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Ahsoka potential release date, cast and everything you need to know

Togruta… and beyond!

By Tom Chapman

31 Jan 2023

rosario dawson as ahsoka tano, the mandalorian chapter13

Disney +

Lightsabers at the ready – Ahsoka Tano is officially getting her own Disney+ series as the Star Wars universe continues to expand.

The female-centric Star Wars series was confirmed following the character's live-action debut in The Mandalorian season two. She first became a fan favourite during the animated series Clone Wars.

But what's to come for the former Jedi padawan, and how involved will her former mentor, Anakin Skywalker, be in the latest story?

Here's everything you need to know...

rosario dawson as ahsoka tano, baby yodagrogu, the mandalorian chapter13

Disney +

Ahsoka potential release date: When will it air?

Production officially began on May 9, 2022, shutting down earlier reports saying that it would begin in March or April.

The news came when the streaming platform's official Twitter account posted a picture of the director's chair on set, along with the caption: "Ahsoka, an Original series, starts production today #DisneyPlus."

Ahsoka, an Original series, starts production today. #DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/EzUwDIGqK6
— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) May 9, 2022

In September 2022, Dawson gave fans another update and revealed that they only had a "couple months" of filming left to do.

"Yes, we're still filming it right now. We just have a couple months left. It's going great. It's really amazing learning martial arts in my 40s," she told Screenrant.

"It's super amazing, and I don't use that word very lightly. My grandmother used to say, 'Amazing is two blue horses,' if you ever said something was amazing. Because it'd be like, 'No, amazing is two blue horses. That pizza slice probably isn't amazing.'"

As of January 2023, there have been no further updates revealing when exactly Ahsoka will finish production – though it's surely just a matter of time now. It's therefore unlikely that we will be seeing the new series until at least late 2023, taking into account the need for CGI and special effects added in post-production.

We'll let you know more info as soon as we know more info.

In the meantime, at least there's plenty of Star Wars content to tide us over. This includes a third season of The Mandalorian, which is due for release in March 2023.

The Book of Boba Fett came out in December 2021, followed by Obi-Wan Kenobi in May 2022 and Andor in September 2022.

Disney

Ahsoka cast: Who's joining Rosario Dawson?

Naturally, we already know that Rosario Dawson will be taking the lead in this new series, with Ahsoka having to deal with being a "hardened" version of herself after a personal tragedy.

Explaining what it's like taking on the monumental task, Dawson told Vanity Fair: "I love that she is this wanderer character who is going to just do good in the universe. The Jedi Order has disappeared in many ways, it's so fractured, and so many people are targeted.

"Since the very beginning, the way that has been pulling her is to be vigilant, and to be brave, and to be wise, and to always have her eye set on rooting out evil."

She added: "And I think that's one of the reasons why so many love her. It's why I love her. She represents truly the best of the Jedi, you know?"

grand admiral thrawn in star wars rebels

Disney

Hayden Christensen has also been confirmed to be appearing on the show as Anakin Skywalker – the man who will be Darth Vader.

Seeing as the show is set after Vader's death, it seems he will appear in flashbacks, which makes sense considering Anakin was Ahsoka's original Jedi master before she became a rebel and fought against him.

Christensen also appeared in Obi-Wan – but this took place a lot earlier than Ahsoka.

The Society star Natasha Liu Bordizzo is also joining the cast as Sabine Wren. First featured in Star Wars: Rebels, Sabine is a young Mandalorian and Imperial Academy dropout with expertise in weaponry and explosives.

Pacific Rim: Uprising star Ivanna Sakhno has also been cast in the series in an undisclosed role.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead will also join the series, according to Variety. Winstead is an interesting choice, with a tenuous connection to the Star Wars universe (she's married to Ewan McGregor).

Her character is yet to be revealed, but if we had to pitch a canon character, Ar'alani, Grand Admiral Thrawn's close colleague, would seem to be a pretty great fit. A series arc that sees Ar'alani and Ahsoka racing each other to find Thrawn would be compelling television for sure.

Just don't expect a crossover with Disney's Obi-Wan Kenobi series, which takes place ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, as Kathleen Kennedy confirmed to EW:

"We're looking, ultimately, to make a hopeful, uplifting story," Kennedy said. "And it's tricky when you're starting with a character in the state that Obi-Wan would be in coming off of Revenge of the Sith. That's a pretty bleak period of time. You can't just wave the magic wand with any writer and arrive at a story that necessarily reflects what you want to feel."

Ahsoka is set after Return of the Jedi, so unless there are some timey-wimey shenanigans, don't expect a family reunion for Winstead and McGregor.

Variety also revealed that Ray Stevenson has joined the cast. Stevenson has Disney pedigree, appearing in the MCU as Volstagg, Thor's mate.

But, more significantly, Stevenson also has Star Wars experience. Stevenson appeared as Gar Saxon, a Mandalorian commando, in both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. His character is also secret for now, but Variety says he's playing a villain (though not Admiral Thrawn). That means he could be reprising Saxon (who definitely isn't a good guy), or playing someone completely new.

As soon as we have more detailed casting information on what's sure to be a couple of key characters, we'll update this article, so do keep us bookmarked for all the latest news, rumours, and scoops. Speaking of rumours...

In terms of the potential appearance of Ezra Bridger, The Haunting of Bly Manor's Rahul Kohli addressed fan talk that he'd be playing Bridger. After a cryptic tweet blew up on social media, the star told Inverse that he'd been trolling fans.

Still, Kohli went to discuss the idea of playing Ezra and told the site: "I heard rumours that there was a casting call looking for a live-action Ezra that was looking for Asian actors in their late twenties, early thirties.

"I had watched a bit of Rebels that morning, so it was fresh in my mind. I was going to the gym and I thought I'd fire off a cheeky tweet."

Also rumoured to be playing Ezra, and a fan favourite to do so, is Aladdin star Mena Massoud. According to Geekocity, Massoud and LucasFilm have been in conversation about the actor being a possible frontrunner for the role. While neither party has confirmed or denied the rumours, Massoud has made it clear that he's interested.

When asked about the potential for him to be taking on the role of Ezra, Massoud told Screenrant that he was more than interested and is attempting to manifest it into existence.

"Just manifesting, just manifesting, trying different things," he began. "There's not much more I can say about that, but, you know, I had heard murmurings that this role was coming up and this is becoming a real thing. So I just wanted to throw my name in the ring and – yeah, just part of manifesting what you want."

NBCGetty Images

Other potential characters from the animated shows who could be making their live-action debuts in Ahsoka include Ghost pilot Hera Syndulla and her son, Jacen. Also, considering Temuera Morrison's renewed relationship with Lucasfilm over on The Book of Boba Fett, he could reprise his role as Clone Captain Rex, who would still be alive at this point in the Star Wars universe.

Ahsoka plot: What will happen?

Filoni has been carrying the plot for Ahsoka around in his head for a while now, and he was excited to finally get it down on paper.

"It's thrilling, I gotta tell you," Filoni told Empire (via StarWars.Net). "It's something you imagine doing for a long time. And then it's kind of startling when you're sitting there, and now you have to do it. I thought of this adventure for Ahsoka for a long time, and it's interesting to see how it's evolved.

"Years ago, I never would have imagined that it was sprung from a branch of a tree that had anything to do with a guy [like] Din Djarin, or a child that looks like Yoda. It's a great lesson for me on how, when you have other creatives like Jon Favreau, they can help lend such dimension and depth to what you’re doing."

Little is known about Ahsoka and what the actual plot will entail, but Star Wars bosses have confirmed it will be set "within the timeline of The Mandalorian".

"She is, for lack of a term, a master, because she's largely an independent at this point," Filoni told Vanity Fair. "A wandering samurai character is what she really is at this point. I've always made comparisons to her heading toward the Gandalf stage, where she is the one that has the knowledge of the world and can help others through it. I think she's reached that point."

And he's proud of the evolution of the character. "We saw her basically hit the scene as a padawan: young, and naïve, and brash, and aggressive. Then, in Rebels, she's more of a traditional knight, trying to figure out how to fight a war.

"There's a lot of hesitation around what she wants to be and who she can be and how her life's been guided. I think that now I've taken that a step further. When you see this version of the character, she's world-weary from everything that she's experienced and lived through. She's seen so much happen in her time."

"She's lost so much. She had left that Order under duress, and she's just been finding her way," Dawson agreed.

When Tano first appeared in The Mandalorian's 'Chapter 13: The Jedi', she helped a downtrodden village that was being ruled by tyrannical Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto). It turned out that Elsbeth's connection to the Empire – having helped build the Imperial Navy – also made her privy to the whereabouts of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Ahsoka's motives were finally revealed when she demanded Elsbeth tell the Jedi where her "master" is.

ahsoka tano's trial in season five of the clone wars

Disney

Following the cliffhanger ending of Star Wars Rebels, there have been questions about what happened to Thrawn and Ezra Bridger. Director Dave Filoni confirmed the pair were both alive, while the end of Rebels featured Tano and Mandalorian Sabine Wren heading out into the unknown to find their friend and presumably take out Thrawn for good.

The idea of Rebels continuing in live-action had been floated before. Filoni even hinted as much when he defended the show's finale. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Filoni reiterated, "I've always felt the best stories end and then other stories begin, and there's no better way to take two of my favourite characters and have them ride off into the sunset, like I've seen so many cowboys over the years, or Indiana Jones… One thing ends and another begins, and the story continues. That's a saga."

Speaking with the Hollywood Reporter in September 2022, Dawson seemed upset about approaching the end of shooting the first season. "It’s already getting sad because it’s almost over." But she ended on an optimistic note. "Hopefully, we’ll get a sequel!"

That’s fascinating for a couple of reasons. One, it sounds like it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger – if there’s any doubt about a second season, that means the narrative is relatively complete. And second, if another season isn’t already confirmed, that means Disney is playing its sabacc cards close to its chest - waiting to see what the fan response is before hitting the hyperdrive button. Still, at least Dawson enjoyed making it enough to want more – hopefully that’s a good sign.

Disney

Ahsoka trailer: When can I watch it?

Unfortunately, there's no sign of a trailer just yet because filming has only just begun. When Ahsoka does get a release date, though, then we'd expect the trailer in the month leading up to the premiere of the series.

Until then, watch this space because we promise to update you as soon as we know.