More and more, as the Disney+ Star Wars series continue, the importance of the animated series comes to the fore. From Cad Bane showing up in The Book of Boba Fett to fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano getting her own live action show, the more Dave Filoni creates, the more connected it will be. In her debut in The Mandalorian, Rosario Dawson’s live-action version of Ahsoka confirmed she still hunts the evil Grand Admiral Thrawn. This confirmed that the end of Star Wars Rebels leads directly into Ahsoka. This became even more of a fact on Saturday at Star Wars Celebration; other Rebels characters Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla, and Chopper will be on hand.
During a panel with Filoni and Jon Favreau, the pair showed clips of season three of The Mandalorian, and then showed little bits of Ahsoka. That series has only had three weeks of shooting, so it wasn’t much. However, they confirmed a long-rumored recasting of another animated favorite character. Australian actor Natasha Liu Bordizzo took the stage to talk about bringing Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren to life.
“I know how much Sabine means to you,” Bordizzo told the stoked audience. “And after watching Star Wars Rebels, she means so much to me as well.”
Bordizzo wasn’t alone; the practical version of the Chopper droid also took the stage. The sassiest of all droids will also appear in Ahsoka, as will, evidently, Hera Syndulla. During the sizzle reel, the audience saw the back of the Twi’lek ship captain’s distinctive silhouette. No announcement on who will play Hera.
The final episode of Star Wars Rebels had Grand Admiral Thrawn and young Jedi trainee Ezra Bridger going through a wormhole to parts unknown. Ahsoka and Sabine vowed to track down their friend. Rumors have abounded about who might play Ezra, but no word there either. So the search is on for both Ezra and Thrawn. Thrawn was easily the best villain of the pre-Disney Star Wars Legends era who got a reprieve from de-canonization in Rebels.
For years, it was only The Clone Wars keeping the Star Wars legacy alive. It remained the only non-movie in the canon after the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm. Since then, Filoni’s animated universe has only gotten more important in the Disney+ shows. Obi-Wan Kenobi deals directly with the aftermath of The Clone Wars; Bo-Katan is a major character on The Mandalorian; and now in Ahsoka, fans will get the continuing live-action adventures of more favorites of the animated ilk.
Ahsoka will premiere some time in 2023.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
