Star Wars Episode 7 News

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Meet Zeb - the Strong and Smart Member of the Star Wars: Rebels Crew.

star wars: rebels

Zeb which appearance is based on an early Ralph McQuarrie concept art of Chewbacca will be voiced by Steve Blum and he is considered the muscle in the group...



From IGN:
Zeb is a tough, seasoned and very intelligent member of the Rebels crew. As for what Star Wars alien race Zeb is, you'll learn more about that on the series, because Zeb comes from a never before seen species - though big Star Wars fans will recognize Zeb's basic look. Star Wars Rebels executive producers Dave Filoni, Greg Weisman, Simon Kinberg and their collaborators are taking a major influence from the beloved work of Ralph McQuarrie on the original Star Wars trilogy, including tons of early concept art McQuarrie did for the films, and Zeb's appearance is heavily influenced by McQuarrie's initial ideas for what Chewbacca might look like. Though rest assured, Zeb had an attitude and demeanor all his own…

 

Steve Blum -- who's voiced Wolverine, Spike Spiegel, Starscream, Professor Galvez and so many other notable characters -- is incredibly excited to be a part of Star Wars.  
"Zeb challenges every acting skill in my arsenal and beyond. His character design is amazing. I get to vocally take on ape-like physical power and abilities, a wicked sense of humor, intelligence and integrity, and so much more that I can't yet reveal"

45 comments:

  1. Stormtroopers being idiots again confirmed :(

    Remember when bad guys were more interesting as a legitimate threat? I think Stormtroopers need to stop being the laughing stock and an actually OMG... it's a squad of trained soldiers with guns trying to kill us.

    I think writers forget sometimes if your heroes are always invincible you lose a lot of excitement. I'm not saying people have to die... just don't make the baddies a cake walk either.

    That's my two cents anyway.

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    1. See opening sequence of EPIV. You think those dead Rebelion fighters think the storm troopers are a laughing stock?

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    2. Yeah, and then halfway through the movie, just before the infamous chasm swing, we see about half a dozen of them blasting away at Luke and Leia from about ten feet away and not even nicking a sleeve on 'em before our heroes slam the door shut. ;^)

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    3. The snow troopers did a good job of taking the Hoth base. That was at the begining of EV. I believe if they would have been featured at the begining of EVI they would have kicked some butt, too. I suppose they have a high fatigue rate and can't last the entire movie? A lot better than the droids in EI.

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    4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_Evil_Marksmanship

      Saying that's just a problem in starwars is a bit unfare, but the "stormtrooper effect" can definitely lesson suspense if used poorly

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  2. this show is getting better and better all the time

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  3. I like this guy!

    Zeb - Stormtrooper Puncher!!!

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  4. This guy is probably the best out of the Rebels characters we've been shown so far, in my opinion. He's obviously supposed to be the Chewbacca of this new group of protagonists, but I'm glad they gave him a very unique personality and look. I'm not liking his outfit though... Wouldn't that be a little tight?

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    1. Tight, maybe.

      However, what's up with the arm sheild on Kanan? Why does he just feel the need to protect his right arm? Don't his nad need protecting, too? Just sayin'.

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    2. Yeah this guy is the most interesting character by far. Probably because he doesn't have a freakin lightsaber. Hurray !

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    3. I was thinking it could have been a robotic prosthetic, but either way it seems very unnecessary. The same applies to Ezra's shinguard and knee pad on his right leg, the Inquisitors shield, the handguards on Ezra's and the Inquisitor's lightsaber hilts. I mean, what good would any of that do against molten plasma?

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    4. True. I always loved the belt Han Solo had. It gave that bit more depth to his character, but ultimately it actually had logic behind it.

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    5. Sacrificing function for fashion always makes people look like idiots. It's like girls wearing daisey dukes in the dead of winter; just does not make sense, but looks damn good.

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    6. In this case, however, that is really not how it is. These character's costumes just don't look very good to me and the fact that the accessories serve no purpose makes it even worse.

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    7. "I was thinking it could have been a robotic prosthetic" I was thinking the same thing, too. However, after looking at it, it just looks like armor. It may well be a prosthetic, but doesn't look robotic. If not robotic, then how is he able to use his right arm with the lightsaber? Just thinking about this is getting dumb.

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    8. The fact that we have to think it over to try and make sense of it is dumb.

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    9. They probably could have come up with a better name for this guy than "Zeb" though... All of these characters we've seen just seem like their development was rushed.

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    10. The "function vs. fashion" thing comes back to something that I've always seen as a key difference between the PT and the OT. There was a lot more focus on functionality in the OT designs.

      I always think specifically of the OT X-Wing versus whatever the PT version of the X-Wing was in ROTS as a perfect example of this. McQuarrie and company took Lucas' idea of combining a dragster with an aircraft and came up with the classic X-Wing design where the wings split into an X shape not just to look cool, but also to spread the laser cannons apart so they could cover a greater area of fire. Makes perfect sense from a functional standpoint. "Lock S(trike) foils in attack position."

      The PT "X-Wings", on the other hand, had the wings that spread apart, but without laser cannons on the wingtips. So basically, in that case the wings did the X thing just because it looked cool and not for any functional reason.

      I really hope that the ST design team gets the difference and goes back to thinking about the functionality of their designs a little more the way the original OT team did. The Rebels cartoon, so far, doesn't show much evidence of this.

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    11. I don't understand why functionality isn't a default. I mean, why don't they think about what the characters need, lay it out on a basic preliminary platform, then go in and try to make them look cool?

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    12. @dekka129

      blah blah blah I hate the prequels, blah blah blah. Now you're going on about how the PT is inferior on a design standpoint? All you have to do is look at the podracers or the naboo starfighters and you will see how there is a great deal of functionality going on here.

      By the way, please explain to me how Cloud City makes sense from a functional standpoint.

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    13. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2014 at 2:00 AM
      I'd reccommend really looking into the things you're referencing before calling out fans offensively. If you don't understand the functionality of Cloud City, you obviously aren't aware of the climate on the planet Bespin where Cloud City is located. Do some research, jag.

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    14. I am fully aware of the atmospheric conditions of Bespin and the history surrounding the construction of Cloud City. I still ask the question: how does this make sense? How can a trillion tons of materials not even totter in thin air? How could Luke breath from that height when he was outside and exposed? I am not suggesting that Cloud City was a "bad" idea, artistically. I am merely saying that it is brutally unfair to diss the prequels for having non-functional machines/spaceships when the OT has a great deal of the same thing you're blaming the PT for. I love the OT and the PT. Haters are just going to hate.

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    15. Has it ever occurred to you that the atmospheric conditions and gravitational pull of planets vary? The city has a very stable foundation built from the surface of the planet that privides an evenly distributed balance for the city to rest on. Obviously the planet wouldn't share the same laws of physics as Earth.

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    16. I agree that there are some things in the OT added for looks without resonable funcionality, but they're not as recognizable or plentiful as the PT. It's not hard to come to realize that Lucas' vision for Star Wars during the OT's production was more from an artistic, creative standpoint while the PT was to complete the established story, satisfy the fanbase and make gobbs of money. His vision changed drastically once he realized that his demographic wasn't only 18-35 year old men as he'd thought, but that children were also getting into it as well. Once he came to that conclusion, he decided to make the movies appeal to children more (because we all know that's where the money is) so he added Ewoks to ROTJ and all of the childish junk that was in the PT. There are things about the PT I really like, but it will never come close to the OT in my mind. It's almost incomparable.

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  5. Well spike being on this show is the first cool thing.

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  6. "a wicked sense of humor, intelligence and integrity, and so much more that I can't yet reveal"

    Thats gonna be the secret ways of using the force.
    Trust me on this one you will

    A big, ape-like Yoda with attitude. And if I'm not that off he would have an very interezzzzzing hizzzing way of articulation (like the snake in Jungle Book)

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    1. If he ends up being a force-user too, I'm going to be beyond pissed. It'd simply be too much!

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    2. Why there's no jar-jar-binks type hate around here is beyond me.

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    3. That's a tired topic, if you ask me. We've had enough complaining about that gungan dingbat for over 14 years.

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  7. Judging by the comments I've seen, it seems like you guys think "Rebels" is really messing up. But I've always been curious about something, and am wondering about your opinions on the matter. Right now it seems that this series will act as the canon for the formation of the Rebellion (obviously). However, the "Force Unleashed" sort of already did that. I enjoyed it personally, and I know a lot of people don't like it much, but would you rather have Rebels story be canon over Force Unleashed, despite how bad you think it's going to be? It seems to me like a lot of people are completely forgetting about The Force Unleashed series in regard to the Rebels tv show.

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    1. I doubt with this new series that the Malak family crest will be the origin of the Rebellion Starbird. They seem to be going about things their own way. I really don't like TFU games much because Ive never thought that the idea of Anakin or Vader having an apprentice makes much sense at all, nor should it be an inclusion in the canon. We'll have to wait and see what bits and pieces from the EU are used in this new series and the ST.

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    2. I highly doubt 'Rebels" story line could be worse then the force unleashed

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  8. Force Unleashed as Canon you had Mon Motha,Bail Organa,Garm Bel Iblis and Rahm Kota they also used Malak family crest as a symbol for the Rebel Alliance Sith 33

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  9. Sorry, but this is not "McQuarrie."

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  10. this should be exciting! Steve Blum, man i really like Spike Spiege, Cowboy Bebop is one of my favs for animated stories. the fact that he has also voiced Wolverine & Starscream just sweetens the deal! really forward to this!-prymal

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  11. *really LOOKING forward to this!-prymal

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  12. He has that stupid Disneyish grin on his stupid face. He belongs in Who Framed Roger Rabbit and not Star Wars. I don't understand you guys. You diss Jar Jar Binks but NOT this loser?

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    1. This was exactly the kind of character I was hoping for in the prequels, a beastly talking alien that had lots of experience in the whop-ass department! He is better than the Macquarie design, more intelligent looking. I hope for a Groot-type Character from Guardians of the Galaxy in the next trilogy. Young John Conner had his own Terminator why can't a young Jedi girl have a Big Beast for a sidekick.

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    2. I agree with Frank Marsteller. This is the best we've seen from character development in the Rebels series so far, IMO. He's not the childish, bathroom-humor doofus that JarJar was; this guy's got a lot more "umph" to him. He's very similar to something we'd see as a mask or prosthetic in the Mos Eisely cantina and I can see the resemblance to the early chewbacca design. I'm not liking his outfit or his purple skin though...

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    3. Look again at this article's picture, at that stupid childish saturday-morning-cartoon smile and pose. You don't think this is a childish, bathroom-humor doofus? Don't be surprised when Rebels premieres on tv and we all find out that this moron is the "funny" character.

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    4. All I'm saying is he's the best we've gotten so far, which isn't saying much. I like him, Sabine and Hera a lot more than the other characters. At least they have some originality put into their personas. I agree that this series looks a little too childish for Star Wars, but I think their overall goal for this was to make a Star Wars saturday-morning-cartoon for Disney XD, so it makes sense from that perspecting; I'm not liking it so far, though.

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    5. Secret Saturdays anybody?

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  13. it's clobber time!!!

    no thanks.

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  14. Looks interesting, I think Zeb's species is a Cathar, a species of feline in the SWU :)

    http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cathar

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