The Star Wars universe has never been lacking in ardent followers, but few characters have captured the imagination and adoration of fans in quite the style of Ahsoka Tano, first introduced as Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice in the beloved animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Quickly becoming as important to the franchise as some of its much more established figureheads, Ahsoka finally made her live-action debut in 2020, when Rosario Dawson slipped on her tentacular hair for the second season of The Mandalorian.
Now, a new live-action series from the world of Lucasfilm and Disney+ is on the horizon. Ahsoka will follow Dawson as the eponymous Jedi, reeling after the loss of her once-respected mentor. Here’s what we know so far.
Who is Ahsoka Tano?
Part of an alien race known as the Togruta from the homeworld Shili, Ahsoka Tano was once the Padawan (a.k.a. apprentice) of Anakin Skywalker, who would later become the villain Darth Vader. She fought alongside Anakin during the Clone Wars and eventually become a Jedi in her own right. But after she was falsely framed for an explosion at the Jedi Temple, she lost faith in the Jedi Council and left the Jedi Order to carve out her own path. By joining up with the Rebellion, she was eventually reunited with her old master, who had since donned the iconic black helmet and sold his soul to the Dark Side. During a heart-wrenching battle with Vader, she was rescued by another Padawan named Ezra Bridger, who later disappeared in a battle against the Empire.
What’s the plot of Ahsoka?
An alleged casting breakdown offered this logline to describe the show:
Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) is on the hunt for the evil Grand Admiral Thrawn in the hope it will help her locate the missing Ezra Bridger, the young Jedi that disappeared with Thrawn many years ago. Based on characters from the “Star Wars” franchise. A spinoff of the TV series “The Mandalorian”.
The show is set five years after The Return of the Jedi, in which Anakin a.k.a. Darth Vader dies at the hands of Emperor Palpatine. Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin in Star Wars episodes 1-3, is set to reappear in Ahsoka, which leaves us wondering how he will figure into the story. Perhaps in flashbacks? As a hologram?
The limited series will be written by Dave Filoni, who’s also co-producing with Jon Favreau.
Who is in the cast?
Dawson and Christensen are confirmed, and those are two exciting names already. In July, a rumor circulated that actor Mena Massoud of Aladdin had been cast based on an Instagram post Dawson shared—the post was about the rumor, so her sharing it was read as confirmation.
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Massoud had posted on his own Instagram about playing the character of Bridger, the young Jedi who once saved Ahsoka, but he might have just been trying to attract attention from producers for a possible audition. In the post, he quoted Bridger from an episode of the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, writing, “Hey, just so you know, when I escape I won’t hurt any of you.”
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In November, it was confirmed by Deadline that The Society‘s Natasha Liu Bordizzo had been cast as Sabine Wren from the Star Wars Rebels animated series. The character is a “young Mandalorian warrior and graffiti artist, Imperial Academy dropout and a former bounty hunter” who apparently knows a lot about blowing things up. Wren was voiced by Tiya Sircar in the animated series.
When will Ahsoka come out on Disney+?
There’s no release date set yet, but fans can anticipate seeing Tano on their screens again sometime in 2022. Deadline reports that there is a March production start date.
Lauren Puckett-Pope Associate Editor Lauren Puckett-Pope is an associate editor at ELLE, where she covers news and culture.
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