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Dave Filoni took the stage of Star Wars Celebration Europe in Essen, Germany to discuss the new animated TV series coming in 2014 called Star Wars Rebels. He received a standing ovation from the crowd! Here are the highlights from the panel:

• "I'm here for you guys and everybody at Lucasfilm is"
• They’re trying to figure out the best way to bring out the remaining episodes of The Clone Wars (Bonus Content)
• “I’m just swamped on Rebels and very glad” — Greg Weisman via video
• “I am super, super excited to be working on the Rebels show and to be working on the movies, as well.” – Simon Kinberg via video
• Simon Kinberg says writing Star Wars scripts is one of the most exciting things he's ever done
• Star Wars Rebels will be visually different from The Clone Wars - Will have a Ralph McQuarrie heavy influence
• "We created a set of digital brushes that replicate Ralph's painting style."
• “We wanted to create a look for this part of Star Wars that precedes A New Hope by just a little bit.” 
• Some inspiration for Rebels was taken from movie Tangled
• "We're working as fast as possible" to animate the episodes - They're not yet at the test animation stage
• Working hard so aesthetics match original films
• Provided images of astromech and protocol droid concept art and a silhouette of a stormtrooper
• Dave Filoni shows Star Destroyer concept art and gets lots of applause
• "When you realize it's going to be up on screen again, you go, 'Oh my gosh. I haven't seen that in a long time!'"
• Filoni showing stormtrooper art that is subtly different
• Adding in A New Hope details that were lost in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi
• Shows concept art of a TIE Fighter - Small changes - the panels are much smaller than traditional TIE Fighter - looks a lot like the vintage toy from Kenner
• Concept art of a new Rebel ship called 'The Ghost'
• Dave Filoni unveiled the official Star Wars Rebels logo, and throws some T-shirts with the logo into the crowd
• "When I make something you like, I'll make it as long as I can"
• They're planning on telling a linear story, not telling stories out of order like they did on The Clone Wars
• "We'll have new characters and we'll probably have some characters that you do know"
• Dave Filoni hints at potential for Clone Wars characters being included in Rebels - “I love all Star Wars characters, especially the ones I created.”

It was a great panel with the official logo and lots of art being displayed. I think this show is going to truly be great!

Click on the images for a larger picture

During the panel Gerald discussed the international fan group called SWORA (Star Wars Outer Rim Alliance), which prospered briefly from 2007 through to 2008 with a core group of 8 members. Galactic Voyage was a proud member SWORA and hopes to be again in the near future. Gerald showed the logo, explaining the origins of both the design and the name of the group.

The launch of a new SWORA was announced and can be found at www.swora.info and on Facebook at Facebook.com/theswora. SWORA's goal is to bring together as many groups and fans (websites, groups, and individuals can now join) to discuss and celebrate their love of Star Wars. Be sure to read the entire article written by our good friend Mark Newbold at the Official Star Wars Blog.

• “[Shepherding Star Wars] is a daunting proposition and I can’t do this without every single one of you out there…It means a great deal to us and I see it means a great deal to you, and that’s something that we want to protect.”
• “We discuss dedication of fans every single day when we discuss the story”- Episode VII
• "I love reading a script and thinking oh my god how are we going to film that?"
• The question came up of balancing effect versus CGI. Kathleen says "We will use every tool in the toolbox"
• Kathleen promises lots of really cool locations and models for Episode VII
• “This is a huge responsibility and we’re all taking that really seriously.”
• “George kept saying Episode VII must be aspirational, fun, and have a sense of humor.”
• “We know that if we don’t have great stories and great characters, then effects mean nothing.”
• Audience questions via Twitter: What have you learned about Star Wars fans? “They control everything. We’re in service to you.”
• Almost everyday they are having lengthy story discussion with with writing team at Bad Robot
• Having Kasden (and his experience and knowledge) in writing meetings has been fantastic
• Kathleen confirms that John Williams had committed to Episode VII-IX

The panel was not what we had hoped for in the way of Episode VII news, but like Celebration 6, they may save the bombshell for the last day in closing the event. Let's hope we get a little more news.

• Dave Filoni described a rejected story concept for how The Clone Wars would tie into Revenge of the Sith, but it Was ultimately rejected by George Lucas
• There was going to be a Yoda/Wookiees arc
• There was an Asajj Ventress story that was going to get "very dramatic"
• Pablo Hidalgo said that elements from live-action series have been hinted at since season 2 of The Clone Wars
• Pablo Hidalgo also stressed that even though we may not see some stories in The Clone Wars episodes, they may show up in another film
• They provided a look at concept art of a Sith temple from the "Bonus Content"
• Dave Filoni hints that the Sith temple is from Yoda arc which will be in the " Bonus Content"
• Former Chancellor Valorum to appear in the "Bonus Content"
• Cad Bane's ship to appear in the "Bonus Content"
• They will be going to Tatooine and Tusken Raiders will be involved
• Pablo Hidalgo said they are still working on how to distribute "Bonus Content" and it may be outside the box. It could also include some unfinished animation
• Dave Filoni stated that Yoda and Anakin have a more personal connection
• Dave Filoni stated that there is a scene that deals with the repercussions of the end of season 5. He is unsure of whether or not it will be seen
• Dave Filoni had suggested they wrap up the series during the Revenge of the Sith timeline so the audience would see what other characters were doing during the film
• Dave Filoni stated that there is lots of clone action coming up, but probably not Republic Commandos
• There are 2 Director's Cut episodes on the Blu-ray