The long-rumored sequel to Star Wars Rebels may be happening after all, just in a different medium than previously expected.
When Ahsoka, the live-action series starring fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano, was announced in December, fans began wondering if the series would tell the post-Rebels story of some of the beloved characters. The animated series ended with Ahsoka and the Mandalorian Sabine Wren, in the post-Return of the Jedi galaxy, going off in search of the Jedi Ezra Bridger, who jumped into hyperspace to an unknown location along with the Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn. Such speculation was furthered by the fact that, in Ahsoka’s appearance in The Mandalorian, she is looking for Thrawn.
A recent article by The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Crouch has added to the fire. Crouch was writing about Marvel’s new animated series What If…? about live-action characters being now brought to animation, and he contrasted that with other characters who first appeared in animation only to later be brought to live-action. In doing so, he wrote:
“… while Ahsoka Tano, the fan-favorite Jedi, appeared in animation in 2008 before Rosario Dawson made the jump to live action in The Mandalorian season two. Now, Dawson is leading a live-action Ahsoka spinoff for Disney+, with sources saying Lucasfilm is looking for an actress to star opposite Dawson as Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren.”
That seems like a pretty big nugget to bury in an article about an entirely different series. As far as I can remember (and you can let me know if I’ve forgotten something), this is the first time one of the major outlets has reported about Sabine appearing in Ahsoka, though it’s been heavily rumored for a while now.
If it’s true that Sabine Wren will really appear in Ahsoka – and it sounds like she’ll be starring opposite of Ahsoka Tano and not just cameoing – then it gives us our biggest indication yet as to what the story of the series will be about. It would mean that the series will likely be a sequel to Rebels, seeing Ahsoka and Sabine searching for Ezra. Perhaps they get a lead on Thrawn’s location, which sets everything in motion.
Rebels is some of my very favorite Star Wars storytelling ever, and I love both Ahsoka and Sabine, so I’m excited about this! I’m still a bit undecided on how to feel about the Rebels sequel apparently happening in live-action rather than animation (especially given the amazing advances in animation seen with The Bad Batch), but the most important thing is that it’s a good story. And with Dave Filoni running this series, I’m confident it will be.
Star Wars Thoughts 