Credit: LucasfilmThe upcoming Ahsoka series from Star Wars is now connected to Sony’s “Spider-Verse”!
Lucasfilm’s Star Wars universe is ever-expanding. Most recently, Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett) and Ming-Na Wen’s (Fennec Shand) The Book of Boba Fett was released on Disney+, joining Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Dave Filoni’s The Bad Batch on the streaming platform.
Next to become part of the “Mando-Verse” will be Star Wars: Ahsoka starring Rosario Dawson as Anakin Skywalker’s former Jedi Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, who famously left the Jedi Order. Star Wars fans will know that Dawson’s iteration of the beloved character first appeared in Filoni’s episode, “Chapter 13: The Jedi”, for The Mandalorian Season 2 before reprising her role for that episode in The Book of Boba Fett alongside CGI-Mark Hamill’s Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.
Related: Fans Suddenly Want NEW Ahsoka Actress Following Latest Cast Announcement
Ashley Eckstein, of course, originated Ahsoka Tano for the Star Wars franchise in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), translating into a hugely popular canon television animated series of the same name and eventually into Star Wars Rebels. Her arrival into the live-action Star Wars series on Corvus revealed her quest to discover the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn and, by association, likely Ezra Bridger. Rumored casting for the latter is that Aladdin (2019) star Mena Massoud will play the Jedi.
Little is known about the story and production — which reportedly begins very soon –, but there have been developments in the casting arena. Joining Dawson will be Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Sabine Wren), Ivanna Sakhno (Astrid), and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Ray Stevenson, both in undisclosed roles.
Stevenson previously voiced Gar Saxon in both The Clone Wars and Rebels. Winstead’s partner, Ewan McGregor, will star in Star Wars‘ next series, Obi-Wan Kenobi, with Christensen this May.
New information has been revealed regarding the directing team, with the announcement connecting Ahsoka to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed:
[Peter Ramsey], who became the first Black filmmaker to win the animated feature Oscar as co-director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, has been tapped to direct at least one episode of Ahsoka, the latest Star Wars series that Lucasfilm is making for Disney+, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.
Shooting begins in Los Angeles later this month. The episode count and additional directors have not been revealed. Lucasfilm has not commented.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) was a critically acclaimed animated feature film that also wowed audiences with its portrayal of Spider-Man Miles Morales, a catchy soundtrack, stunning visual effects, and introducing fans to multiple iterations of Peter Parker and Spider-Man. A sequel is slated for October 2022 called Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One), with Part Two of the movie coming next year.
Ramsey is also known for directing DreamWorks Animation’s Rise of the Guardians (2012), making him the first African-American filmmaker to direct a big-budget animated movie. It is not yet known how many episodes Ramsey will direct for Ahsoka. If it is anything like The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett, there will be a mix of talent padding out the helming team. Obi-Wan Kenobi marks the first live-action Star Wars series that is solely directed by one filmmaker — Deborah Chow.
The Mandalorian Season 3 is said to have wrapped production with work on Ahsoka beginning shortly. It is expected the series will focus on Ahsoka’s hunt for Thrawn and Ezra across the galaxy far, far away, and is slated for a 2023 release.
More information may be coming shortly on the fate of Ahsoka Tano and her entanglement in the Skywalker Saga, as Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are set to lead a “Mando-Verse” panel at Star Wars Celebration.
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