nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/star-wars-rebels-exec-producer-confirms-season-4-arch-villain-article-1.3576692
>Executive producer Dave Filoni has confirmed that Grand Admiral Thrawn — who split duties with Maul as the big threat of Season 3 — will be the arch villain for the show's final season, which will run for 15 episodes.
>"He's still the one that is watching for them and that they're running from and their main competitor," he tells the Daily News. "Which is different, we've never done that over two seasons before."
>However, Filoni also hints that there may be a bigger villain lurking in the shadows.
>"There may some other villains more arch than him, hiding somewhere … we'll have to wait and see," he says, with a little of that signature teasing he's known for.
>Fans are already aware of another classic enemy that will be joining Thrawn's forces for the fourth season — Noghri warrior Rukh. Many will recall the character's pivotal role in the Legends continuity's Thrawn Trilogy and Filoni has tried to stay true to that portrayal.
>"I try to keep those things as close as possible," he says.
>"I mean some things will always have to be a little bit different because of the story we're telling, but he is very much a devilish assassin."
>As a fan of classic cinema, Filoni is also known for including visual references into his work — Season 3's epic "Twin Suns" was heavily inspired by Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" — and has continued this tradition in the show's fourth season.
>"There's definitely an influence, to a degree, from 'Close Encounters,' there's a flavoring of that kind of magic and mystery," he says.
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