Ever since ‘Star Wars Rebels‘ kicked off, you felt that it would be impossible for Kanan and Ezra to survive with how important Luke Skywalker was in “A New Hope” and now we’ve learned that Freddie Prinze Jr. was pushing for Kanan’s fate because he felt the same way. The ex-Jedi who was to teach Ezra Bridger in the ways of the Force fearlessly sacrificed himself in the fourth season to save his friends, student, and the love of his life. Now, we’ve learned from showrunner Dave Filoni that the voice actor was pushing for just this outcome.
Filoni shared the details at the ‘Star Wars Rebels’ panel by saying:
“And I have to give Freddie a lot of credit because he really kept me on track with this throughout the whole series because he was adamant about Kanan needing to go. Even at a point when I was like, ‘Man, Freddie this is depressing.’ He was like, ‘No, man, you gotta do it. You have to make it happen.’ I was like, ‘Okay. I guess I will.’ I was very sad. It was very moving.”
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Filoni had found a way to prevent Bridger from having to die, and it sounded as if he was looking to have a way to keep Kanan alive as well. Sadly that didn’t happen, but it would have been a stretch to see another Jedi running around. Vanessa Marshall who played Hera and Kanan’s true love also shared that they didn’t even learn he was going to be gone until they went to record the episode that would air after his death:
“It was powerful, and I think we all felt it. I know Dave sat us down one day before we started to record to kind of fill us in on this… We were like, ‘Where’s Freddie?’ It was kind of a dark day. But much like the show chose to deal with that in the middle of the season, I think it showed us and all the Star Wars family, that we all have to process these rites of passage. We all lose loved ones, and that together we can heal through them. And just as we watched the Rebels group grow and somehow reclaim that hope, I think that we had a similar journey where we were really bummed out about it. Again, trying not to take it personally when we found out he was campaigning for it. Like, what? [laughs] We were all praying we didn’t die. ‘Please don’t kill me, please don’t kill me.’ Like, are we gonna make it? We didn’t know. But anyway, Freddie wanted to leave. [laughs] But by the end of it, I think it also when we got to see [Hera’s] regret, I think it showed all of us how important it is that we let people know how much we love them, because we have no guarantees, and I think that’s also another very important lesson that this season’s arc gave us. We all got to go through that together, so ultimately yes, it hurt, but at the end of the day, it was well worth it. I think it impacted us in our real lives as well.”
I felt they gave an excellent way for the character to go out by living the ideals he had once again found from being a Jedi.
Did you feel that Kanan had to die in ‘Star Wars Rebels’? Are you glad that Freddie Prinze Jr. pushed for this to happen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Cinema Blend
