'Star Wars Rebels' to end with 'darker' Season 4

This will be a day long remembered: it marked the end of the Rebellion. Sort of.

Lucasfilm announced here at its Star Wars Celebration event that its only current TV show -- the animated series Star Wars Rebels -- will come to a close at the end of season 4.

Over the final 15 episodes, the story of the crew of the Ghost, who gets pulled into the wider rebellion, will reach a conclusion that was apparently always planned.

What remains to be seen: given that the Ghost was seen briefly (and its pilot Hera namechecked) in Rogue One, will the finale take us into an animated version of the battle of Scarif?

Rebels "will be the complete journey that it was meant to be from the very beginning," showrunner Dave Filoni, who also ran the canceled Clone Wars and will continue working on Star Wars projects, said. "We all felt that the time was right, and that the characters were at a point where their story, and their destinies, should finally be revealed."

The "darker" season 4 of Rebels will take the heroes to Yavin IV, as seen in Rogue One and the original Star Wars. Filoni confirmed that the leader of the Rebellion, Senator Mon Mothma, would return -- as would Saw Gerrera, voiced by Forest Whitaker. He added that the style of the show would have a little more of the "used universe" look of the original Star Wars.

Some other story lines that need to be resolved: what will happen to fan favorite villain Grand Admiral Thrawn? Will we see former Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano again? Will the crew survive Scarif and continue to be part of the war against the Empire -- maybe even help to attack a Death Star or two -- or go out in a blaze of glory, Jyn Erso style?

We'll find out when Season 4 debuts this fall.