Kanan Jarrus is referenced in an easter egg in an episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi, hinting at his whereabouts and showing that Rebels is still canon.
Warning! SPOILERS for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 3.
A Star Wars Rebels easter egg in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series shows what happens to the padawan Kanan Jarrus following the events of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Jarrus changed his name from Caleb Dume while on the run from the Galactic Empire and while his story as a member of the Phoenix Rebel Cell is told thoroughly in Rebels, much of his life between surviving Order 66 and becoming a crew member aboard the Ghost is unknown. Obi-Wan Kenobi reveals a new detail about Jarrus, further confirming that despite the apparent death of The Grand Inquisitor, Rebels is still canon.
Kanan Jarrus was only a padawan when Order 66 was activated, brainwashing the clone troopers he’d fought alongside and befriended for years to turn against him and his Jedi Master, Depa Billaba. The story of Kanan’s Order 66 survival was told wonderfully in the Star Wars: Kanan – The Last Padawan comics but was later contradicted and re-written in part by The Bad Batch. The events between Kanan’s Bad Batch appearance and role in the 2014 novel, A New Dawn are relatively unknown, however.
In the Obi-Wan Kenobi episode “Part III,” the titular Jedi Master and Princess Leia are on the run from Imperial pursuers on Mapuzo but find an ally in Tala Durith, who shelters them and offers safe passage to Jabiim. The walls of Tala’s workshop have several names carved into them, referencing three Jedi from the Legends continuity and including Caleb Dume. In addition to reasserting the canonical status of Rebels, Dume’s name on Tala’s wall also shows that he’d been to Mapuzo at one point while avoiding the Empire and possibly visited Jabiim as well.
Kanan was a drifter for a time, taking on a variety of jobs as he went from planet to planet, keeping a low profile and avoiding the Empire as best he could before eventually joining Hera Syndulla aboard the Ghost. While Kanan abandoned the Jedi way during this time, he still kept his lightsaber and likely wouldn’t turn down assistance from Jedi sympathizers. Kanan’s travels bringing him to worlds like Mapuzo and Jabiim isn’t surprising, though they likely wouldn’t have been recent, as he’d have already joined Hera by the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan’s Kanan Jarrus acknowledgment also serves as an additional reminder that Rebels is still part of Star Wars’ post-2014 canon continuity. The Grand Inquisitor appears to have died in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 2, but the show’s head writer insists that Rebels will be respected, perhaps hinting that The Grand Inquisitor isn’t truly dead. This, combined with the Kanan Jarrus easter egg, indicates that Rebels is still part of the current Star Wars canon and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is consciously adding to its lore.
New episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi release Wednesdays on Disney+.
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