybody’s guess (my money’s on the latter). (via IGN)
• Lucasfilm has registered new domains. They are: gunganfrontier2.com, gunganfrontier3.com, gunganfrontier4.com, order67.net, starwarsalliance.com, starwarsrebels.com, starwarswolfpack.com, wolfpackadventures.net, and wookieehunter.com. There’s no news whether these are for new television, video game, or other media projects, though Gungan Frontier was an educational game released around the time of The Phantom Menace. (via IGN)
• Sky Movies has a  video where notorious Prequel detractor and the voice of Dengar on Clone Wars, Simon Pegg interviews EPISODE VII director JJ Abrams about STAR WARS.

• JJ Abrams says that he expects John Williams will be back to score EPISODE VII (via TrekMovie.com)
• One of the “bonus content” arcs of The Clone Wars will involve the mystery of Sifo Dyas according to supervising director Dave Filoni (via USA Today and Dave Filoni’s Facebook Page)

And here’s a new clip from the upcoming Clone Wars bonus content:

In case you hadn’t heard, about a week ago, a user on the IMDB message boards claiming to be a former Lucasfilm employee posted a few pages that appear to be from a series bible for a new STAR WARS animated series set after Return of the Jedi and meant as a prequel for Episode VII. He claims it was green lit in January, then placed on hold with the recent round of layoffs. If true, it certainly is intriguing as the material seems to ignore much of the Expanded Universe material over the years while remaining consistent with the recent Clone Wars series. Personally, I feel that it’s fake simply because Lucasfilm and Disney haven’t raised a stink and demanded that it be removed. But at this point, with no good news following the announcements of the Clone Wars ending and the LucasArts shutdown, fans are grasping at anything to speculate about.

SOURCE: Big Shiny Robot