Credit: Inside the MagicIt’s no secret that the upcoming Disney+ Ahsoka series will act as a spiritual successor to Star Wars Rebels, featuring several of the same beloved characters. But according to one of its stars, the story might go in a different direction than you’d think—particularly regarding Eman Esfandi’s Ezra Bridger.
Created by Dave Filoni, the Rosario Dawson-led Ahsoka is perhaps Star Wars’ most anticipated spinoff show to date. Starring Dawson as the titular ex-Jedi, the story will follow Ahsoka as she recruits the help of some old friends, Captain Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), to take down a familiar enemy: Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
Check out the official teaser trailer for Ahsoka below:
First introduced in the animated Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels, Sabine and Hera were pivotal members of the Ghost crew. Alongside former Jedi Kanun Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and his young apprentice, Ezra (Taylor Gray), as well as Lasat Honor Guard Captain Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios (Steve Blum) and their trusty droid, Chopper, the Ghost team valiantly fought against the Galactic Empire, experiencing heartbreak, sacrifice, and tragedy along the way.
In the Rebels series finale, Ezra sacrificed himself to take down Thrawn, vanishing into space after wrapping himself and the Chiss Admiral in the tentacles of hyperspace-traveling Purgill. Believing both to still be alive, Ahsoka is briefly seen searching for Ezra in the finale—a story thread that will be continued in her solo spinoff show.
It was confirmed at this year’s Star Wars Celebration Europe that Winstead would be stepping into the role of Hera, while Mikkelsen, who voiced Thrawn in animation, would reprise his role for Ahsoka. At the 2022 Celebration, it was previously revealed that Bordizzo would play live-action Sabine, though fans finally got a first look at her character in the trailer for the new show.
Zeb also made the unexpected leap to live-action in Season 3 of The Mandalorian, where he was seen hanging out at a New Republic air base in “Chapter 21: The Pirate,” all but confirming that the Ghost crew will reunite for Ahsoka.
And according to Bordizzo, the search for Ezra will be an ongoing plot point in Season 1, acting as a de facto Season 5 of Rebels. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly’s Dagobah Dispatch podcast, the actress teased her character’s Ezra-focused mission and the “obligation she has towards her friend:”
She’s been through a lot, and she’s still a stubborn cookie. But, I think that you find her… at the end of Rebels, she was a huge part of the liberation of Lothal, and many regard her as this hero, but she so does not feel that way about herself. She’s only thinking about the obligation she has towards her friend, so she’s got that mission in mind, not her hero status. And she’s got a huge journey to go on with Ahsoka. So we find her at the start of that.
While this isn’t exactly a surprise, considering earlier comments about Ezra’s return and Esfandi’s casting as the young Jedi, it’s interesting that Sabine will be the one leading the search for her old friend. The Mandalorian did have a special connection to Ezra, with the two having a tight bond throughout the latter seasons of Rebels. However, Hera, Ahsoka, and likely Zeb will join Sabine’s efforts to find Ezra somewhere in the galaxy.
If finding Ezra is a personal mission for Sabine, then it seems likely that each character will have a side quest of their own, tying back to Ahsoka’s overarching conflict with Thrawn. There’s also the matter of the mysterious Force user Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and his apprentice, Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), who could also be trouble for our main heroes along the way.
Ultimately, the involvement of both Ezra Bridger and Thrawn makes it clear to fans that Ahsoka will be a direct continuation of the plot threads left dangling after Rebels finished its run on Disney+, which could prove exciting to fans of Star Wars animation.
Previous rumors have also indicated that Ezra and Thrawn could lead Sabine and Ahsoka to explore an entirely new era of the galaxy via the World Between Worlds, potentially setting up the central conflict for Filoni’s “Mando-Verse” crossover event.
Ahsoka arrives on Disney+ in August 2023.
What do you think of Ezra Bridger’s role in Ahsoka? Share your thoughts in the comments below.