The fates of Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn have been revealed.Star Wars Rebelshas officially wrapped up its four-season run and, unlike withStar Wars: The Clone Wars, Dave Filoni got to finish up this series his way. Though, that doesn’t mean he seamlessly tied up every single loose end. Fortunately, he’s here to answer some burning questions. But in his own way, which can be a little frustrating. Though, in this case, it’s at least definitive enough to settle debate amongst theStar Warsfanbase.
Warning: spoilers ahead for theStar Wars Rebels series finale. At the end of the very last episode, Ezra decided to surrender himself toThrawnin order to save his homeworld of Lothal. However, Thrawn wasn’t anticipating the surprise attack from the Purrgil. Thrawn wound up entangled with the beasts on the bridge of his Star Destroyer, with Ezra ensuring that he didn’t escape before the creatures could blast off into hyperspace. While their survival seemed improbable, it wasn’t definitive as to whether or not the young Jedi and the master Imperial strategist died.Dave Filonicleared it up during an interview on theStar Wars Show. Here’s what he had to say about it.
“I felt a lot about that… It’s one of those things that you go “oh boy I love the idea of an end credits scenes” but as tempting as that is but I go “well if I cover that, then I want to do it right” and I don’t want to commit to things right now because things might change. So I have a lot of theories about it and what I think happens and where they are. I’ll say this much, they’re not dead. Both of them survive, bothEzraand Thrawn I would say survive it.”
Thrawn was brought back into thenew canonviaStar Wars Rebels, having first appeared in Timothy Zahn’sHeir to the Empiretrilogy of novels in the 90s. While he was a great addition to the series, killing him off would have felt like wasted potential, so it’s great to know that he survived. As for Ezra? It’s unclear how his arc will continue, as Sabine and Ahsoka Tano ended the series by heading off together to go look for Ezra after the events ofReturn of the Jedi. In a separate interview with EW, Dave Filoni also talked about how the ending ofStar Wars Rebelswas both an end and a beginning of sorts.
“I’ve always felt the best stories end and then other stories begin, and there’s no better way to take two of my favorite characters and have them ride off into the sunset, like I’ve seen so many cowboys over the years, or Indiana Jones. One thing ends and another begins, and the story continues. That’s a saga.”
The end ofStar Wars Rebelscompletely satisfied the story that was being told, but also leaves open a lot of possibilities for further storytelling in the universe. Especially considering that we know Thrawn and Ezra are both alive. We’ll have to see what Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm have in store for them, but you can bet they’ll be showing up again at some point or another. For more with Dave Filoni, you can check out the latest episode of theStar Wars Showbelow, or his full interview withEntertainment Weekly.
