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Credit: LucasfilmLong before we watched Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) return to the World Between Worlds in episode four of Ahsoka (2023), there seem to have been clues throughout the franchise suggesting that Star Wars could be about to meddle with time in a significant way.
Ahsoka’s first experience with the World Between Worlds, in the Star Wars: Rebels (2014 — 2018) Season 4 episode of the same name, meddled with time, as she was “pulled” from her duel on Malachor with Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) by Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray).
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Ever since, fans have been waiting for Star Wars to reintroduce the mystical dimension where time and space have no meaning, largely due to the abysmal reception of Disney and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, which many hope will be “erased.”
Last year, while discussing Ahsoka at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (via Laughing Place), Dawson seemed to hint at the possibility of alternate timelines in the series, joking that Marvel’s Scarlet Witch could help them “jump through Multiverses.”
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Many fans already believe that Ahsoka Tano is a time-traveler of some kind, following her transformative experience in the World Between Worlds. There are also some clues in the Sequel Trilogy itself which suggest that Ahsoka may have already traveled through time.
This might explain her whereabouts during the Original Trilogy, which remains a mystery.
So, now that Ahsoka finds herself back in the World Between Worlds, where she has come face to face with Anakin Skywalker’s Force Ghost for the first time (with Hayden Christensen reprising his role), is Star Wars about to rewrite its history?
Here are five era-defining moments throughout Star Wars history Ahsoka may be about to change…
Anakin Skywalker’s Turn to the Dark Side
Why has Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) presented himself to Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds? Obviously, there’s a reason, but until we find out, whether that’s in the upcoming episode or the next, we’ll speculate like there’s no tomorrow.
Despite showing little emotion these days, Ahsoka is undoubtedly racked with guilt over abandoning her master and ultimately leaving him to the fates, which saw him become the tyrannical Sith Lord known as Darth Vader.
Is it possible Anakin will present Ahsoka with the opportunity to prevent his turn to the dark side? After all, we know what the World Between Worlds is capable of — we saw Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) “pull” Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) from her duel with Vader.
Ezra was then given another opportunity to rewrite history: save his fallen master, Kanan Jarrus/Caleb Dume (Freddie Prinze Jr.). Fortunately, Ahsoka convinced Ezra not to go through with it, that Kanan’s survival would mean the death of him and all his friends.
But will Ahsoka face a similar choice? Will she find a doorway through which she can stop Anakin from going to the Senate Chambers on Coruscant, as seen in Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005)? And if so, will Anakin’s Force Ghost actually try to stop her?
Trying to imagine how things would have turned out if Anakin hadn’t become Darth Vader isn’t easy, and it all depends on which moment is altered to prevent that outcome. Assuming it is the scene in which Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) kills Mace Windu (Samuel L Jackson), it’s possible that Anakin would have killed Palpatine.
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The Battle on Mustafar
There’s another moment which Ahsoka might be able to change to prevent her master from truly becoming Darth Vader: the epic lightsaber duel on Mustafar between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), as also seen in Revenge of the Sith.
It’s this moment that truly determines Anakin’s fate as the Sith Lord. However, it’s reasonable to say that he’s already long gone by the time this fight gets underway, as he ends up Force-choking the very person he’s trying to protect: Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman).
Obi-Wan ultimately gets the “high ground”, reluctantly leaving Anakin to burn on the lava shore, having already cut off both his legs. We later watch in horror as Anakin is physically transformed into Darth Vader, as droids work around him to fit his new costume.
The hideously disfigured former Jedi is entombed in the claustrophobic armor for the rest of his life, which only ends up twisting his mind further. But even in this moment, Anakin falls even further to the dark side when he learns of Padmé’s fate.
Many fans are already speculating that we will see an alternate battle on Mustafar ensue, and not between Anakin and Obi-Wan, but between Anakin and Ahsoka, master and apprentice. Now, that would be something.
There is a slight problem with Ahsoka changing this moment, though. Anakin is already too far gone. What good would saving him from becoming disfigured really achieve, seeing as his mind has already been twisted? “Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone, he is, consumed by Darth Vader,” Yoda (Frank Oz) tells Obi-Wan in an earlier scene. Perhaps it is already too late.
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Order 66
Let’s take a few steps back and discuss the most crucial moment in Star Wars history: Order 66. After Anakin falls to the dark side in the Senate Chambers and before his battle on Mustafar with Obi-Wan, a galaxy-changing event is set in motion.
That event is Order 66, which sees Palpatine order the Grand Army of the Republic — all the clone troopers — to execute all the Jedi. We watch as countless Jedi are killed across the galaxy, including the younglings at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.
While Revenge of the Sith suggests that most Jedi are killed during the purge, leaving the likes of Obi-Wan, Yoda, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and presumably a handful of others, the Disney era of Star Wars suggests that a great many survived.
For starters, there’s Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) from the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order video games, Ezra Bridger, and Ahsoka Tano. So, as there are still plenty of Jedi left, what would be the purpose of Ahsoka preventing Order 66 if it’s something she could even do?
As for preventing the galaxy-wide attack, never say never: Ahsoka is an incredibly powerful Jedi, and despite what the Sequel Trilogy might have you believe, Emperor Palpatine isn’t unkillable. However, there may be no real benefit to stopping the Great Purge.
Sure, Ahsoka could possibly prevent the fall of the Jedi Order, but let’s face it — the Jedi were on borrowed time, seeing as a Sith Lord was pulling the strings on both sides of the Clone Wars for years without them noticing. And even if she saved countless Jedi, would she simply be delaying their inevitable demise for the Inquisitor-led hunts that would follow?
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Ezra Bridger’s Disappearance
Ahsoka revolves around the resumed search for the lost Jedi, Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), led by Ahsoka Tano, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Huyang (David Tennant), and Chopper (Dave Filoni).
It’s reasonable to assume that the Rebels — what’s left of them anyway- will find Ezra, most likely in the finale. But not so fast. There’s no proof that Ezra even survived disappearing into the void with the purrgil all those years ago.
All we’ve seen so far is a hologram, and though it’s doubtful Star Wars has killed Ezra off-screen, it is possible, especially if it’s to serve a greater purpose within the story. In other words, perhaps the only way to find Ezra is by using the World Between Worlds.
So, Ezra may already be dead, and Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) may have survived. Or maybe he’s dead too, and Ahsoka will face a choice in the World Between Worlds: prevent the hyperspace-jump at the end of Star Wars: Rebels (2014 — 2018).
However, stopping Ezra and Thrawn from jumping into the Unknown Regions would have good and bad outcomes. The positive is that Ezra would be saved, but the downside is that Thrawn’s attack on Lothal wouldn’t have been prevented by Ezra’s sacrifice.
Either way, wherever they are, whether they’re dead or lost in a distant galaxy, Ezra’s and Thrawn’s fates are intertwined. In other words, saving Ezra, whether it’s using the World Between Worlds or another massive hyperspace jump, will bring about Thrawn’s return.
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The First Order
By “The First Order”, we do, of course, also mean the Sequel Trilogy. Since the World Between Worlds was introduced in the Rebels Season 4 episode of the same name, Star Wars fans have wondered whether Disney and Lucasfilm intend to “erase” the sequels.
It’s no mystery that the Sequel Trilogy is hated. Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017) and Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019) split the fanbase in half due to poor storytelling, non-existent character development, and a lack of direction.
Is it possible that, with the time-bending World Between Worlds, Star Wars is about to rewrite its history? First of all, let it be said that this is incredibly unlikely, as it would be akin to Disney and Lucasfilm admitting that they don’t like the sequels either, which would be strange considering a new Sequel-era film is in development.
With that said, there is a way this could happen. Now that Ahsoka is in the World Between Worlds, it’s likely she’ll make some sort of change, whether to the past or the future. Otherwise, why is she even there? How disappointed would fans be if nothing happened?
In fact, any change to an event along the Star Wars timeline, whether it’s something we’ve talked about in this article or another event, would involve creating a brand-new Star Wars timeline. In other words, it would pave the way for the Star Wars Multiverse.
As unlikely as it may seem, Disney and Lucasfilm could have their cake and eat it. The Sequel Trilogy needn’t be erased from canon, but Ahsoka’s meddling in the World Between Worlds could create a timeline where the events seen in those three films would unfold very differently. And then everyone’s happy (which is also very unlikely).
Even if Ahsoka doesn’t change any key events in Star Wars history, it would be thrilling to see her at least visit some iconic moments.
Whatever happens, it’s likely to be big, as the fifth episode is showing in AMC theaters in select US cities on Tuesday, September 12, an hour before it arrives on Disney+.
As per Disney and Lucasfilm, here’s the official trailer for Ahsoka:
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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).
Ahsoka is the third series in Star Wars‘ Mando-Verse and is 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 Ahsoka will change Star Wars history? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!