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Credit: LucasfilmNew reports have surfaced claiming that Lucasfilm is seeking a replacement for one of its leading cast members in Dave Filoni’s Star Wars show, Ahsoka.
Ahsoka and the Star Wars New Republic Era
Last year, Lucasfilm debuted its newest addition to the New Republic era of Disney+ shows, Star Wars: Ahsoka. Created by Lucasfilm’s Chief Creative Officer, Dave Filoni, Ahsoka became the third show in the studio’s initiative to expand the period between the original and sequel Star Wars trilogies.
Following The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka saw Rosario Dawson reprise her role as the live-action Ahsoka Tano after appearing for the first time in “Chapter 13: The Jedi” of The Mandalorian Season 2.
Dawson took over the character from Ashley Eckstein, who originated the role of Anakin Skywalker’s former Jedi Padawan in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Eckstein is a beloved component of the Star Wars universe and went on to voice the character in various other shows, including Star Wars Rebels and Tales of the Jedi.
Thanks to the love of Ahsoka Tano and the soaring popularity of The Mandalorian, anticipation was high for Filoni’s series. Star Wars: Ahsoka, like all other Star Wars projects, was put under the microscope and garnered a mixed response.
Despite that, the show has been greenlit for a second season. Lucasfilm announced Filoni was working on Ahsoka Season 2, and at the same time, it revealed that Jon Favreau would be bringing Mando and Grogu to the big screen in The Mandalorian & Grogu. Disney would later confirm the new Star Wars movie would drop in 2026.
Ahsoka Season 2
Little is known about Ahsoka Season 2. Presumably, the series will pick up directly from the end of Season 1, which saw Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) reunited with Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) after Ahsoka (Dawson) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) rescued the Jedi from Peridea.
While on Peridea, Tano and her comrades came face to face with the thought-lost Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and the Nightsisters–Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), Aktropaw (Jeryl Prescott Gallien), Klothow (Claudia Black), and Lakesis (Jane Edwina Seymour).
The trio also faced former Jedi Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati, played by Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno, respectively.
While the finale set both of these characters up for new arcs–Baylan Skoll discovered the statues of the Mortis gods, and Shin Hati joined the bandit group on the planet–and suggested that Peridea was just the first stop on a new intergalactic adventure, the future is now uncertain due to the tragic passing of 58-year-old Ray Stevenson last May.
Ahsoka Season 1 left Baylan Skoll’s story open-ended, and now it seems that the Star Wars franchise will recast the actor for the upcoming sophomore outing.
According to entertainment scooper Daniel Richtman (via Comic Book Movie), Lucasfilm is actively searching for a “white man in his 50s/60s.”
This report came after Dave Filoni spoke about recasting Ray Stevenson’s role in 2023.
“Obviously, there’s a story there,” Filoni told Vanity Fair in November last year. “We’re in a wait-and-see pattern at this point. But I’m glad the conversation is about Ray and how great he was.”
The Lucasfilm darling went on to add how he used to have “mini debates” with the actor.
“‘Ray, you’re the villain here,’ Filoni recalled. “‘And he’d be like, ‘I don’t think so.’ I was like, ‘I know you don’t think so, but you are. I love that you’re playing it like you’re not.’ Which is exactly the way Baylan thinks.”
Aside from the initial second season announcement, no further information—including Baylan Skoll’s future—has been shared. It is also unknown whether the Star Wars show will debut before or after Dave Filoni’s own New Republic movie.
Prior to the announcement of Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu movie, Filoni was tapped to helm one of three new Star Wars projects announced by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy at 2023’s Star Wars Celebration.
Related: Report: Rey Film Plagued With Drama, Kathleen Kennedy Tries To Salvage Flailing ‘Star Wars’ Project
At the fan convention, Kennedy revealed that James Mangold would be directing an origins of the Force movie, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy would helm a post-sequel film starring Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley), and Dave Filoni would bring the New Republic era to the big screen.
Now colloquially called “The Heir to the Empire” film, Filoni’s Mando-Verse crossover event will seemingly bring together storylines from The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and the upcoming Skeleton Crew.
Hopefully, this means that the likes of Pedro Pascal (Din Djarin/The Mandalorian), Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) will all get to share the screen together as they take on Grand Admiral Thrawn.
While fans await new projects, the latest offering landed on Disney+ just a handful of weeks ago. Leslye Headland’s The Acolyte has taken fans the furthest back in live-action history, where it finds the Jedi at the end of the High Republic era as new dark side forces emerge.
Related: With Mark Hamill Replaced, Disney Begins Updating the ‘Star Wars’ Sequel Era
Last week’s shocking episode revealed the face of The Stranger, a dark side Force wielder intent on eradicating the Jedi’s control of the galaxy. The addition of the Kylo Ren theme in the episode also hinted that The Stranger may be one of the first Knights of Ren.
Do you think Baylan Skoll will be recast in Star Wars? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!