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Credit: LucasfilmLucasfilm has seen its fair share of hits and misses regarding its film and TV releases in recent years, but amid a string of less-than-impressive Disney+ entries, Ahsoka and The Mandalorian have reigned supreme. However, based on recent findings, only one series can come out on top, and it seems like fans are all aboard the Ahsoka train.
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When Disney and Lucasfilm announced the first live-action Star Wars show, The Mandalorian, it’s safe to say that no one could’ve expected the sheer magnitude of Baby Yoda-related internet hysteria that would ensue. The show, which came on the heels of the disastrous Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, is widely credited with reviving interest in the dying franchise, bringing a grounded, isolated spinoff show that appealed to longtime fans and casual viewers alike.
Starring Pedro Pascal as the titular Besker-clad Mandalorian, the first season follows bounty hunter Din Djarin, who ends up with a mysterious, wide-eyed baby when a job goes wrong. Refusing to turn over the infant to Imperial scientist Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi) and his boss, the cunning Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), Din and his tiny charge find themselves in the center of a dangerous conspiracy, racing against the clock to return his child to his people before it’s too late.
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Season 1 of The Mandalorian was a smash hit for Disney+, meaning it didn’t come as much of a surprise when show creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni revved things up for Season 2, connecting the once-standalone to other corners of the Star Wars universe. For one, its sophomore season saw the live-action debuts of two characters from the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series: Bo-Katan Kryze, played by her original voice actress, Katee Sackhoff, and Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson.
It also brought back a familiar face from the Original Trilogy with a surprise Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison) appearance, proving that Lucasfilm had some pretty serious intentions for The Mandalorian moving forward. Plus, the unforgettable Season 2 finale, “Chapter 16: The Rescue,” absolutely stuck the landing with the reveal of a CGI hybrid Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in its final moments.
Notably, the episode also featured Din’s tearful goodbye to Grogu — though we all know that separation didn’t last too long. Well, to everyone except Jon Favreau, apparently, who insisted that a whole two years took place between The Mandalorian Season 2’s finale and Grogu’s and Din’s reunion in The Book of Boba Fett.
Unlike its predecessors, The Mandalorian Season 3 was somewhat of a mixed bag with audiences. Though it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly things went wrong, many point to its focus on Katte Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan, who often took the spotlight from Pedro Pascal’s title character. Its flashy celebrity cameos, predictable villain reveal, and sluggish pacing also didn’t help, though it still garnered millions of views for Disney+ and Lucasfilm.
Now, with the “Mando-Verse” in full swing thanks to the overlapping nature of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, Lucasfilm announced not one but three new Star Wars movies would be coming to theaters during April’s Star Wars Celebration, including a “Mando-Verse” crossover event that will allegedly culminate The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and the upcoming Skeleton Crew.
Ahsoka, which debuted the summer after Celebration, really laid the foundation for Filoni’s team-up flick, following the eponymous Jedi as she gathers old friends from Star Wars Rebels, Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) to help stomp out a familiar threat when he re-emerges in the far reaches of the galaxy: Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
On top of introducing formidable villains like Diana Lee Inosanto’s Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth, Darksider Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), and his apprentice, Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), Ahsoka also saw the return of fan-favorite Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader actor Hayden Christensen, who led his former Padawan through a soul-searching adventure in the World Between Worlds in the critically acclaimed “Part Five: Shadow Warrior.” Sabine also finds lost Jedi Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) on the graveyard planet of Peridia after he disappeared with Thrawn during the climax of Rebels, with their reunion being a high point of the show for many.
As of now, there’s been no word on Ahsoka‘s Season 2 renewal prospects, though The Mandalorian Season 4 is expected to arrive on Disney+ in 2025, though Lucasfilm has yet to confirm anything. Until then, however, a recent study performed by IMDb, the world’s most popular source of information for movies and TV shows, shows exactly how the two Star Wars spinoffs stacked up, with Ahsoka Season 1 and Mando Season 3 having both premiered in 2023.
IMDb has officially announced their top 10 TV shows of 2023, with Ahsoka and The Mandalorian given their chance to shine. The list was compiled using data from IMDbPro MOVIEmeter and STARmeter rankings and proved that despite the negative noise surrounding much of The Mandalorian Season 3 and parts of Ahsoka, all and all, it was still a massively successful year for Star Wars.
According to IMDb (via Screen Rant), the top 10 TV shows of 2023 include Prime Video’s The Boys spinoff, Gen V, FX’s The Bear, Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Mandalorian Season 3, One Piece, Succession, Black Mirror, Ahsoka, and HBO’s survival thriller, The Last of Us.
Interestingly enough, Ahsoka actually came out on top of The Mandalorian‘s third season, landing the No. 2 spot, while Mando ranked No. 4. This does align with each of the shows’ Rotten Tomatoes score, with Ahsoka earning a 69% audience approval rating, and The Mandalorian Season 3 sitting at just 51%.
Ultimately, whether or not Ahsoka or the third season of The Mandalorian is actually “better” than the other is impossible to gauge, as it’s simply a matter of opinion. But with the release of Dave Filoni’s “Mando-Verse” movie slowly inching closer, these two stories are about to become even more connected in the inevitable build-up to the war against Thrawn.
Which do you prefer, The Mandalorian or Ahsoka? Do you agree with these rankings? Share your thoughts in the comments below!