A Galaxy Far, Far Away is now a little bit closer thanks to a new seven-minute teaser for Star Wars Rebels, the new animated series set between the prequel trilogy and original movies debuting this fall.

Taking place after the end of Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith, Rebels explores an important part of the franchise's mythology by introducing the characters responsible for the creation of the Rebel Alliance that eventually takes down the Galactic Empire in George Lucas' original space operas.

But Rebels has an important place in Star Wars history beyond the fictional narrative. It's the first new part of the franchise to be released since Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, and also the first new Star Wars story to see the light of day since Lucasfilm redefined Star Wars canon in April, declaring all ancillary material to be as "real" as the movies themselves. In other words, Star Wars Rebels is definitively the start of the Disney era of Star Wars, even ahead of next year's Star Wars: Episode VII.

And what does Rebels tell us about what's coming? Not a lot, to be honest—as you can see from the video above, it's very close to the dear, departed Star Wars: The Clone Wars in both tone and aesthetic. For those fans of the original movies, however, there are plenty of Easter eggs to be enjoyed, including a smart-ass female Boba Fett-a-like and something akin to a miniature speeder bike chase from Return of the Jedi. If this is the shape of what's to come, it's certainly familiar enough to please a lot of hardcore fans.

Star Wars Rebels officially launches in October with a one-hour special on Disney XD.