Star Wars Episode VII News, Photos, Rumors and Updates: New Animated Show May Give Fans Hints on What's to Come

By Ken Salcedo Sep 12, 2014 05:41 AM EDT

Star Wars Episode VII News, Photos, Rumors and Updates: New Animated Show May Give Fans Hints on What's to Come

Entertainment Weekly reports that the upcoming animated series, Star Wars: Rebels, may feature elements for the upcoming Star Wars Episode 7.

The report hints that some of the locations, characters and technology from Episode VII may make their debut as early as this coming fall. 'Rebels,' the Star Wars animated series is also under Disney, much like Episode 7. The creative process of both the show and the upcoming films have been confirmed to be a canon. This might be Disney's attempt to make sure everything sticks together perfectly. "It's a very integrated process; there's real communication between all the filmmakers because we're all part of a larger timeline," creative consultant for Episode 7 and executive producer of Rebels Simon Kinberg explained to EW. "There is absolutely communication and integration between the different stories. We are very aware of what they're doing in VII, and we also have to click into place with Episode IV."

"There are characters, vehicles, imagery that are introduced on the show before we've ever seen them in the movies, possibly including VII," Kinberg also added.

It's been speculated by fans and other websites that Rebels will feature the villain, The Inquisitor; that will be somewhat an introduction to the main villain, or villains, for Episode 7. They have suggested that the villains will be a group of Inquisitors trying to get the Sith back to battle the Jedi and restore the Galactic Empire that was established by the Emperor. With the confirmation that Rebels will be a canon not only to the upcoming films but also to Episodes IV, V and VI, then it's, probably, a safe bet to assume anything right now until J.J. Abrams or any of the producers of the films confirms everyone's hunches.

Star Wars Episode VII is set to be released on December 18, 2015, and Star Wars: Rebels will premiere on October 3, 2014, on Disney XD.