Star Wars Rebels Season 4 Trailer Reveals Emperor Palpatine

It's the beginning of the end for Star Wars Rebels, and it looks like it'll go out with a bang.

Disney XD released the midseason trailer for the fourth and final season of the animated series, revealing that Ian McDiarmid will reprise his role as the villainous Emperor Palpatine from the movies. So be it.

The trailer begins with flashbacks to previous seasons that show how a Jedi hopeful from the streets named Ezra Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray) teamed with a band of galactic outlaws that would become the Rebellion. Executive producer Dave Filoni told Entertainment Weekly that everything in the trailer is there for a reason.

"I felt like it was important to give this last trailer an overall perspective of what this kid had come from and what he had been learning," Filoni said. "I like that line that line that says, 'You've never been like anyone else...'"

While we see Ezra continue to learn the secrets of the Force, his blinded teacher Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) wants to rescue their pilot Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshall) as Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar), Zeb (Steve Blum), Rex (Dee Bradley Baker), and the droid Chopper maintain their battle against the Empire. It'll all lead up to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which included its own nods to Rebels.

The series returns to Disney XD on Feb. 19 for a three-week run. There will be two back-to-back episodes each Monday until the 90-minute series finale on March 5.