The promise of The Mandalorian as a bold new direction for the storytelling of Star Wars hasn't been lost, but it has been changed. Fans have proven time and time again that they want cameos and callbacks. The show got a lot of attention for finally depicting fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano in glorious live-action, and now Star Wars: Rebels star Garazeb Orrelios is getting the same treatment.
The animated Star Wars series and films have been connected to the main films and series, but they've always felt like a secondary universe. There's inherently more prestige to live-action material, but fans have found beloved characters in the cartoon outings of the franchise.
Who is Zeb Orrelios?
Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios joined the Star Wars franchise back in 2014 as one of the primary protagonists of the hit cartoon series Star Wars: Rebels. That series borrowed heavily from the concept art drawings of Ralph MacQuarrie to make up its design aesthetic. The main characters are a ragtag bunch of freedom fighters called the Spectres who seek to undermine the Empire and secure freedom for the galaxy. Zeb is one of the Spectres, driven to the Rebellion by the loss of his home planet. He's a Lasat, a species based on MacQuarrie's first concept drawing of Chewbacca that also happens to include Jaro Tapal from Jedi: Fallen Order. His grim past leads him to become the angry member of his new friend circle.
Zeb was an Honor Guard on his home planet Lasan. He was charged with the protection of his people and the defense of the royal family. The gig got him a lifetime of military training and a level of mastery in a unique weapon called a Bo-rifle. Unfortunately, his dedication to the cause did little to stop the Empire from rolling through. After a nightmarish wave of attacks, Lasan was almost entirely destroyed. Zeb survived along with a tiny fraction of his people, lighting a flame of revenge in him forever. For the following years, Zeb served with the Spectres to do as much harm as he could to the monsters who destroyed his home. He was a true warrior, and his moral character was unquestionable. Zeb is intelligent, but he's also quick to anger. He frequently became the most violent member of the Spectres. His recent appearance in The Mandalorian demonstrates the latest direction his life has taken.
What Does Zeb's Appearance Mean for The Mandalorian?
At the moment, it's even odds whether Zeb's appearance is an ultimately meaningless cameo or an integral part of the story. When Ahsoka popped up, she immediately became an important part of Din Djarin's journey. Zeb hasn't even met the Mandalorian of the show's title. Instead, Zeb appears in a much smaller role. When pirates attack Nevarro, the planet that used to hold the Mandalorian covert, Magistrate Greef Karga is desperate to find an ally. The attack evokes fear in the locals and talk of a new Empire begins to brew. To snuff out the danger, Karga calls upon the New Republic Defense Fleet through familiar X-Wing pilot Carson Teva. Teva swiftly discovers that his superiors are simply not interested in intervening in this matter. Before he makes his case, he explains his situation to a fellow New Republic soldier. That soldier happens to be Zeb Orrelios, who calmly explains that the folks at the capital are swamped and that Teva will never get a suitable response.
Zeb's role in this show is extremely small. Zeb was likely chosen as an incidental cameo, rather than as any big move for the character. After the fall of the Empire, it's clear that Zeb wasn't done serving his universe. He's a good-natured soldier who has stayed in the fight, even after he won. The presence of Rebels characters doesn't change much, but it does tease the possibility of some other cameos. The Mandalorian has been pretty loose with cameos, occasionally dredging up total nobodies from obscure novels and imbuing them with some real popularity. Zeb could also reappear in the final episodes of the season. The New Republic failed outright when it came to saving Nevarro, but they could still get involved in the upcoming few episodes. Zeb may or may not get a larger role in The Mandalorian, but fans certainly haven't seen the last of him.
The upcoming Disney Plus show Ahsoka will continue the narrative established in Rebels. Ahsoka was set up by The Mandalorian, where the title character made her glorious live-action debut. Teasing the presence of the Spectres could be a method of testing the waters for more integration of those beloved characters. So far, the response has been massive, as tons of fans express a ton of excitement at seeing Zeb in a new dimension. Zeb might just be visiting for the moment, but he's likely to bring in a lot more familiar faces in future outings.