Since appearing in the animated series Clone Wars and Rebels, Ahsoka has become one of the most beloved Star Wars characters in a galaxy far, far away. However, her upcoming live-action Disney Plus series won’t be a convoluted call back to her past, instead offering fans a new viewing experience.
In an interview with Empire Magazine (via Comicbook.com), stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Sabine Wren) and Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka) explained how the future series is its own entity that both long-time Ahsoka followers and Star Wars newbies can enjoy. “A lot of people haven’t seen Rebels,” the two said. “It’s great for them to have seen it, but we’ve got a standalone chapter as it is.” Since the 2019 sci-fi series The Mandalorian, Star Wars series have been drawing on the science fiction movies, comics, or videogames to create stories within the IP.
Trying to please everyone and making a widely accessible show is a tricky task due to the overload of potential references. However, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau (executive producers of Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian) have seemingly found the balance in pleasing hardcore lore hounds and casual Star Wars fans.
The creative teams over at Disney have continually seen success by making Star Wars TV series hyper-focus on a single character’s journey. We have seen it done with The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and most recently with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
It is reassuring that Ahsoka will be getting the same treatment as past Star Wars series, as a standalone chapter, instead of trying to tie her narrative with another character.
“Dave and Jon [Favreau] are continuing Star Wars in a way where it can be standalone, but it also makes you hungry for more… there have been two instances where [Ahsoka] shown up on a mission, you see how she’s interacting with folks, but you don’t really get her, per se,” Dawson explained. “Even fans who’ve lived with her for so long don’t know where she’s at now in this journey.”
Ahsoka is currently in production and is scheduled to release exclusively on the streaming service Disney Plus in 2023.