The visual style of the series is inspired by the original Star Wars trilogy concept art by Ralph McQuarrie.

Fourteen years after the fall of both the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order and the rise of the Galactic Empire,[10] a motley group of rebels called the Spectres unite aboard a light freighter called the Ghost and begin to conduct covert operations against Imperial forces on and around the planet Lothal and on other planets that are menaced by the Empire.

[29] In Southeast Asia, Spark of Rebellion premiered on Disney XD on October 4 and the series officially started on November 29.

[38] Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD in the US at all retailers on October 14, 2014.

The Season 1 collection contains the expanded version of Spark of Rebellion with the Darth Vader/Grand Inquisitor prologue shown on ABC-TV.

The Complete Season Two of Star Wars Rebels was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray on August 30, 2016, in North America.

[68] On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has received a 92% positive score, based on 13 reviews with an average rating of 8.20/10, the website's critics consensus reads, "Rebels adds new dimension to an unexplored sector of the Star Wars timeline, inserting a ragtag group of lovable characters into a galactic adventure that all ages can enjoy."

Season 4 has received a 100% score based on 10 reviews with an average rating of 9.20/10, the website's critics consensus reads, "The Force is with these Rebels in a thrilling conclusion that plays to its characters' strengths while serving up plenty of galactic spectacle.

[77] SyFy Wire calls the series "Pure fun", further stating that it "captures the awe and joy of A New Hope" and is "thematically ambitious" with a "dramatic edge".

[78] Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media called the series "exciting" with cartoon violence and "positive messages."

Zeb makes his live action debut in season three episode, "Chapter 21: The Pirate", voiced again by Steven Blum.

[86] Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, and Hera Syndulla made their live-action debut in the series Ahsoka, portrayed by Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Eman Esfandi, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, respectively.

Freddie Prinze Jr. and Vanessa Marshall reprise their roles as younger versions of Kanan Jarrus (then still going by his original name, Caleb Dume) and Hera Syndulla in three episodes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, with the former also making brief non-speaking cameo appearances in the seventh season of The Clone Wars and the series Tales of the Jedi.

The Grand Inquisitor also appeared in the fourth episode of its sequel, Tales of the Empire, with Jason Isaacs reprising his role as the character.

On September 2, 2014, Del Rey Books published Star Wars: A New Dawn, a prequel novel by John Jackson Miller telling the story of how Kanan and Hera met[77][94] (set about six years before the series).

[95] One of the first canon Star Wars novels to be released by Disney Publishing Worldwide and Del Rey Books,[96][94] It includes a foreword by Dave Filoni.

[100] Hera Syndulla would go on to appear in Alexander Freed's Star Wars: Alphabet Squadron novel trilogy, as a general of the recently christened New Republic's eponymous starfighter squadron in the final days of the Galactic Civil War, hunting down the weakened Imperial forces after the battle of Endor and the death of Emperor Palpatine.

Written by former executive producer of the series Greg Weisman and illustrated by Pepe Larraz, Jacopo Camagni and Andrea Broccardo, the story is centered on Kanan having flashbacks to his days as a Padawan in the Jedi Temple and the Clone Wars.

[101] In the summer of 2017, Marvel announced that a comic book miniseries adaptation of Zahn's Thrawn novel was being planned, scheduled to be released in early 2018.

A few days after the series finale was aired, IDW Publishing released the seventh issue of the long-running Star Wars Adventures multi-era comic book series, which contained the first of a two-part comic arc, set between the second and third season, in which the Spectres embark on a mission to save a rare endangered bird from Imperial custody.

[104] A side-scrolling run-and-gun game based on the show's first season, titled Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions, was released by Disney Mobile on iOS, Android and Windows Store in early 2015, before being discontinued on July 28, 2016, due to the limitations of the support team.

Vanessa Marshall reprises her role as Hera Syndulla for the 2020 video game Star Wars: Squadrons, providing voice work and motion capture for the character.