'Star Wars Rebel' season 3 release date, spoilers: Ezra crossing to the Dark Side?

Star Wars Rebels season 3 posterDisney XD

"Star Wars Rebels" season 3 premieres later this September and it is heavily hinted that the main character, Ezra, may be turning to the Dark Side of the Force. Showrunner and series creator Dave Filoni hints as much in an interview with StarWars.com.

"You don't really start out saying, 'Today I'm going to do terrible things,' necessarily. You know, Anakin does terrible things and he thinks he's actually saving people. He thinks everybody else has betrayed him,' Filoni explained. "Ezra, just in a similar fashion to Anakin, he thinks he's helping by trying to save people and protect his friends."

Filoni continued to explain that Ezra simply believes that by gaining more power he'll be able to keep his friends safe, whether or not he gets it from his master Kanan or from Darth Maul. Filoni likened Ezra to a growing teenager, growing rebellious and hard-headed as he grows older and more confident of himself.

Voice actor Freddie Prinze Jr., who voices Kana, explained in an interview with Dash Star that Darth Maul and Grand Admiral Thrawn, the two main villains for season 3, will be handling the Rebel Alliance in different ways. While Thrawn is focused on a large scale war, Darth Maul is focused entirely on drawing Ezra to the Dark Side.

In regards to Darth Vader, the voice actor revealed that the iconic villain will not be in season 3 as Vader is likely handling other responsibilities. Vine Report states that this hints Vader is likely reaching the point in his story where he will interact with the characters in the upcoming spin-off film, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."

Many fans speculate that Ezra will become a Sith lord and eventually kill Ezra and his friends before he himself is taken down. This will ensure that by the time the events of the original "Star Wars" trilogy take place, only Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is the remaining Jedi alive. 

"Star Wars Rebels" season 3 premieres Sept. 24.