Kanan Jarrus — Star Wars The Black Series #19

Overview

Red Line #19 is Kanan Jarrus — the first Star Wars Rebels character to enter the Black Series. His inclusion at #19 represents a significant expansion of the Black Series’ scope beyond film-based characters, signalling that the line would cover animated series canon alongside live-action media. Kanan is a Jedi who survived Order 66 as a Padawan — Caleb Dume before he changed his identity to escape Imperial detection — who has spent the years between the Clone Wars and Rebels suppressing his Force abilities and hiding as a smuggler before the Ghost crew’s formation gives him reason to stop hiding.

The Rebels animated aesthetic creates a specific figure challenge: Kanan’s proportions and facial structure are stylised rather than photorealistic, designed for animation rather than live-action reference. Hasbro translated the animated design into the Black Series format with the same approach used for Clone Wars figures — respecting the stylised proportions rather than trying to make them more realistic, which produces a figure that reads accurately as the Rebels character rather than an approximation of what a live-action version might look like. MSRP $19.99.

Kanan Jarrus in Star Wars Rebels

Kanan’s narrative arc across four seasons of Rebels is one of the more complete character developments in the Disney-era animated series. He begins as a reluctant Jedi who has spent over a decade pretending not to be one; he ends as a fully committed Jedi Knight and teacher who dies ensuring his Padawan and the crew of the Ghost survive. His relationship with Ezra Bridger as a teacher-student pair is the show’s central dynamic, and the specific challenge of teaching Force skills he’s been suppressing himself gives the relationship genuine complexity.

The configuration this figure captures is his primary Rebels appearance — the poncho, the split lightsaber hilt that also functions as a blaster grip, and the specific posture of a man who is still figuring out how to be the thing he was trained to be. His lightsaber is a custom-built weapon rather than a traditional single hilt.

Accessories

Blue lightsaber and blaster — the specific dual-function configuration that characterises Kanan’s weapon choice. The lightsaber hilt design in Rebels is split to accommodate the blaster integration, and the figure’s accessories reflect this. Both weapons fit the hands.

Articulation: 19 points via the standard Red Line scheme.

Rebels in the Black Series Context

Kanan and the Ahsoka Tano #20 figure that follows him in the sequence represent the beginning of the animated series expansion in the Black Series. Their inclusion at #19 and #20 — consecutive numbers in the sequence — suggests Hasbro was treating the Rebels licence as a specific programme rather than individual character decisions. For collectors building a Rebels display, these two plus Sabine Wren and other Rebels figures across the Red Line and subsequent waves provide the Ghost crew context.

Secondary Market

The Red Line Kanan Jarrus holds modest above-retail secondary market prices. The stylised animated design means the pre-Photo Real question is largely irrelevant — animated characters don’t have a live-action photographic reference to compare against. No significant variants documented.

Verdict

Buy for Rebels character collection, the animated series display, or Red Line sequence completion. The first Rebels character in the Black Series has collector significance beyond the figure’s individual merits.

Kanan’s Lightsaber Engineering

The split-hilt lightsaber that Kanan carries in Rebels is one of the more interesting weapon designs in the Black Series accessory history. The hilt separates to accommodate a blaster grip integration — Kanan’s pre-Order 66 experience included concealment of his Force abilities, and his weapon was designed to be dismissible as a non-Jedi tool. By the time of Rebels he’s stopped hiding, but the dual-function weapon persists as part of his identity.

The figure’s blue lightsaber accessory represents the activated configuration; the split hilt is the design detail that distinguishes Kanan’s weapon from standard Jedi sabers. For display, the lightsaber ignited in a two-handed grip is the most recognisable Kanan configuration.

The Rebels Era and Black Series Expansion

Kanan’s placement at #19 in the Red Line numbered sequence was a significant moment for the line — the first time an animated-only character held a numbered slot in the main line rather than being treated as a special or exclusive release. It signalled Hasbro’s commitment to the Black Series as a platform for all Star Wars media, not just the theatrical films. This decision opened the door for subsequent waves to include Clone Wars characters, Mandalorian characters, and other animated-origin figures as first-class numbered releases.

For collectors who limit their displays to film-only characters, Kanan and Ahsoka represent a content decision. For collectors who engage with the extended universe of animated series, they’re essential — the two most significant non-film Jedi in the pre-Disney+ era Star Wars canon.

Collector Notes

No significant variants. Modest above-retail secondary market pricing.

Kanan’s place in the Jedi lineage is specifically a bridge figure between the Clone Wars and the era before the original trilogy. He was trained by Depa Billaba, a Council member who survived Order 66 briefly before being killed by her own clone troops. He carries the last traces of the Old Jedi Order’s training into an era where no institutions exist to receive it — teaching Ezra Bridger an improvised, survival-focused version of the Jedi path rather than the formal Council methodology. The figure captures him in this transitional role, and displayed alongside the Clone Wars-era figures, the generational connection is readable.

The timing of Kanan’s introduction at #19 in the Red Line sequence is worth noting for Red Line completionists: by placing Kanan and Ahsoka #20 consecutively, Hasbro created a natural animated series display pair within the numbered sequence. Collecting the Red Line in order means encountering the two primary Rebels Jedi together, which is how they function in the show — as complementary Force users operating outside the institutional structures that defined their predecessors. The sequence number is a display pairing suggestion built into the numbering.

---

Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Red Line. Related: Ahsoka Tano #20 | Rebels characters | Jedi Order faction.