Over the last few decades, theStar Warsfranchise has significantly expanded its presence in animation. Much of this expansion has been through shows with Dave Filoni at the helm, beginning withThe Clone Warsin 2008. Since then, and with the introduction of Disney+ as a new home,Star Warshas also produced numerous animated series ranging fromThe Bad BatchtoTales of the JediandStar Wars Visions.
After Disney purchased Lucasfilm in the early 2010s, the first new animated series to be produced wasStar Wars Rebels, a follow-up of sorts toThe Clone Wars, set in the years leading up to the originalStar Warsfilm,Episode IV – A New Hope.
Star Wars Rebels
Crazy as it may be,Rebelsis celebrating the 10th anniversary of its debut in 2024. The pilot episode first aired on Disney+ on Aug 04, 2025. The show then ran for four seasons before its series finale in early 2018.Rebelsadded a lot more depth to the canonical lore of theStar Warsgalaxy by introducing all sorts of strange and cosmic aspects to the franchise, including the ethereal World Between Worlds as well as the strange hyperspace-jumping whales called Purrgil.
While most of the dangling storylines left at the end ofRebelshave been picked up in new live-action shows such asAhsokaandThe Mandalorian, there are a handful that are still up in the air. Here are five specific storylines fromStar Wars Rebelsthat fans are still waiting to get closer to.
Stream on Disney+
5What Happened to the Bendu?
The Bendu was a strange force-sensitive being that played a significant role in the training of Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger in the third season ofRebels. The gargantuan entity (voiced byDoctor Who’s Tom Baker) made his home on the planet of Atollon, where the Rebels established their secret base for a time. He was an immensely powerful force user, though he refused to identify with either the creed of the Jedi or the Sith.
He considered himselfa representation of the middle, the balance that kept the universe together. By the end of the third season, the Bendu had grown angry with Kanan and the Rebellion for drawing the evils of the Empire to his home, and he used his immense power to decimate both the Rebellion and the Empire’s fleets. Ultimately, the Bendu was shot down by Grand Admiral Thrawn, to whom the Bendu gave a grave prophecy before disappearing entirely.
The Bendu Could Return in the Second Season of Ahsoka
The disappearance of the Bendu was unlike the deaths of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. Instead of passing on and becoming one with the Force, it more so felt like the Bendu had willed himself into another state of being rather than dying outright. It felt as if the Bendu had continued to live on elsewhere in the universe. He did not return in the fourth season ofRebels, so this ending to the character has fueled endless speculation from fans.
If the Bendu is going to appear again, the most likely place would be in the second season ofAhsoka. That show has already delved into the mysterious and mystical sides of the Force on more than one occasion, and the depiction of the Mortis Gods in giant statues during the first season’s finale indicates that this trend will continue as the series moves forward, providing the perfect opportunity to bring back the Bendu.
4Where Was Ahsoka During Seasons 3 and 4?
Speaking of Ahsoka Tano, the former apprentice of Anakin Skywalker played a significant role in the first two seasons ofRebels, before showing up in a key capacity toward the end ofRebels’ final season. At the end of the second season, she came face-to-face with Darth Vader in a duel that appeared to claim her life. However, the end of the fourth season showed Ahsoka being saved from this fate by Ezra Bridger, who used the World Between Worlds to pull her out of that moment in time.
After their ensuing adventure, Ahsoka returned to her place in theStar Warstimeline, picking up shortly after her duel with Vader. This established that she was still alive and active immediately following the end ofRebels’ second season, yet she apparently never sought out theRebelscrew or interacted with them at all in the following years, considering her overall absence from the third and fourth seasons.
We Might Never Get the Answer
The mystery of where Ahsoka was during the final two seasons ofRebels, and even the entire originalStar Warstrilogy for that matter, is a question that is becoming decreasingly likely to receive an answer as more time passes. If this question was going to be answered, it would’ve been in the first season ofAhsoka, where it sort of was but not entirely. The show revealed that she hadtaken Sabine Wren as an apprenticeand began training her, likely during the events of the original trilogy, but it never addressed where she was during the last two seasons ofRebels.
When she returned to her place in the timeline, she was on the planet Malachor, which was a desolate and lifeless planet that was rarely visited. One possible answer is that she was just stuck there in isolation for a few years, searching for a way off the planet, while the Rebels believed her to be dead.
Related:Star Wars: How to Watch Ahsoka’s Journey in Order
3Why Was Darth Maul on Malachor?
If Ahsoka was stranded on Malachor during the events of the third and fourth seasons ofRebels, she wouldn’t have been the first person to be stuck there. When our heroes reach the planet at the end of the second season, they come face-to-face with someone they did not expect – Darth Maul, the former apprentice of Darth Sidious. He traveled to Malachor in search of a Sith holocron, but he says he was stranded there when his ship crashed, and he could not enter the Sith Temple alone. It’s unclear how long Maul had been stuck on Malachor, however, it could have easily been a long while.
Maul’s last known whereabouts in theStar Warstimeline were seen inSolo: A Star Wars Story,which took place about seven years prior to the season two finale ofRebels. The end ofSolodepicted Maul as the leader ofthe crime syndicate Crimson Dawnduring the reign of the Empire, recruiting Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra to his cause. So the question is: how did Maul go from one of the most notorious crime bosses in the galaxy to a hermit stuck in isolation on a deserted planet?
A Follow-Up to Solo Could’ve Resolved This
This was likely never intended to be an unanswered question. Maul’s inclusion at the end ofSolowas clearly meant as a set-up for a sequel or continuation of the story in some manner. However, that film’s box office failure meant that the planned story was never told. While some more details have been unveiled in theStar Warscomics and novels, it’s still not entirely clear why Maul either abandoned or was stripped of his power in the criminal underworld before he went searching for this specific Sith holocron. Maul was eventually tracked down by a group of Inquisitors, who happened to arrive on Malachor at the same time as theRebelscrew, leading to the conflict of the season two finale, Maul’s escape, and his subsequent hunt for Obi-Wan Kenobi in season three.
2Why Did the Empire Stop Using Inquisitors?
The season two finale is often considered to be some of the bestStar Wars Rebelsmaterial out there, as it features the return of Maul, the duel between Anakin and Ahsoka and numerous other key moments, such as the blinding of Kanan Jarrus. However, one of the aspects of it that is discussed less often is it’s the last real instance of the Inquisitors being active in the series.
After the primary villains of the first two seasons were Inquisitors, it was strange how the Inquisitorious was abandoned almost entirely without a word for the following two seasons. By the time of the original trilogy, it seems the Empire had shut down the practice of using Inquisitors entirely, as evidenced by Grand Moff Tarkin’s dismissal of Darth Vader by saying, “You, my friend, are all that’s left of [the Jedi] religion.”
Star Wars Rebels Shifted Directions
There’s one clear reason why the Inquisitors were not the central antagonists of the latter seasons ofRebels, and that’s because the role was being fulfilled by Grand Admiral Thrawn –the fan-favorite Chiss commanderwho was debuting in the newStar Warscanon for the first time. Nearly all the attention and effort surrounding the villains ofRebelswas shifted to focusing on Thrawn, leaving no room for any Inquisitors. While it was still strange to see the Inquisitorious disappear from the series without much of a trace, it wasn’t entirely without reason.
The Inquisitors have gone on to appear in other series, such asTales of the Jedi,Obi-Wan KenobiandAhsoka, as well as the video gamesJedi: Fallen OrderandSurvivor, so perhaps we’ll get an official explanation for why the Empire seemingly stopped using them at some point.
Related:Star Wars: 6 Reasons Why the Franchise Needs a Luke Skywalker Animated Series
1What Was Up With Kanan and the Loth-Wolves?
Finally, of the many mysteries within the final season ofRebels, one of the biggest is the strange relationship that is present between Kanan and the mystical Loth-wolves on the planet Lothal. Nearly all of the final season ofRebelsis set on Lothal, the home planet of Ezra Bridger, which is also the home to a handful of mysterious connections to the Force. One of the most notable are the Loth-wolves, the giant sentient wolves that have a deep relationship with the Force and assist the Rebels on numerous occasions.
The Loth-wolves specifically have a keen interest in Kanan Jarrus, as they repeat the word “Dume” throughout the season – alluding to Kanan’s real name, Caleb Dume. After Kanan’s death, Ezra is drawn out by the Loth-wolves, who provoke a vision in the young Jedi. In the vision, Ezra is confronted by a much larger Loth-wolf named Dume, who is implied to be a spiritual manifestation of his former master.
Caleb Dume’s Cosmic Purpose Has Sparked Countless Theories
This deep connection between Kanan and the Loth-wolves is never overtly explained, and it is left primarily to be a mystery in the minds of fans. There are countless theories that would explain the connection, many of which center on cave paintings in Lothal that appear to prophecy some sort of Jedi savior for the planet. Whatever the purpose of Kanan’s fate with the Loth-wolves is, it’s likely we’ll never get a clear explanation at this point. Kanan’s arc inStar Warshas come to an end, and his influence lives on with theRebelscrew, including Hera and their son Jacen, in the live-actionAhsokaseries.
