John Williams Officially Back for 'Star Wars: Episode VII,' Lucasfilm Debuts New TV Show 'Star Wars Rebels'

Sorry for being a bit behind on the Star Wars news from the weekend, but I was out of town, so updates were scarce. Here's what we missed from Star Wars Celebration Europe:

Lucasfilm officially announced that John Williams would be back to compose the score for Star Wars: Episode VII. While there was some thought that Michael Giacchino, JJ Abrams' usual go-to composer, might be the man behind the podium for the new Star Wars trilogy, there was little doubt anyone but Williams would be the guy doing the music for Star Wars' rebirth. Even Abrams knew this back in April, saying, "Again, for Star Wars, it's very early days, but I believe that, going forward, John Williams will be doing that film, because he was there long before I was."

Even though Star Wars: The Clone Wars was sadly canceled, the franchise has big plans for animation. Executive producer Dave Filoni, who also led The Clone Wars, introduced Star Wars Rebels, a series set between Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope. Filoni talked about Star Wars Rebels, introduced some concept art from the show and even hinted that fans could see a certain Padawan from Star Wars: The Clone Wars return.

Am I perhaps talking about Ahsoka Tano? Head past the jump to find out and see the logo and some concept art from Star Wars Rebels.

From Empire:

Chief amongst the new concepts was the show's central spaceship, The Ghost, which Filoni described as a cross between the Millennium Falcon and a B-17 bomber, of which he's a huge fan. Filoni also confirmed that Rebels would follow a group of "kids" as they go on the run from the burgeoning might of the Empire. "The Millennium Falcon was a ship, it was a place, it was a home," said Filoni. "We wanted to give this new generation of kids a place they could feel safe in when they’re on the run from the Empire." 

Filoni also suggested that Rebels would include characters that he had a hand in creating for The Clone Wars, with the smart money being on the presence of his feisty Padawan, Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein), and talked about his McQuarriefied/Miyazaki-esque approach to refining the designs of classic Star Wars vehicles like the TIE Fighter and the Star Destroyer. "It's intentionally going to look different [from Clone Wars]," he said.

Yup, there's a chance that Star Wars Rebels could bring back Ahsoka Tano. While this wouldn't quite be Episode VII giving the character new life, it would hopefully give fans wondering if and how Ahsoka survived the Jedi Purge some answers.

Star Wars Rebels will premiere as a one-hour special in 2014 on the Disney Channel and will then carry on as a series on Disney XD.