The first two pieces of original content the Disney Star Wars universe will provide are going to be Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars Episode VII. On paper, they couldn’t be further apart. One is an animated TV series, set between the events of the prequels and the original trilogy. The other is a live-action, big budget blockbuster that finally continues the story George Lucas began in 1977.

We do know both of these creations will be considered canon, so characters who may or may not appear in Rebels will exist in the same universe as Episode VII. But, a new interview suggests the connections could be even closer than expected. One former Star Wars actor says “Rebels will set up and point the direction for Episode VII” and “The characters they are creating in Rebels will be around in Episode VII.” Read more about the Star Wars Rebels characters potential Episode VII link below.

The actor in question is John Morton, who played Dak in The Empire Strikes Back and filled in as Boba Fett. Morton was at a Star Wars convention in England and told Movie Cricket (via JediNews) the following:

Rebels is the key. Rebels will provide the link to bring in the continuity from Clone Wars, the Original Trilogy and the Prequels to enable LucasFilm and Disney to tee-up ‘Episode VII’. If you want my informed opinion, it will enable ‘Episode VII’ to leapfrog over the whole trilogy.

He then added this:

The key that is going to make this work is Rebels. Rebels will set up and point the direction for ‘Episode VII’.

And finally, this potential bombshell:

The characters they are creating in Rebels will be around in ‘Episode VII’.

Now, after reading that, my first thought was excitement. Anything that can provide a hint at what to expect in Episode VII is interesting. But then I paused for a moment and realized, “What the heck does John Morton know about Star Wars Episode VII?” he hasn’t appeared in a movie since the year The Empire Strikes Back came out. Is Dak hanging out with J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and Simon Kinberg, talking about overall canon arcs? Probably not. And if he was, why would he say anything about it?

So yeah, I’d say everything here should be taken with a huge grain of salt. Playing devil’s advocate, these Rebels characters were not created out of nowhere. They must have importance in the overall arc of the Star Wars saga.

Just how important though? We’ll have to wait a few months to find out for sure, but it speaks to a point about Rebels which I’ve been harping on. At the end of Episode III, we’re lead to believe almost all the Jedi have been killed or, at least, will be killed by the beginning of A New Hope. In fact, it’s likely Rebels has some kind of subplot about the Sith hunting down and murdering the Jedi. So then what’s the story behind Kanan, the Jedi voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.? He seems to play a significant role in the formation of the Rebel Alliance. A Rebel Alliance who believes in the Force, yes, but doesn’t have any Jedi to help them fight the Empire. Hence Leia’s message to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Luke being the galaxy’s “New Hope.”

But…maybe they do have some Jedi? Maybe during the original trilogy Kanan and the Rebels crew are off on some adventure and they return 40 years later for Episode VII. Maybe they were frozen in carbonite? You’d have to think, once the Disney cartoon Rebels is done, they won’t simply kill all the characters because they fail to appear in the original trilogy. According to the Star Wars story, though that might have to happen. The Rebels had no bigger task than taking down two Death Stars and if the crew of the Ghost was alive, they’d be there. Or they’re dead.

Then again, we’re taking the word here of an actor whose most prominent role in recent memory was a Warwick Davis documentary. He’s not exactly George Lucas.

Personally, I think it’s bull. Maybe the Star Wars Rebels characters are alive in the time of Episode VII but just like J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan cast away the Expanded Star Wars universe, I doubt they’d take their cues from an animated series.

What do you think of the quote? And either way, do you think it’s possible Rebels characters are in Episode VII?