'Star Wars' May Replace Ahsoka Tano With Another Popular Character

A certain Rebels character may end up replacing Ahsoka Tano in her own show.

There seems to be a pattern emerging with Disney and Lucasfilm’s Mando-Verse shows. So far, each live-action Star Wars series has centered around a particular character: The Mandalorian (2019), The Book of Boba Fett (2021), and now, Ahsoka (2023).

In fact, even outside the Mando-Verse, we have Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and Andor (2022). Every single one of these shows is headlined by one particular character. However, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that Disney and Lucasfilm may be thinking too far ahead.

Ahsoka Tano fighting a Sith Inquisitor in the Disney+ series 'Ahsoka' — Credit: Lucasfilm

While The Mandalorian Season 1 certainly focuses on bounty hunter Din Djarin/The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), beyond that, there are some glaring problems with both the subsequent seasons and all the other shows we’ve mentioned.

Fans weren’t happy when Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared to focus mainly on the character arc of the Inquisitor Reva (Moses Ingram), rather than the titular Jedi Knight. The Book of Boba Fett didn’t get off to a great start, but when Din Djarin showed up and took center stage, despite fans being impressed with those episodes, ultimately they were confused.

Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett in 'The Book of Boba Fett' — Credit: Lucasfilm

More recently, we watched as Din Djarin practically handed over The Mandalorian Season 3 to fellow Mandalorian Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackoff). The only exception so far is Andor, as the focus isn’t taken away from Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) to the point where we begin to question why his name is even in the title.

Despite only being two episodes in, Ahsoka appears to be following the same pattern. While the show does, of course, feature Togruta Jedi Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in the lead role, there appears to be a surprising amount of emphasis on the Mandalorian Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), who already has more of an arc at play than Ahsoka (so far).

Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren in Ahsoka — Credit: Lucasfilm

It is revealed in the first episode, “Part One: Master and Apprentice”, that Ahsoka had been training Sabine as a Jedi some years before, and that Ahsoka abandoned her (which has come as a surprise to some fans). We also get to see Sabine wielding a lightsaber against new villain Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), before being badly wounded by her opponent.

We always knew Ahsoka was going to be a live-action sequel to the animated series Star Wars: Rebels (2014 — 2018), and it already seems to be living up to that responsibility, with other Rebels character such as Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Astromech droid Chopper (Dave Filoni) also among the cast (although some Rebels characters are oddly absent). But the focus on Sabine may leave some fans confused in the long run.

Hera Syndulla in Ahsoka — Credit: Lucasfilm

There’s even more focus on Sabine in the second episode, “Part Two: Toil and Trouble”, in which the graffiti artist winds up chopping off most of her hair to restore her iconic look from Rebels. The show is also expanding upon her relationship with lost Jedi Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), with whom she shared a special bond in the animated series.

There are pros and cons to Sabine taking center stage. On the positive side, she will likely be heavily merchandized in the coming weeks and months (which we won’t complain about), given the fact she has a look that would translate to toys and other lines incredibly well. It could also open doors for Sabine to headline her own show in the future.

Sabine Wren fighting Shin with Ezra's lightsaber in Ahsoka — Credit: Lucasfilm

The downside is the continued trend that seems to be plaguing the live-action Star Wars shows, with secondary characters essentially taking over from the leads, which suggests that Disney and Lucasfilm are always looking ahead to the next Star Wars project, and never truly focusing on the one at hand.

But maybe this is a good thing, as it’s possible that, with too much focus on Ahsoka, fans could get bored of her pretty quickly.

As per Disney and Lucasfilm, here’s the official trailer for Ahsoka:

Ahsoka stars Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Sabine Wren), Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger), Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn), Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Hera Syndulla), Genevieve O’Reilly (Mon Mothma), Ivanna Sakhno (Shin Hati), Diana Lee Inosanto (Morgan Elsbeth), and the late Ray Stevenson (Baylan Skoll).

The first two episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+. New episodes will be available to stream every Tuesday, with the eighth and final episode airing on October 3.

Do you think Sabine Wren could become as popular as Ahsoka Tano? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!