How Mortis Is Tying into STAR WARS REBELS

Star Wars: The Clone Wars expanded the universe in a multitude of ways, including expanding the mythology of the Force. In season three of the animated series, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano spent three episodes on Mortis, a planet in the Unknown Regions that was home to three beings: the Father, the Daughter, and the Son. The Daughter was an avatar for the light side of the Force, the Son represented the dark side, and the Father kept them in balance. And the trio can be spotted in the latest trailer for Star Wars Rebels.

This relief appears to show the beings against Lothal’s distinct landscape. Aside from the possibilities that brings—where is this image on Lothal, did the Jedi create it, how did they interact with the Mortis beings—the Daughter is pictured with a mysterious convor. That gold and green convor first appeared in Star Wars Rebels‘ second season, shortly before Ahsoka confronted Darth Vader. The convor appeared immediately after their duel on Malachor, too.

Some fans theorize that convor is actually an avatar for Ahsoka. In The Clone Wars, the Son attacked the Daughter and killed Ahsoka. The light side being sacrificed the last of her power to resurrect Ahsoka. Because of that, one could make a strong case for Ahsoka taking another form after her fight with her former master and friend. We didn’t see her die. We saw her walk away and descend into the temple on Malachor.

But with this new relief depicting the Daughter with the convor, it’s possible the bird has been an avatar of her all along. Maybe she appeared on Malachor to assist Ahsoka in making the transition to becoming a Force spirit? Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni told IGN in 2016, “I would suggest to say that whatever that thing [the convor] is an avatar of has actually appeared in the animated Star Wars universe before.”

Ezra interacts with the convor in the Rebels trailer, and he’s the one looking at the relief of the Father, Daughter, and Son. Filoni’s not giving up any intel though. Without going into details, he told Nerdist about the thought behind bringing the Mortis mythology into Star Wars Rebels. “I just really like in movies when there is a sense of history and a deep sense of time passage, and I always felt that’s what mentioning the Clone Wars really gave me in A New Hope. You know, hearing about this this larger context,” he explained. “It’s something that speaks to a sense of history and mythology and just almost like a folklore that exists in the Star Wars universe. Mortis is such a weird, otherworldly thing in The Clone Wars; so because it echoes around in my head, it’s always a possibility that it creeps in things that I do. I found some opportunities with things we were doing [on Rebels] and I said, ‘Well, we’ve got something I can use. Let’s do it.’ It just made sense and everybody was pretty excited about it when it was happening.”

How do you think Mortis, specifically the Daughter, will play into Star Wars Rebels? Share your thoughts in the comments and come talk to me on  Twitter.

Images: Lucasfilm, Disney XD

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. She likes Star Wars a little. Follow her on Twitter.

More about the final season of Star Wars Rebels!

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