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'Star Wars Rebels' season 3 spoilers news: Saw Gerrera from 'Rogue One' returns

Kaye Garcia December 31, 2016 06:55 AM EST

The 11th season of "Star Wars Rebels" did not air before Christmas, but Lucasfilm has announced that character Saw Gerrera from the box office hit "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" will make an appearance when the series resumes airing on Disney XD in January 2017.

Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera in \"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story\" | Star Wars website

In an official featurette teasing what to expect when "Star Wars Rebels" returns after the holidays, the crew of the Ghost will cross paths with guerilla fighter Saw Gerrera.

The character Saw Gerrera was created by George Lucas himself. He first appeared in the TV series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," which aired from 2008 to 2015. He was trained by Jedis Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano and became one of the key members of the Rebel Alliance, an organization made up of different groups that aim to take down the Empire.

In an interview with Pablo Hidalgo of Lucasfilm's Story Group, it was revealed that Lucas originally created the character for a planned live-action TV series which never materialized. Instead, the character was repurposed for "Clone Wars."

Saw Gerrera is the first animated "Star Wars" series character to be adapted into a live-action "Star Wars" film. As "Rogue One" is set several years after "Star Wars Rebels," the latter will feature a younger and healthier version of Saw Gerrera.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "Rebels" executive producer David Filoni shared about the character, "He's not quite as beat up as you see him [in Rogue One]." He added, "I never wanted to go into a lengthy thing about this is how Saw lost his foot. It's more about his philosophy and who he is and what he thinks about the Rebellion â€” and how they go about resisting the Empire."

Academy Award winner Forest Witaker, who played the character in "Rogue One," will also be the voice behind the character in the animated series.

Saw Gerrera will debut on "Star Wars Rebels" in the "Ghost of Geonosis" episode, a two-part special that will air starting Jan. 7, 2017 at 8:30 p.m. EST.

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