The Star Wars franchise has effectively expanded beyond the scope of the Skywalker saga. With hit series like The Mandalorian and Bad Batch giving more depth to new characters across the galaxy far, far, away, credit has to be given to Star Wars Rebels for being the first series to be focused on an all-new cast of characters.
Here we are going to review the main cast of characters, some key moments that showed their growth and immense skill over the series’ four-season span and rank them based on how integral they were to the series as well as their popularity with the audience. Based on credits, this will keep the list pared down to the main crew of the Ghost, a diverse cast of characters that made sure there was a favorite for everyone.
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6 Chopper
Disney-ABC Domestic Television
Not to be forgotten is the Astromech droid designated to the Ghost crew, Chopper. The Astromech, under normal circumstances, would have been decommissioned long ago, having served in the Clone Wars after its ship had gone down. Chopper was discovered by a young Twi’lek named Hera Syndulla. As time went on, Chopper became a valued member of the Ghost Crew, being charged with repairing the ship as needed.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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Over time, Chopper (similar to R2-D2) would show a colorful personality and the ability to make decisions of his own accord, sometimes in contrast to what he was ordered to do. Chopper would also show his skills as a combatant early on, taking to the gun controls of the Ghost and shooting down a TIE Fighter that was pursuing the team.
5 Hera Syndulla
Hera Syndulla has been fascinated by flying ever since she was a young girl. The Twi’lek woman would grow into one of the finest flyers the rebel forces would ever know, often using her skills to pilot the Ghost through dangerous asteroid fields and dodge fire from Imperial Forces.
Hera would also display outstanding leadership, forming the Spectres alongside Kanun Jarrus and Chopper before recruiting Zeb, Sabine Wren, and Ezra to the cause. Hera would have to face questions from the crew on numerous occasions, and she would always answer tactfully and with patience, signs of her inclination to leadership. One of the earliest examples of this would be when Sabine Wren began questioning Hera’s leadership as Hera refused to reveal full details of her sources, though Hera would prove to Sabine that while not everything could be fully disclosed, Hera would never purposely put her crew in danger. Hera would also often prove to be a diffuser of arguments amongst the team, most often between Ezra and Zeb.
4 Garazeb “Zeb” Orellios
Zeb is a Lasat warrior, learning codes of honor and gaining years of combat experience and strategy trying to defend his homeworld from the Empire. After surviving a traumatic event that wiped out his friends and family, Zeb would join the Spectres, often providing the muscle they needed when assaulting the Empire.
Zeb, despite his prejudice, had proven empathetic to others, with the most significant example coming from when he was stuck on Geonosis’ ice moon with Kallus, an Imperial Commander who participated in the attack on Zeb’s home. Upon learning that Kallus had received a bo-rifle (the signature weapon of the Lasat honor guard) after fighting honorably, Zeb discovers that Kallus’ prejudice stems from watching his entire team being wiped out by a savage Lasat, with Kallus being the only survivor. Seeing Kallus has suffered from similar circumstances as his own, Zeb sets aside his personal feelings and helps Kallus, so the two can escape the ice moon together.
3 Sabine Wren
Sabine Wren is known as the young Mandalorian warrior, known for her acts of rebellion, both in combat and in art, as she will often graffiti art that paints the Empire in a bad light, such as calling out their many war crimes. Sabine had initially gone to the Imperial Academy and helped design a weapon that would end up being used against her own people. Becoming disillusioned with the Empire, Sabine would run away and join the Rebel forces.
One of the most significant personal trials Sabine faced was owning up to her role in The Mandalorian Wren clan after she became the new owner of the Darksaber, a weapon similar to the Jedi’s Lightsaber. And while Sabine initially left her family on bad terms, she would defend them when the Empire turned on them and reunited with her family to help her clan find their true leader.
2 Ezra Bridger
Ezra Bridger would lose his parents to the Empire as they were vocal advocates of the Rebellion. This would lead Ezra to fall in with the wrong crowd, learning to become a conman and a pickpocket from a young age. After a mishap during the Spectres’ mission on Lothal, Ezra finds himself working alongside the crew and receiving the revelation that he is force-sensitive.
Electing to learn how to master the Force with Kanan Jarrus, Ezra will be tempted to the dark side multiple times throughout the series, most prominently during his association with Darth Maul. With Kanan by his side, Ezra would learn to connect with animals as well as master his emotions so as not to give in to the dark side of the Force. Though Ezra would lose his master, he would soon take on the role of a leader, electing to take a difficult path to ensure his home planet would be free of Imperial rule.
1 Kanan Jarrus
The top spot goes to the boy, born Caleb Dume, who would become the Jedi Knight, Kanan Jarrus. Kanan survived Order 66 and grew into a Jedi that would align with the Rebel forces to free the galaxy from the Empire. Becoming a founding member of the Spectres, Kanan would take all he had learned and set out to teach young Ezra the ways of the Jedi.
Kanan suffers multiple hardships throughout the show, with tremendous physical trauma coming when Darth Maul permanently blinds Kanan. After meeting Bendu, an ancient being who had meditated in neutrality, Kanan would learn to cope with his loss of vision, increasing his other senses and skill with the Force. Kanan’s new applications would allow him to save Hera Syndulla, with whom he had become romantically involved, before sacrificing himself to save the crew in one of the saddest moments in the Star Wars franchise. Kanan would become one with the Force, with Rey hearing his voice during her final battle against Darth Sidious in Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
