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Credit: LucasfilmDave Filoni’s Ahsoka is almost ready to release on Disney+, and fans might be shocked at how the highly anticipated series might mess up Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker.
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Star Wars has been building up to this moment. Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano will be searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), a story fans have been waiting for ever since Star Wars Rebels Season 4 ended. Fans knew that Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) would play a role and there’s even a chance that Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin could make an appearance.
Filoni has waited to bring Thrawn and Ahsoka into live-action finally and is setting up a story that will end on the big screen. In 2019, The Mandalorian paved the way for Ahsoka’s live-action debut, and now the Disney+ series will bring back Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. New footage confirmed the actor’s return with new dialogue, but there are several reports of Christensen back with Ewan McGregor potentially joining the cast for a special cameo. It’s clear that Star Wars isn’t holding back the hype, but fans shouldn’t get too excited because the series has one major flaw.
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One well-known insider confirms the runtimes for the first three episodes leaving fans to know that Episode 3 will be barely over 30 minutes long:
#Ahsoka schedule and runtimes: Episode 1: 54 min 21 sec (credits at 51:06) Episode 2: 42 min 15 sec (credits at 38:33) Episode 3: 34 min 50 sec (credits at 31:08) (runtimes via @Cryptic4KQual)
https://twitter.com/swtv_updates/status/1690724647887675392?s=46
After the two-episode premiere, Ahsoka’s runtime will plummet. Just like other Disney+ series, the runtime for the series will vary, and some will be around 40 minutes, with probably most of them staying below 50 minutes. With only eight episodes, it’s hard to know why Disney is fine with less runtime because it hurts one major thing.
Flashbacks. Ahsoka promises that Anakin Skywalker will have a few scenes and probably expand his story with his padawan during the Clone Wars or have his force ghost appear. Either way, these scenes won’t happen frequently because the story and scope are so large there’s not enough time to include those scenes. With Hera and the New Republic unsure about Thrawn’s imminent return and Morgan Elsbeth’s chase to find Thrawn with Ahsoka teaching Sabine, there are plenty of things for fans to watch and look forward to.
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Star Wars continues to use this model for all of its shows, and it hasn’t proven the best way to go. The Mandalorian Season 3 had episodes that felt rushed and out of place because of their pacing issues, and Ahsoka might face the same problems. If Ahsoka can’t tell the story fans want because the runtime is too short for some episodes, it’s obvious that Lucasfilm might need to seriously rethink its structure for the Disney+ series. Runtimes don’t dictate if an episode is good or bad, but it’s clear that if it’s too short, it’s probably rushed.
Ahsoka releases on August 23.
Do you think Ahsoka needs longer runtimes? Let Inside the Magic know what you think!