Star Wars fans got their first good look at the new Ahsoka series thanks to Star Wars Celebration. The series’ first trailer is here, and it features quite a few familiar faces. In fact, it’s clear now that Ahsoka is a true live-action continuation of Star Wars Rebels.
That’s great for Rebels fans, but what if you don’t know your Hera Syndulla from your Grand Admiral Thrawn? And who are these new orange lightsaber-wielding villains anyway? Let’s take a closer look at the many characters in the trailer and how they fit into the puzzle that is Star Wars: Ahsoka.
Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano
The series stars Rosario Dawson as Anakin Skywalker’s former Padawan Ahsoka Tano. We know it’s building on Dawson’s previous appearances in The Mandalorian: Season 2 and The Book of Boba Fett, though when exactly in the timeline Star War: Ahsoka is set is a little unclear. We don’t know if the series is entirely set after her last appearance at Luke’s Jedi Temple or if it might flash back to fill in the missing gaps of her story.
It doesn’t help that Ahsoka is the one Star Wars character whose relationship with time is a little wonky. In Rebels, Ahsoka was saved from death after her duel with Darth Vader when her friend Ezra Bridger pulled her into a realm known as the World Between Worlds. That ordeal caused her to time travel, conveniently keeping her out of the picture for the original Star Wars movies. We don’t know exactly how much time Ahsoka lost, but we do know that she’s back in action in the era after the Empire’s fall and looking to confront a new threat to the galaxy.
The Ahsoka series definitely looks to be addressing Ahsoka’s timey-wimey adventures. The temple she explores in the opening shots features artwork clearly inspired by the World Between Worlds. And she’s clearly not the only person interested in this temple, as we see her battling a group of pike-wielding droids similar to General Grievous’ bodyguards. Meanwhile, the trailers feature other shots of Ahsoka dueling Ray Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll, and it appears that Ahsoka could actually be returning to the World Between Worlds in this series.
Lars Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn
Thanks to The Mandalorian, we already know what Ahsoka’s quest involves. She’s been looking for Grand Admiral Thrawn, the one man with the skills and ambition to rally the dying Empire and restore it to its former might.
Thrawn was last seen in the series finale of Rebels. He and Ezra were trapped aboard a Star Destroyer that was dragged to the far end of the galaxy. As with Ahsoka, that plot twist conveniently took Thrawn and Ezra out of the equation for the Original Trilogy, while still keeping them in play for future stories. That time is finally here.
We only see brief glimpses of Thrawn in the trailers, though we know Lars Mikkelsen will be reprising his role from Rebels. And in a fun nod to the classic Star Wars Expanded Universe, Ahsoka refers to Thrawn as “the heir to the empire.” Heir to the Empire is the novel that first introduced Thrawn in 1991, and we’d bet it’s having a significant influence on Star Wars: Ahsoka.
What we don’t know is whether Thrawn is actually the main villain of Star Wars: Ahsoka. While he’s one of the most effective commanders in the Imperial fleet, Thrawn’s motives have always been more complex than most. His true loyalty lies not with the Empire, but his own people in the Chiss Ascendancy. There may be those that want Thrawn to save the Empire from final defeat, but is that what he wants? What has he been doing out there in the fringes of the galaxy anyway? And does this all tie into the rise of the First Order later in the Star Wars timeline? These are questions we assume the series will answer.
Eman Esfandi’s Ezra Bridger
Speaking of Ezra, while we don’t see this young Jedi hero in the flesh in the trailers, we do briefly glimpse him via hologram. Eman Esfandi has been cast as Ezra for the character’s live-action debut. Presumably, Ezra is still missing along with Thrawn, and Ahsoka’s quest is as much about tracking down her missing friend as it is uncovering the truth about this new threat.
It’s also worth pointing out the shot of a Lothcat in the trailer, a callback to the iconic Rebels critter and Ezra’s unique Force connection with animal life.
Natasha Liu Bordizzo’s Sabine Wren
The character holding that Ezra hologram is none other than Natasha Liu Bordizzo’s Sabine Wren, another main character from Rebels. Sabine is a Mandalorian with an unusually rebellious streak and colorful fashion sense. Of the Spectres, Sabine was closest with Ezra, and it’s clear she’s still dwelling on Lothal and feeling the pain of his loss even years later.
Sabine is another character for whom the series has some big gaps to fill. We don’t know what she’s been up to since the fall of the Empire. What role did she play in defending the doomed Mandalore from the Empire’s Purge? How does she feel about the Darksaber – a weapon she briefly wielded – falling into the hands of Moff Gideon?
The second Ahsoka trailer delivers some interesting revelations about the Ahsoka/Sabine dynamic. It suggests that Sabine herself is Force-sensitive and briefly trained under Ahsoka before the two characters parted ways. That definitely wasn’t covered in Rebels, so the new series has some major explaining to do.
Whatever’s been going on with Sabine, it’s clear Ahsoka is hoping to recruit her for the hunt for Thrawn. We have to assume she’ll be signing on.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Hera Syndulla
Also making the jump from animation to live-action is Hera Syndulla, captain of the Ghost and one of the best pilots in the Rebel Alliance. Lucasfilm has finally confirmed that Hera will be played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. We also see Hera’s trusty droid companion Chopper in the trailer, making this Chopper’s second live-action Star Wars appearance.
As with Sabine, we assume Ahsoka is looking to recruit Hera for her hunt for Thrawn and Ezra. Unlike Sabine, however, Hera might be a little more conflicted. As we learned at the end of Rebels, Hera now has a son named Jacen. Jacen was fathered by the Jedi Kanan Jarrus before Kanan’s tragic sacrifice in Rebels Season 4. We wouldn’t be surprised if Hera is using the Empire’s defeat as an excuse to settle down and be a mother. Will she risk everything to get back in the fight now?
Chopper
As mentioned, Hera’s trusty yet cantankerous droid companion Chopper is returning to live-action in Star Wars: Ahsoka. The years don’t seem to have changed him one bit.
Huyang
Chopper isn’t the only familiar droid face from the Star Wars cartoons appearing in Star Wars: Ahsoka. Huyang is also back, and again voiced by David Tennant. Huyang was once a droid professor who schooled Jedi younglings in the art of lightsaber construction. These days, he appears to be Ahsoka’s personal assistant.
Ray Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll and Ivanna Sakhno’s Shin Hati
Thrawn’s exact role in the series may be unclear, but we do see two new villains in the trailers. Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno are both playing Dark Jedi characters who come into conflict with Ahsoka. Stevenson is playing Baylan Skoll, and Sakhno is playing Skoll’s apprentice, Shin Hati.
Interestingly, these characters may not actually be traditional Sith Lords. There’s no indication that Palpatine or Darth Vader had additional apprentices during the era of the Original Trilogy. And unlike most Dark Side users, these characters are wielding orange-bladed lightsabers instead of the familiar red blades. Does this signify that they’re part of some new faction in the eternal conflict between Light and Dark?
Stevenson’s character speaks of “a new beginning.” He seems to see opportunity in this new, post-Imperial era. Perhaps he hopes to replace Palpatine as the dominant Dark Side power in the galaxy. Or these two characters may be seeking Thrawn for their own purposes. In Heir to the Empire, Thrawn seeks out a rogue Jedi Master named Joruus C’Baoth. He needs a powerful Jedi who can recreate a phenomenon called Battle Meditation, which the Emperor once used to mold his forces into an even greater threat. Could these Dark Jedi be filling that role in Star Wars: Ahsoka?
Marrok
If two new Dark Jedi characters weren’t enough, Star Wars: Ahsoka also features a lightsaber-wielding villain Named Marrok. We don’t know much about this character, other than that his blade and armor suggest he was once a member of Darth Vader’s Sith Inquisitorius. Those characters were seemingly all wiped out by Ahsoka and her friends in the Season 2 finale of Rebels, but it would seem at least one survived the collpase of the Empire.
These days, Marrok is a mercenary hired by Diana Lee’s Morgan Elspeth. We don’t know who’s playing Marrok, which could suggest there’s a big reveal to come regarding his true identity.
The Other Characters of Star Wars: Ahsoka
There are a couple of other familiar faces in the Ahsoka trailer worth pointing out. At one point we see a hologram of Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Motha alongside other representatives of the New Republic. Ahsoka is no doubt trying to make the Republic aware of the threat posed by Thrawn, but the question is whether they’re willing to listen. As The Mandalorian has shown us, the galaxy’s new government makes a lot of mistakes during its rebuilding efforts.
We also see Diana Lee’s character Morgan Elspeth, a villain who appeared alongside Ahsoka in The Mandalorian. Elspeth is an Imperial magistrate who seems to know a great deal about Thrawn’s whereabouts. She could also be connected to Stevenson and Sahkno’s characters, if restoring the Empire is really their shared goal.
That’s everyone you need to know before diving into Star Wars: Ahsoka. The series debuts on Disney+ on Tuesday, August 22, several hours earlier than expected. If you need more help getting up to date on all things Ahsoka, check out the essential Ahsoka, Hera and Sabine episodes to watch and brush up on Ahsoka’s full Star Wars story so far.
Note: this article was originally published on April 7, 2023 and updated on August 21, 2023 with the latest info about Star Wars: Ahsoka.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.