Ahsoka is introducing the Legends E-Wing ship into live-action for the very first time

Over three decades since it was first introduced in Star Wars, the E-Wing fighter will be making its live-action debut in Ahsoka.

In the recent trailer for the upcoming series, an E-Wing was glimpsed flying alongside Sabine Wren on the Lothal freeway. It’s a moment that’s easy to miss, but for longtime fans of the franchise who paid attention to Legends material, it’s especially exciting.

The E-Wing was created in Star Wars Legends, and had the distinction in-universe of being the first new ship commissioned by the New Republic. It was designed to be a significant improvement upon the iconic X-Wing fighter, but it was plagued with problems and therefore never caught on so as to replace the previous ship. As improvements continued to be made, however, the E-Wing became a vital part of the Republic fleet and pilots flew the ship during many battles and wars in the decades that followed.

Though the ship first appeared in the 1992 Dark Empire comic (written by Tom Veitch), which saw Palpatine resurrected six years after the Battle of Endor, the in-universe timeline was that the ship had actually been introduced by the New Republic during the Thrawn crisis, as Grand Admiral Thrawn emerged to rebuild the Empire and wage war against the Republic. In that way, it makes so much sense to introduce the E-Wing into a series that’s re-telling the story in the new canon of Thrawn’s return to attempt to rebuild the Emipre.

Technically, the E-Wing has already appeared in the new canon, thanks to a (very) brief appearance in the Poe Dameron comic (written by Charles Soule), set a few decades after the events of Ahsoka. But this will be its first on-screen appearance (whether in canon or Legends) and looks to introduce a larger audience to the new design. The ship’s wings fold downward, unlike the X-Wing, and has a really fun and unique design.

There’s actually a LEGO set coming this September of the E-Wing from the series, piloted by a New Republic pilot named Captain Porter. It’s accompanied by Shin Hati’s fighter, which possibly indicates that the E-Wing will be part of the Republic fleet when Hati and Baylan Skoll infiltrate a capital ship, as seen in the trailers.

It will be great to see the E-Wing in live-action, and it’s yet another example of how Star Wars is taking some of the best elements from Legends and translating them into the new canon story they’re telling. I think it’s great when details like this connect, and I can’t wait to see it.