Star Wars Celebration 2017: Rebels season 4 will be its final season

The panel also revealed that Warwick Davis will join the cast as Rukh, Thrawn's bodyguard

Fans packed into the hall at Star Wars Celebration to get a sneak peak of season 4 of Star Wars Rebels, the animated take on the franchise that’s grown an intense following and legions of hardcore fans thanks to its complex, engaging original characters and ties to the films.

However, executive producer Dave Filoni – amongst all the hints and teases – had something of a bittersweet announcement for the crowd: Star Wars Rebels will end with the upcoming season 4, airing this fall.

“This show represents by no means an end in what we’re doing in animation,” Filoni added; with actor Tiya Sircar (who voices Sabine Wren) later telling journalists, “We told the story we’ve wanted to tell, and we’ve gotten to end it on our own terms.”

Season 4 will certainly see the show’s timeline inch ever closer to the beginning of A New Hope, with Filoni explaining that the season’s art style will come increasingly to fall in line with the gritty, drab colour scheme of both A New Hope and Rogue One.

And, though the end is nigh, that won’t mean Rebels doesn’t have a few new surprises up its sleeves. Star Wars veteran Warwick Davis will join the cast as Rukh, Thrawn’s assassin bodyguard, with Forest Whitaker also returning to voice Saw Gerrera, with Rogue One’s Two Tubes turning up as his co-pilot.

Furthermore, Mon Mothma will also make her return, voiced by Genevieve O'Reilly, with Filoni hinting, “You might see Mon Mothma get pretty fiery for once.”

Expect plenty more Star Wars news as Star Wars Celebration takes place in Orlando from 13 - 16 April.