The Mandalorian season 3 episode 5 has introduced another animated Star Wars character into live-action. A warning that the following will contain spoilers for the new episode, so turn back now if you haven't seen it yet!
In the latest episode, we catch up with New Republic pilot Carson Teva. He's in a cantina of some kind and chats to a large member of the Lasat species. Star Wars Rebels fans might have given the moment a double take – that Lasat is none other than Garazeb Orrelios, AKA Zeb.
Zeb is a major Rebels character, part of the Ghost crew and a member of the Spectres rebel cell, along with Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus, and Ezra Bridger. This is the first time we've seen him in live-action, though it's possible Zeb will be returning for the upcoming Ahsoka series considering Ezra and another Rebels character, Sabine Wren, will be appearing.
If you were in any doubt that this is really Zeb, the credits confirm it – with Steve Blum once again voicing the character.
This isn't the first Rebels reference in The Mandalorian season 3, either. In the premiere episode, Grogu saw a purrgil – a hyperspace-travelling space whale – from his pod on Din Djarin's starship. Ezra and Grand Admiral Thrawn vanished together after the ship they were in was transported to an unknown location by a purrgil, so this seems significant set-up for Ahsoka, too.
Zeb is far from the first character to make the jump from animation to live-action in the Star Wars galaxy, with Ahsoka herself, Bo-Katan Kryze, and Cad Bane all debuting in the new Disney Plus shows.
Ahsoka is expected to release on Disney Plus later this year. In the meantime, keep up to date with our The Mandalorian season 3 release schedule, or see our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else coming soon from the galaxy far, far away.
