In Ahsoka, The Force Is Strong With Its Luminous Cast

Luminous beings are we, according to Yoda. And in Ahsoka, one of the new Star Wars TV shows coming to Disney+ in 2023, the most luminous of all will be on display. Luke Skywalker. Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader. Grand Admiral Thrawn.

For some of you, the Jedi named Ahsoka might be a completely new concept. Unless you watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars and/or Star Wars: Rebels, she won’t be familiar. But with her live-action show arriving in the coming months, it’ll definitely be worth researching because the characters she’ll be surrounding herself with are some of the most star-studded ones in all of Star Wars.

Luke: We’ve already seen Ahsoka with him, thanks to The Mandalorian and a few episodes in The Book of Boba Fett.
Vader: Ahsoka was Anakin’s padawan and will undoubtedly be seen in flashbacks before and after his fall.
Thrawn: If you know anything about Ahsoka post-Battle of Yavin, it’s that her goal has been tracking down the military mastermind. This was backed up when Ahsoka asked for his whereabouts in The Mandalorian season 2.

Luminous, But What’s The Story?

Okay, so Ahsoka will have the heavy hitters, but what will it be about? Most likely, based on where her story left off in Rebels and how she was introduced in The Mandalorian, it’ll be about her search for Thrawn. More specifically, about finding Ezra Bridger. He’s a young Jedi who was last seen saving his planet from Thrawn by sending the Grand Admiral’s flagship (with both Thrawn and Bridger aboard) into hyperspace.

Reports continue to swirl that the blue-skinned, red-eyed Kriss will be making his live-action debut. Yet, who will be playing Thrawn is still very much up for debate. No matter who ends up in the role, the real question is which version will be used. In Rebels, Thrawn was mostly one-dimensional. A villain and nothing more. Yet, in the expanded universe books and the now canon Thrawn novel by Timothy Zahn, the character is far more nuanced. He doesn’t care about the Empire or the Rebels. He’s more concerned with what’s happening in the unexplored territories.

This dichotomy is important because if Ahsoka continues with the Rebel’s arc, Thrawn will likely be the series’ main antagonist. If it follows the books, he may be more of an informant or even an ally.

Is This About Thrawn or Ahsoka?

The show will definitely be told from Ahsoka’s point of view. With Hayden Christensen reprising his role as Anakin/Vader, the first season will no doubt feature the two of them a lot. Which will be important for background purposes and catharsis. Much like Obi-Wan in his TV series, Ahsoka has a lot to unload when it comes to her former teacher and master.

But don’t expect that relationship to be the whole of it. Many characters from Rebels are carrying over, including Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla, and Chopper. Thus, unless the World Between Worlds is also introduced, anything to do with Anakin/Vader will be strictly flashbacks. In other words, the core of the story will take place parallel to The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. It’ll be about exploring the Outer Rim and following rumors. Rumors that can only lead to one place…

A Bridger Too Far

The ultimate goal in Ahsoka will be finding Bridger. But you may be asking yourself, why? Who is this young Jedi? In many ways, Ezra Bridger is the heaviest hitter in the Ahsoka lineup. While he certainly doesn’t have the name recognition of the characters listed above, and he probably wouldn’t feature prominently on lists of the strongest or most influential Jedi, Bridger is important. And he is definitely powerful.

As the only known person to access the World Between Worlds (also called the Vergence Scatter), he is able to manipulate the past. In the Rebels show, he used that power to save Ahsoka from certain death, sealing their friendship and alliance. Not to mention a promise from her to find him.

It’s unknown if that power of his will be featured in Ahsoka, but the character is confirmed. It’s also not known how deep into Bridger’s past the show will take us. Much like Thrawn, his character will undoubtedly be dangled as bait and explored in greater detail in later seasons.

Ahsoka Cast Revealed

So far the following have been confirmed: Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka. Hayden Christensen as Anakin/Vader. Eman Esfandi as Ezra. Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Wren, and Dave Filoni as the voice of Chopper. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ray Stevenson have also joined the cast but their characters have not yet been revealed. Winstead is believed to be playing Hera while Stevenson’s role has only been described as an admiral, but not Thrawn. Book readers have speculated that he may be playing Thrawn’s righthand man, Admiral Pellaeon.

For more Star Wars TV show reviews, check out our synopsis on what’s coming in 2023.