| "Twin Suns" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wars Rebels episode | |||
 | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 3 Episode 20 | ||
| Directed by | Dave Filoni | ||
| Written by |
| ||
| Production code | 320 | ||
| Original air date | March 18, 2017 (2017-03-18) | ||
| Running time | 21 minutes | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Twin Suns" is the twentieth episode of thethird season of the American3D animatedscience fiction television seriesStar Wars Rebels. The episode was written and directed by series creatorDave Filoni, with co-executive producerHenry Gilroy serving as co-writer. The episode originally aired in the United States on March 18, 2017, onDisney XD.
The series takes place five years before theoriginalStar Wars film, when theGalactic Empire is hunting down the last of theJedi while a fledglingrebellion against the Empire is emerging. It follows a small band of Rebels who conduct covert operations on various imperial-controlled planets. In this episode,Ezra Bridger (voiced byTaylor Gray) travels to the desert planet of Tatooine to findObi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi (voiced byStephen Stanton), who he believes is being hunted byMaul (voiced bySam Witwer). Maul eventually finds Kenobi, and the two face off in alightsaber duel. The episode concludes a storyline between Kenobi and Maul that was first introduced inStar Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and expanded upon inStar Wars: The Clone Wars andStar Wars Rebels.
The meeting between Kenobi and Maul was first shown in a mid-season trailer in January 2017. Filoni was heavily involved in the creation of the episode, believing it would have major implications for all characters involved. Stephen Stanton, who also voicedAP-5 andTarkin inRebels, was cast to voice an older Ben Kenobi while Sam Witwer returned for his final performance as Maul on the show. In the United States, "Twin Suns" was viewed by approximately 400,000 viewers. The episode was well-received by critics, who praised its writing and Stanton's performance as Kenobi.
After receiving a holocron message,Ezra Bridger tells theGhost crew that they must go toTatooine to saveObi-Wan Kenobi fromMaul. The crew refuses, believing Kenobi died duringOrder 66 and that the message is a trap set by Maul. Ezra andChopper nonetheless sneak away and head to Tatooine, but their ship is destroyed byTusken Raiders soon after they arrive.
Guided by the holocron, Ezra and Chopper set off across the desert in search of Kenobi. After hours of aimless wandering, Chopper runs out of power and shuts down. Ezra is then haunted by visions of Maul, telling him that he failed his loved ones. Shortly afterward, Ezra passes out. Upon awakening, he finds that Kenobi has rescued him and Chopper. Ezra tries to warn Kenobi that Maul is after him and asks him to help therebellion. However, Kenobi refuses, saying that the rebellion already has what it needs to fight theEmpire. He also has no intention of fighting Maul, though he knows it is now inevitable.
As Maul finds the pair, Kenobi sends Ezra and Chopper to safety and faces off with Maul in alightsaber duel. After a period of tension, Maul strikes first but is quickly countered and defeated by Kenobi. Before Maul dies, Kenobi stays by his side and reveals to him that he is watching over whom he believes is theChosen One, with Maul's last words being, "He will avenge us".
Ezra and Chopper return to base on Maul's ship. Ezra tells the rebels that Maul is gone, and apologizes for sneaking away. The episode ends with Kenobi watching a youngLuke Skywalker at the Lars moisture farm from a distance.
.jpg)
"Twin Suns" was written and directed byStar Wars Rebels (2014-2018) creatorDave Filoni, and co-written by series co-executive producerHenry Gilroy.[1] Filoni was heavily involved in the creation of the episode on the belief that it would have major implications for all characters involved, includingEzra Bridger, the show's main protagonist. He personally storyboarded every scene beginning with Ezra's arrival on Tatooine, wanting to frame Ezra's quest to findObi-Wan Kenobi as a step along his path to becoming aJedi, which Filoni believes is "about selflessness and sacrificing to help others".[2] The episode's story was worked out as early as August 2015,[3] and its script was ready later that year. Design work finished by early 2016; character art from February 2016 was later uploaded to StarWars.com.[4]
Filoni had also directed the previousCartoon Network animated seriesStar Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2014), and felt a responsibility to endDarth Maul's story after bringing back the character in that series.[a] TheRebels production team consulted the Lucasfilm Story Group, which did not have any plans for Maul to appear in futureStar Wars media.[2] Maul's debut in thesecond season ofRebels was thus intended to be a one-off appearance; his death was to be at the hands ofDarth Vader, but the writers felt that the two characters lacked an emotional connection and that Maul's death would overcomplicate an already loaded episode withAhsoka Tano's confrontation with Vader. Maul continued to play a minor role in the third season, which Filoni decided would culminate in a meeting between Maul and Kenobi.[5]Pablo Hidalgo, a member of the Lucasfilm Story Group, said the creative team wanted to end Maul's story in animation to match the medium he was resurrected in. Plans for Maul's involvement in the galaxy's criminal underworld, as depicted in the live-action filmSolo: A Star Wars Story (2018), were left for the time period betweenThe Clone Wars andRebels.[6] Maul would be later considered to appear in theDisney+ miniseriesObi-Wan Kenobi (2022), but directorDeborah Chow chose to not use him under the rationale that Filoni did a "beautiful job" telling that story in "Twin Suns".[7]
The duel between Kenobi and Maul lasts for less than three seconds, ending with a decisive defeat for Maul.[8] The writers knew the decision would be controversial but decided to go against the expectation of a protracted duel in favor of emphasizing thetension behind it, which they believed would better convey the characters' growth. Co-writer Henry Gilroy described the prolonged tension as the two characters "playing [the duel] out in their head" by drawing from their previous encounters.[9] Furthermore, the episode drew inspiration from the filmSeven Samurai (1954) byAkira Kurosawa, whose films were cited as major inspirations byGeorge Lucas during the development of the originalStar Wars film (later known asStar Wars Episode IV– A New Hope, 1977).[10] Specifically, Filoni likened Kenobi to theSeven Samurai character Kyuzo, who avoids fighting, knowing the resulting battle would be swift.[2] He also compared the episode's duel to one in the film, where thesamurai "is moving with intention and grace," in contrast to his angry opponent, "who is moving his feet a lot and does not have a steady position".[11] This contrast is seen between Kenobi and Maul, and is meant to highlight the former's evolution from a "young brash kid that went into a fight with Maul" to an enlightened master only fighting to protect others, while depicting Maul as a mostlystatic character consumed by revenge.[2][12] Attention was also given to Kenobi's movements in the lead up to the duel, which again symbolized his evolution; he first takes up the pose of a young Obi-Wan, before switching to the one he uses against Darth Vader inA New Hope; reacting to Maul's movements, he shifts into his final pose, which is that of his former master,Qui-Gon Jinn.[13][14][15] This pose baits Maul into attacking Kenobi with the same move he used to kill Qui-Gon Jinn,[b] which Kenobi predicts and counters, resulting in Maul's defeat.[2] Overall, Filoni hoped the duel could represent one of the most important conflicts in theStar Wars saga, which was "the difference between the Jedi and theSith […] the Jedi become selfless and the Sith remain selfish".[2]
In the final scene of the episode, the silhouette of a youngLuke Skywalker is seen running around the Lars farm while Kenobi watches from a distance. Luke is depicted at the same age is Ezra, whose animation model was reused for the silhouette.[16] According to Filoni, the scene was partly based on his philosophy of "[looking] at every episode ofRebels as if you've never seenStar Wars before";[2] it would give new viewers some needed context as to who Kenobi was protecting while satisfying existing fans with a returning character to end off the story.[2] The scene also features the voice ofAunt Beru, played byShelagh Fraser inA New Hope, from the film's archival footage.[2]
The original cut of "Twin Suns" was 35 minutes; many scenes were subsequently removed to keep the story focused and to fit the show's 21-minute runtime. The episode originally featured a variety of visions and apparitions haunting Maul while on his journey, including appearances fromSatine Kryze andSavage Opress, one of Maul's victims and Maul's brother respectively, who last appeared inThe Clone Wars. However, even as Opress made it to the design phase, Filoni ultimately decided against the appearances, as they could confuse and alienate newStar Wars fans in an already lengthy episode. Hidalgo believed the "stripped down" episode served to strengthen its core story.[17]
Prior to the conception of "Twin Suns", the showrunners had expressed interest in havingEwan McGregor, who portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in theStar Wars prequel trilogy, reprise his role onRebels in a voice performance, as had been done withBilly Dee Williams asLando Calrissian,James Earl Jones asDarth Vader, andFrank Oz asYoda.[18] Ultimately,Stephen Stanton, who also voicedAP-5 andGrand Moff Tarkin on the show, was cast to voice an older Ben Kenobi by mimicking the character's portrayal byAlec Guinness in the original trilogy.[19] Stanton had previously voiced Kenobi for the 2005 video gameStar Wars: Battlefront II and subsequentStar Wars video games.[20] He was first considered for the role after a conversation with Filoni during a recording session. Stanton was discussing the possibility of Meebur Gascon, a character fromThe Clone Wars, appearing in the 2015 video gameDisney Infinity 3.0; he wanted to voice the character in addition to his role as Kenobi in the game. Filoni asked for his Kenobi voice, and co-starVanessa Marshall prompted Stanton to say Kenobi's line from aA New Hope describingMos Eisley as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy".[20] Filoni was impressed and invited Stanton to record test tracks for Kenobi, who was to appear in a yet-to-be-approvedRebels episode. A few weeks later, the episode was approved, and Stanton accepted the offer to voice Kenobi. In preparation for the role, Stanton studied archival footage of Guinness, along with his performances from the original trilogy; he later noted the importance of studying the evolution of Guinness' character across the three films as opposed to only looking atA New Hope.[20][21] The voice ofJames Arnold Taylor, who voiced a younger version of Kenobi inThe Clone Wars, is also heard in the holocron message played by Ezra at the beginning of the episode.[9]
"Twin Suns" markedSam Witwer's final performance as Maul inRebels, a role he had voiced since Maul's return inThe Clone Wars.[13] Witwer was accepting of Maul's death, having been prepared for it ever since he was called back forRebels; he stated in an interview that his character "had more than his fair share at trying to make his mark on the Star Wars universe".[22] With regards to Maul's future, Witwer described himself as only one of the character's "temporary caretakers", and believed that the episode would probably be his last as Maul.[9] He was nonetheless proud of his contributions to the character and would be willing to return to the role if called upon.[22] Witwer would indeed return as the voice of Maul inSolo alongsideRay Park, who portrayed Maul inThe Phantom Menace.[23] Witwer also voiced Maul inseventh season ofThe Clone Wars, released in 2020.
Series composerKevin Kiner composed the score for "Twin Suns" by combining motifs from familiarStar Wars music with new compositions. The episode also features the "Force Theme" byJohn Williams, which plays over the closing credits.[1]
Clips from the episode depicting Kenobi and Maul first appeared in a trailer promoting the second half of season three. Released in January 2017, the trailer drew anticipation and speculation from fans.[24][25] A brief preview of the episode was released a week before its airing.[26][27]
"Twin Suns" first aired in the United States onDisney XD on March 18, 2017, and was broadcast in the United Kingdom five days later, on March 23.[28]
According toNielsen ratings, the episode's initial broadcast in the United States was viewed by approximately 400 thousand viewers.[29]
The episode was generally well-received by critics, who praised the episode's characterization of Kenobi and Maul and its emotional conclusion of the two characters' storyline.[1][15] They also felt Ezra was effectively incorporated into the storyline and further developed ahead of the season finale.[15][30][31] Stanton and Witwer's vocal performances were also praised as "bringing out both Maul's madness and Kenobi's weary resilience".[31] Reviewers particularly noted the similarity of Stanton's voice to Alec Guinness' inA New Hope.[1][15] Both Stanton's performance and the episode's writing were credited for showing Kenobi's transition leading up to the original trilogy and enriching its story.[1][31][32][33] "Twin Suns" also received praise for its visuals, particularly its depiction of the desert planet ofTatooine.[1][34]
Fans had mixed reactions to the duel, though it was well-received by reviewers, who believed other aspects of the episode lessened the need for a protracted duel.[28] In a review forDen of Geek, Megan Crouse gave the episode a 4 out of 5 star rating, finding "so much to unpack that I hardly mourn the loss of a fight scene".[15] Kevin Johnson ofThe A.V. Club gave an "A−" rating, focusing on Ezra's characterization in the episode; he described the final battle as "hilarious, bold, and humbly ironic" in upending the audience's expectations, believing it fittingly downplayed Maul's importance in the overallStar Wars story.[30] WhileIGN's Eric Goldman gave the episode an 8.8 out of 10 rating, he took issue with the episode's promotion, believing the duel was too heavily promoted given the outcome.[1]
"Twin Suns" was listed as one of the "10 Most Essential Episodes of Star Wars Rebels" by/Film.[35] In a review of theStar Wars Rebels season 3 disc set, theNew York Daily News named the episode one of "the two best episodes of the season".[36]
| Episodes | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novels |
| ||||||||||
| Characters |
| ||||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||||
