Star Wars Rebels just confirmed a long-standing fan theory about Captain Rex. After an amazing four-season run, the Star Wars Rebels series finale aired last night and the general consensus seems to be that Dave Filoni and the folks at Lucasfilm stuck the landing. It was a very satisfying way to tie up the story that also provided answers to a lot of burning questions fans have had for quite some time. For one, we know that Captain Rex stayed with the Rebellion and actually helped bring down the Empire in Return of the Jedi.
Warning: spoilers ahead for the Star Wars Rebels series finale. The very end of the final episode of Star Wars Rebels makes a pretty significant time jump to after the events of Return of the Jedi and reveals the fate of all the characters we’ve followed up to this point in the story. Sabine stayed on Lothal to help keep a watchful eye on Ezra’s homeworld. Ezra and Thrawn were blasted into space and, though they’re confirmed to be alive, their ultimate fate remains unknown. Ahsoka is still alive and kicking and speeds off with Sabine to go find Ezra. Hera had a kid and is still fighting the good fight. Zeb and Kallus lived happily ever after. But what of Captain Rex? Well, it turns out that he fought with the Rebellion through the events of the original trilogy and was, in fact, present at the Battle of Endor.
For years, fans have connected some dots and pointed to a character known as Nik Sant who appears in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in Return of the Jedi. The old, white-bearded warrior has been theorized to be none other than former clone army member, Captain Rex. Though the finale didn’t outright confirm that Nik Sant is actually Captain Rex, considering that it definitively confirms Rex was present on the forest moon of Endor to help disable the shield generator, this theory is pretty much wrapped up.
The only other evidence we really need is in the final episodes of Star Wars Rebels. Captain Rex changes his outfit a bit and, as we see, his outfit and look is pretty much identical to that of Nik Sant’s. It’s also important to note that Nik Sant doesn’t have an official entry on StarWars.com, so the official canon doesn’t necessarily acknowledge that the character in Return of the Jedi goes by that name. Point being, don’t be surprised if we see an “Endor Captain Rex” Funko Pop at some point.
Rex has been a fixture of the Star Wars universe for a decade, making his first appearance in The Clone Wars animated feature as an elite Clone Trooper who eventually finds his way to fighting alongside the Rebellion in its earliest days in Star Wars Rebels. It’s actually quite poetic, in a Star Wars storytelling sort of way, that Rex made it all the way through to the end of the original trilogy. This is the kind of thing that Rebels and Clone Wars creator Dave Filoni does very well. Consider this one very cool Star Wars theory confirmed. You can check out some images of Rex and Nik Sant side-by-side for yourself below.
Confirmed. Captain Rex in Return of the Jedi. @starwars#rebels#StarWarsRebels@PCUncoveredpic.twitter.com/neTQxcPFPR
— (((Power Girl))) (@AdamEFreyWrites) March 6, 2018
The way we find out that Captain Rex is the Rebel we see in Return of The Jedi was the most Dave Filoni way of telling us & I love Dave for it. #StarWarsRebels#StarWarsRebelsFinale#StarWars#Rebels@starwars@dave_filonipic.twitter.com/Vnmg8DL1em
— ? Karen Catizone ? (@Mugsysam) March 6, 2018