Note: The Star Wars Rebels: Season 3 premiere was shown at Star Wars Celebration in London, prior to its debut on Disney XD on Saturday, September 24th at 8:30pm ET/PT.The episode can also be viewed early, before it airs, on WatchDisneyXD.com . This review will not go into full spoilers for the episode but will discuss the set-up and new characters introduced, including some who have been revealed in the new Season 3 trailer

Star Wars Rebels’ Season 3 premiere begins with a deceptively “fun” scene – one released earlier this week showing Ezra, Zeb, Sabine and Chopper breaking Hondo (and an Ugnaught associate) out of jail, but not without a few Imperial problems.

Star Wars Rebels: Season 3 Images 20 IMAGES

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[widget path="video/embed/playlist" parameters="slug=rebels-season-3-celebration-2016-interviews"]But don’t let that fool you into thinking it's all fun and games. The powerful events that ended Season 2 are not forgotten, including that Ezra had opened a Sith holocron when we last saw him. In fact, Ezra’s current mindset prove to be one of the most notable and involving aspects of the premiere, as we find the Padawan much more confident and capable, while dealing with a lot of internal strife.It’s impossible not to compare Season 3’s premiere to Season 2 – especially given they both debuted with a huge crowd at Celebration – and no, this one isn’t quite as impactful. But in a way how could it be? Season 2 began with Darth Vader himself on the warpath and he and Ahsoka sensing each other’s presence – a long-awaited event that you can’t really replicate.That being said, Season 3’s premiere is still a strong episode and provides a lot of intriguing set up for the season. While Vader doesn’t seem likely to appear this season (though you never know…) we have an incredibly compelling and exciting new villain in the form of Grand Admiral Thrawn, finally making his debut into official Star Wars canon While Thrawn only appears a bit in “Steps Into Shadow,” he quickly proves to be a cool and formidable presence. He's not an exact duplicate of the character's portrayal in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire book trilogy, but he certainly carries the same attitude and presence. Perfectly voiced by Lars Mikkelsen (Sherlock, House of Cards), Thrawn oozes danger and intelligence, making it clear he’s a born tactician that will be very hard for our heroes to outwit.Also appearing in the Season 3 premiere is Tom Baker’s character, Bendu, who’s a fascinating new inclusion. As the trailer shows, Bendu seems to be a creature particularly powerful in the Force – almost an Avatar of the Force, representing what’s in between the light and dark sides.Bendu feels like the spiritual successor for the offbeat Mortis storyline on The Clone Wars (which also featured beings who embodied elements of the Force itself) and Baker brings just the right thoughtful, effortlessly confident tone to the character.