Everything we know about the Ahsoka series
Ahsoka is an upcoming Disney+ series set in the Star Wars universe, and it will further show the state of the galaxy after Return of the Jedi. Announced in December 2020 after the character appeared in season two of The Mandalorian, it quickly grasped audiences and became the most anticipated series after The Mandalorian. Here’s everything that’s known about the show.
Starting with the basics, the series will follow Ahsoka Tano, a character that was first introduced to audiences in the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, and has gone on to be a beloved character in the franchise. Rosario Dawson will play the role. An exact release date hasn’t been given, but the show will come out in 2023.
It will take place around 9ABY, which is roughly five years after Return of the Jedi. The series will focus on Ahsoka finding Grand Admiral Thrawn, an antagonist first created for the now Legends book trilogy titled Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command. These books are written by Timothy Zahn.
Grand Admiral Thrawn also appeared in seasons three and four of the animated show Star Wars: Rebels. So far, no one has been cast to play the character, but there are plenty of rumours.
Rebels will be a key part of Ahsoka, as other characters from that show will appear in the series. Natasha Liu Bordizzo will play the Mandalorian Sabine Wren in live action. Other Rebels characters confirmed to appear are the Twi’lek Hera Syndulla, her droid Chopper and Jedi Ezra Bridger. A notable absence is the Lasat Zeb Orrelios and former Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus.
In September 2022, the geek culture website Cinelix reported that Eman Esfandi would play the Jedi, a report picked up by sites like The Hollywood Reporter. This hasn’t been confirmed by Lucasfilm. Bridger went missing with Thrawn at the end of Rebels, and the epilogue showed Ahsoka and Sabine going to find him.
Some actors have been cast in as of yet undisclosed roles. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ewan McGregor’s wife) will also appear in the show, along with Ivanna Sakhno. Ray Stevenson has been cast as a villainous admiral. He has previously appeared in both Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, providing the voice for the Mandalorian Gar Saxon. Saxon died in Rebels.
The Hollywood Reporter have announced Hayden Christensen, the actor who played Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel films, will appear in the show, but again this has yet to be confirmed by Lucasfilm. Ahsoka was Anakin’s Padawan in The Clone Wars.
A clip for Ahsoka was shown at Star Wars Celebrations Anaheim 2022, with the droid Huyang appearing in the clip. Huyang first appeared in season five of The Clone Wars, as a droid who helps Jedi younglings make their lightsabers. In the show he was voiced by David Tennant, most well known for playing the 10th incarnation of Doctor Who.
Behind the camera, the series is developed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, frequent contributors to the Star Wars world. Filoni will be writing the series, and he will be directing some too, including the first episode. Peter Ramsey, best known for directing the Universal animated film Rise of the Guardians, is onboard to direct at least one episode.
Filming on the show began in May 2022 in Los Angeles, with the show using The Volume. It finished around October 2022, with post-production starting immediately afterwards. How long this process takes is unknown
A full trailer for the series has yet to be publicly released, but a short clip aired at Star Wars Celebrations Anaheim 2022. A very quick piece of footage for the show was released in a thirty second teaser for 2023 Disney+ projects, published by Disney, showing Ahsoka, but that’s it.
Even more elusive than a trailer is a release date for the show. It’s probable that it will release in the latter half of 2023, but any date more specific other than that would be pure guesswork. Audiences will have to wait for Lucasfilm to release more information.
Another piece of information that’s yet to be provided is an episode count. There is no consistency when it comes to how many episodes a live-action Star Wars show has, with the least being Obi-Wan Kenobi with six episodes, and Andor with 12. Again, audiences will have to wait for more information.
