'Star Wars Rebels' midseason 3 trailer packs in the action, narrative tie-ups and Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Maul round 4

The promise that is "Star Wars Rebels" season 3 is starting to take shape with the release of the midseason trailer packed with a whole lot of things that will send hardcore fans to fandom heaven.

Although filler episodes may have taken a bigger portion in the first half of the season than what fans would have wanted to, the remaining episodes seem to be bringing some big guns in terms of where the narrative of "Rebels" goes from here all the way to its presumed end. For starters, the pockets of rebellion are starting to build an alliance with the appearances of Mon Mothma and Bail Organa now having direct contact with the Ghost Crew. Additionally, Sabine's trip to Mandalore might bring in her co-Mandalorians to help the cause of fighting the Galactic Empire. It might be a moot goal initially but just like what Fenn Rau has pointed out, her having the darksaber somehow gives her some merit into convincing the other Mandalorians. Although it can be expected that a bit of effort will be needed, her mother and the rest of her warmongering people eventually boards their campaign as their ships are seen helping the rebels battle imperial fighters at some point in the latter part of the three-minute clip.

Flipping the perspective to the Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn is trying hard to drive the point about having a mole in their group. Intriguingly, his intel is scarily spot on which makes one wonder if he actually knows that the snitch is Agent Kallus or not. Moreover, it also seems like he is no longer going to pull any punches on the Rebellion as he even gets his hands dirty to eventually serve the rebels their "utter defeat."

But arguably, the biggest takeaway from the crammed video montage is that of the first look at Obi-Wan Kenobi during his low-key days in Tatooine, which is only to be interrupted by the arrival of an old acquaintance, Maul. At this point, there is just so much history between the two characters that a presumed round-four face-off just feels more electric. They go all the way back during the epic battle in Naboo in "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" where Maul was initially presumed to have died in the hands of a young Kenobi.

However, as the lore continues to be cultivated, it was revealed that the scar-faced former Sith eventually survived and over the course of the years have met with Obi-Wan for a couple of times more. Maul have brought grief to the Jedi Master in killing Qui-Gon Jinn and Duchess Satine during the Dathomirian Zabrak's quest to seek revenge on what the Jedi did to him. And for Ezra to be now tied to how the arch enemies eventually meet up, presumably for the last time, only makes the upcoming duel fitting in the overall narrative for "Rebels" season 3.

"Star Wars: Rebels" kickstarts the latter half of the season with a double episode featuring a Saw Gerrera run-in in Geonosis. Spoilers suggest that the crew will stumble upon a secret that the Empire has been desperately trying to hide. Viewers will find this out when the installment airs tomorrow, Jan. 7, 8:30 p.m. ET on Disney XD.