As we approach the premiere of Ahsoka, we’re doing a series on things you should know – or remember – entering this new show. Whether you’ve watched the animated shows and simply need a refresher, or have never seen them and just want the basics, we’re covering it all. Let’s now take a look at the droid professor, Huyang, who has appeared in a number of the trailers.
Huyang is voiced by David Tennant, best-known for playing Doctor Who, who also voiced the character in The Clone Wars. Huyang appeared in one arc of the series, the youngling arc in season five, and he’s been included in a handful of other stories and material since then.
The recent Star Wars Timelines book places Huyang’s creation right around 25,000 BBY, which coincides very closely with the formation of the Jedi Order – meaning that the droid is almost as old as the Order itself. And for over a thousand generations, Huyang helped Jedi younglings (including Yoda) build their lightsabers. The younglings were taken to Ilum to retrieve a kyber crystal, as the Force would lead them to a crystal they could bond with. Once they had their crystal, Huyang would aid them in building the lightsaber aboard his ship, the Crucible.
Because of this vast experience, Huyang would have assisted in the vast majority of lightsabers that were built in the history of the Jedi Order, and given his proficiency in the task and his databanks, he would be unquestionably the biggest expert in the galaxy on the weapon of the Jedi. We don’t know what happened to him after the fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire, but he obviously survived, as he is present with Ahsoka during the events of this series. Though Ahsoka’s connection to the Jedi Order is complicated, enlisting the help of Huyang as she seeks to train Sabine, find Ezra, and stop Thrawn makes sense.
There’s no one in the galaxy who knows more than him about lightsabers, and probably very few who know more than him about the Jedi in general. He’s a helpful ally to have in the cause.
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For more on what you need to know leading up to Ahsoka, check out these other articles in the series:
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