Season 3 was suppose to lead directly into Rogue One but they went a completely different way. Saw was more of stunt than an actual running plot. We know the Ghost, Chopper and Hera survive into Rogue One time.
I never got the sense that would happen at all. I certainly didn't think that Season 3 would be the final season in the series. Yes, there are elements of REBELS that turn up in ROGUE ONE, but they didn't appear in a way that would denote the passage of time except for Hera now being referred to as General Syndulla.
With Saw? He looked a bit more like he appeared in the flashback scenes of ROGUE ONE. He didn't have the robotic leg in the Geonosis episode that he had in the Jedha scenes of ROGUE ONE, either. It would seem Saw has a bit of territory to cover before we see him circa ROGUE ONE.
The key for me in terms of the timeline is Dantooine. After the events of this past week's episode I got the sense that following Mon Mothma's statement the Rebel Alliance is about to coalesce more formally. And I suspect that will also lead them to establish a new base of operations on Dantooine. That seems like it may tie in with this line from ANH that Officer Cass delivers to Tarkin:
"Our scout ships have reached Dantooine. They found the remains of a Rebel base, but they estimate that it has been deserted for some time" It seems likely to me that the series could still cover another couple of years while the Rebels operate from Dantooine. At least until they establish the base on Yavin IV.
On a related note? I've heard rumors that Dave Filoni is now working on developing a new Star Wars animated series. What it may be or when it might come out is beyond me. But based on a lot of the BTS video that's been released on the Official Site, it seems like Filoni has taken a step back with his involvement on REBELS. And that makes me think it's likely that REBELS may have a season or two left before Lucasfilm transitions over to the next animated project.
