It's no secret that Ahsoka Tano has become one of the most widely beloved characters in the entire Star Wars mythos. So when news broke that she would be getting her own series, fans committed an impossible act of actually agreeing on something and immediately began celebrating.
Those celebrations have continued from the official announcement of Ahsoka all the way through to today, where several casting announcements have already been confirmed. One such exciting announcement is that of Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who signed on to play popular Star Wars Rebels character Sabine Wren in her live-action debut for the new series. Fans of Rebels already suspected that she would play a part in the story alongside Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka, but they weren't entirely sure just what that role would be.
Now, Bordizzo herself has offered a little tidbit to that end. Speaking with Empire Magazine, she seems to be just as hyped up as the fans and is ready to raise those levels even further. "Sabine is so fearless and brave, with so much grace," Bordizzo said of where her character is at during the upcoming series, "but she still has flaws… she's not perfect, she's on her journey, she's making mistakes. And it's very high stakes in this galactic war, to make mistakes." But just in case anyone is excited for Ahsoka while having never seen Rebels, she also offered some helpful words on that front. "A lot of people have not seen Rebels... It's great for them to have seen it, but we've got a standalone chapter as it is."
That appears to be a recurring theme going forward for the Star Wars franchise. More and more of the upcoming stories may be bucking the trend of constant callbacks and cameos in favor of more original ideas, and Dawson herself seems to agree. "Dave [Filoni] and Jon [Favreau] are continuing Star Wars in a way where it can be standalone, but it also makes you hungry for more," Dawson teased. "There have been two instances where [Ahsoka has] shown up on a mission, you see how she's interacting with folks, but you don't really get her, per se. Even fans who've lived with her for so long don't know where she's at now in this journey."
Changing things up could be exactly what Star Wars needs right now. It almost feels like the franchise has overcorrected after the minority fan backlash regarding Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi, with most mainstream offerings since then revolving around fanservice more than telling original stories. So something with a more forward-thinking vibe may offer some nice refreshment. Director Taika Waititi's upcoming Star Wars movie appears to have a similar goal. So perhaps the future is already in motion.
Bordizzo's comments about the stakes of the story could refer to the long-theorized idea that Ahsoka will feature Ezra and Grand Admiral Thrawn in a continuation of their cliffhanger ending in Rebels. But either way, there's still a while to wait before Ahsoka finally premieres on Disney Plus, and these teases are making the anticipation all the more difficult to endure. Here's hoping the time between goes by quickly. This is one character whose story deserves to be told.
Ahsoka is set to premiere on Disney Plus in 2023.
Source: Empire Magazine (via The Direct)