“Dave Filoni, executive producer of Star Wars Rebels and Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group came together on the first day of Star Wars Celebration Orlando to give a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most beloved animated characters, ships, and storylines from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and beyond. Here are 11 of the most revealing insights and surprises from the panel, as well as sketches and concept art shown throughout.

1. Savage Opress (and George Lucas) were instrumental in resurrecting Maul from the dead. Once he had seen the other son of Dathomir in his animated glory on The Clone Wars, Lucas approached Filoni about adding Maul to the cast, complete with spidery legs. “I’ve got an idea and you’re going to love it,” Lucas told him. “Oh…that so seldom lines up,” he joked. After seeing The Phantom Menace, he — like many fans — had assumed Maul was never going to heal. “It’s over. He’s cut in half. How does that work?” Filoni told Lucas of his idea for resurrection. Lucas’ advice? “I don’t know. Figure it out.”[…]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbhMNFDvQM0

3. Cad Bane is responsible for the origins of a certain bounty hunter’s dented helmet. In a never-before-seen clip from Star Wars: The Clone Wars shown during the panel Thursday afternoon, Bane and Boba Fett have an Old West, quick-draw-style gunfight that ends with both bounty hunters flat on their backs. It was a fitting choice for a character that was originally envisioned as a gunslinger in the style of Lee Van Cleef ‘s “Angel Eyes.”

Although there’s no way to know if Bane survived the showdown, Boba Fett lived but was forever marked. The scene closes with a curl of smoke coming off the fresh blast mark on his now empty helmet as it rolls away, reminiscent of his father Jango Fett’s fatal encounter with Mace Windu.

“If we had a little more time, we’d tell you what happened to Ahsoka and Cad Bane,” Filoni joked at the end of the hour. […]

8. The Rebels incarnation of Ahsoka, with her blinding white lightsabers, is Filoni’s favorite design. The audience was treated to plenty of artist renderings and early drawings to showcase the evolution of characters’ looks, including Ahsoka. In a 2005 sketch, she was just a shy Togruta girl peeking out from beneath her oversized Jedi hood. Audiences didn’t meet the character for another three years, and over that time she tried on different costumes and facial markings and had her named changed from Ashla, before the team arrived at the version that made it to Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, influenced by San in Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke. An early maquette had more angular features, but Lucas voiced some concerns over her larger alien head, suggesting softening her features to make her more relatable. […]

Read more and check out many other concept arts at StarWars.com.