Captain Rex Is Reportedly Coming Back In A Big Way
The return of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney+ for the seventh and final season of the show satisfied fans with a solid ending to the show who, beforehand, had a universally thought “okay season” to “finish” off the show before Disney+ decided to create a real ending to the show.
The continuation of the final season of The Clone Wars helped to create more love for several of the characters (Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan especially) who were later introduced in the live-action The Mandalorian. Very soon after Ahsoka’s live-action debut, it was announced that she would be getting her own show on Disney+: Ahsoka. This fueled many questions. Are they going to introduce anyone else from the animated Star Wars series into the live-action shows? Who will be in each of the new shows, which currently include Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Bad Batch, and The Book of Boba Fett as well as several others in development.
One of the core characters of The Clone Wars series who has yet to make a live-action debut is fan favorite Captain Rex, the leader of the 501st Battalion of Clone Troopers. He was introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and made another appearance as a recurring character in Star Wars: Rebels when he was much older.
Rumors have recently started circulating about his introduction into the live action circuit. One of the main rumors is that Captain Rex may be making an appearance and/or be featured in the Ahsoka series. The details surrounding his role are still unknown. However, new news has emerged that sheds some light on the question that many fans are asking.
Kessel Run Transmissions, a reliable source for Star Wars news, reported that Captain Rex’s story is far from over in the Star Wars universe. Lucasfilm is “super interested” with the character’s potential. They also revealed in their piece that Temuera Morrison, who plays Boba Fett, did a screen test of the character since, of course, he would be playing him since Captain Rex is a clone of Jango Fett, Boba’s father (whom Temuera Morrison also played in Episode II). Kessel Run Transmissions shared the following:
“Our sources were saying that they actually saw the armor [of Captain Rex]. So I think if that's the case, there was probably a screen test for Rex for the Ahsoka series. Rex was going to be part of the Rebels sequel, so if they're carrying that over to the Ahsoka series, he's gonna be in it. They're not done with Rex. I heard that Lucasfilm is super interested with continuing with his story..."
The reveal of the armor can be heard at 14:25 in this video that Kessel Run Transmissions shared.
This development is promising for the continuation of Captain Rex’s character arc, which has been carefully crafted over the years in The Clone Wars and Rebels.
The idea that Temuera Morrison would be playing Captain Rex is exciting to the fans because that means that Star Wars is sticking true to their canon about the clones. Plus, Captain Rex definitely looks like Morrison.
Temuera Morrison did share in a previous interview he did that he wants to portray the character of Captain Rex at some point in the future.
“They're all in my Jango Fett line – I have clones lining up. Then, of course, there's Captain Rex, who's an iconic character. I've also voiced various games. What'll make me really happy is if I get the phone call asking me to play another character – an older Captain Rex or something. I want to pop in on one of these new ones, that would be great. Suggest it to them for me! Let's get on to it!”
His dream may soon be a reality if the rumor is correct.
In Star Wars Rebels, Captain Rex is convinced to help join in the Rebellion and becomes a member of Ezra Bridger’s team. Since it is rumored that Ahsoka will take place either partly during or right after the events in Rebels, it would make sense for Captain Rex to make an appearance, especially since he has a strong connection to Ahsoka and they are fast friends. He could also potentially show up in a future season of The Mandalorian or even Rangers of the New Republic.
As Star Wars starts their run of live-action spinoff shows, there is hope that many of the animated characters whom fans have grown to love (and even hate) over the years will be cast in the live-action stuff and have their stories continued. Let’s hope the rumor of Captain Rex returning to the story is true, and if it is, we can’t wait to see what he will bring to the stories!