Sabine Wren, one of the main characters of Star Wars Rebels, will make her live-action debut in Ahsoka as one of the co-leads of the series. Like Ahsoka and Hera, Sabine is one of my favorite Star Wars characters, and I’m excited for more fans to get a chance to know her. For those who haven’t seen Rebels, or who just want a refresher, here’s what you need to know about Sabine entering this series.
1. Sabine was a Mandalorian with a complicated past
Sabine Wren was born near the end of the Clone Wars on Mandalore, born into the Mandalorian Clan Wren. After the rise of the Empire, the planet came under Imperial control and the Empire established an Imperial Academy in the capital city of Sundari. Sabine was enrolled in the Academy as a cadet and initially embraced the Empire’s ways. During this time she created a weapon for the Empire that targeted the Beskar alloys in the Mandalorian armor and killed those wearing it, turning them to dust. Growing disillusioned with the Empire and seeing the atrocities they used her weapon for, Sabine rebelled. But her family remained loyal to the Empire, forcing her to flee in exile, alienated from her family and alone in the galaxy.
2. She joined up with the Spectres as her new family
After spending some time as a bounty hunter for hire, Sabine eventually came to join a group of rebels on Lothal, known as the Spectres, who fought back against the Empire in small ways while helping those oppressed by the tyrannical government. The group was led by Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus, and came to also include Garazeb Orrelios, Chopper, and Ezra Bridger. The six Spectres became a tight-knit family, and they began to escalate their attacks into larger rebellion. This led to them joining up with other rebel cells, including Phoenix Squadron and with rebel agent Ahsoka Tano, and eventually with the Alliance to Restore the Republic that was formed by Mon Mothma. Sabine’s starbird logo design was actually adapted and adopted into the official logo of the Rebel Alliance, serving as a beacon of hope for an oppressed and war-torn galaxy.
3. She played a key role in keeping the legacy of Mandalore alive
On one particular mission, Ezra Bridger had gone off with the former Sith Lord Maul, and Kanan and Sabine pursued them to Dathomir. There Sabine found the darksaber in Maul’s possession, the ancient weapon of Mandalore that was said to unite the Mandalorians together. Maul had won it in combat and ruled Mandalore for a brief period during the Clone Wars, and in this encounter Sabine took it from him. She wanted nothing to do with the weapon, giving it to Kanan and refusing to use it. But the Spectres, and their Mandalorian ally Fenn Rau, pressured Sabine into using it to try to unite Mandalore for their cause. Sabine reluctantly agreed to train with the saber, taking lessons from Kanan. She trained to use the blade – and face her inner guilt over what had happened with her past on Mandalore – and was ready to embrace the legacy of the darksaber.
This took her to her homeworld of Krownest to reunite with her family, which didn’t exactly go as planned. She saw her mother and brother, but the Imperial regent, Mandalorian Gar Saxon, arrived to arrest Sabine and her friends. Saxon seized the darksaber, but Sabine wielded Ezra’s lightsaber in combat against her foe. The two engaged in an extensive duel, but Sabine bested him. While Sabine spared his life, her mother killed Saxon when he attempted to betray Sabine’s mercy.
Sabine decided to stay behind on Mandalore instead of returning with the Spectres, hoping to reunite her people. But when Thrawn launched a surprise attack on Atollon and threatened to wipe out the entire rebel cell, Ezra escaped and came to plead with Sabine for help. She brought a Mandalorian strike force to aid in the battle and helped the other rebels escape. In return, Ezra and Kanan helped Sabine on Mandalore try to take back the planet. This forced Sabine to confront the weapon she had made, but to keep fighting despite her past. Teaming up with Bo-Katan Kryze, they defeated the Empire’s forces. In the aftermath of the battle, Sabine gave Kryze the darksaber, entrusting Bo-Katan to lead their people, with Sabine returning to the Spectres. (This ties directly into Bo-Katan’s history with the darksaber explored further in The Mandalorian.)
4. She fought in the liberation of Lothal and stayed to protect the planet
The Spectres eventually returned to Lothal, hoping to liberate the planet from Imperial rule. An initial attempt went horribly wrong, with Kanan Jarrus sacrificing his life to save the others. But when they heard that Thrawn had left the planet they tried again, this time with a more elaborate plan. Sabine fought alongside Ezra as they infiltrated the capital and quickly overtook the Empire’s forces. But Thrawn returned to lay siege to the city, and Ezra surrendered to stop the bombardment – thanks to Sabine reluctantly drawing the others’ attention away so that Ezra could sneak out. Ezra confronted his destiny, and he wound up summoning a group of Purrgil to take Thrawn’s ship – with both he and Thrawn still aboard – away into the unknown regions. Sabine, Hera, and the rest of the crew made quick work of the remaining Imperial troops, liberating the planet.
In the aftermath the crew watched a farewell holomessage from Ezra, and in it he told Sabine that he was counting on her. Assuming this meant he was counting on her to keep Lothal safe, Sabine stayed behind on the planet to protect it from the Imperial retaliation they all feared would come. While Hera, Chopper, and Zeb went on to fight for the rebellion during the Galactic Civil War, Sabine watched over Ezra’s old home. The Imperial attack never came, and eventually, after the fall of the Empire, Sabine realized that maybe Ezra meant he was counting on her to bring him home. So when Ahsoka Tano showed up, the two set off in search of Bridger, seeking to bring him home.
5. Sabine was a skilled warrior, artist, and friend
As a Mandalorian Sabine belonged to the most skilled group of warriors in the entire galaxy, trained from a young age in combat. She was trained in Mandalorian customs and fighting tactics, but was also trained by the Empire at the Academy. Beyond that, she was trained by Kanan Jarrus (and we’ve learned by Ahsoka Tano too) in her skills with a lightsaber – meaning that Sabine is someone who has been trained by Mandalorians, Imperials, and Jedi in combat. Making use of blasters, gadgets, armor, and lightsabers, Sabine has a full array at her disposal, especially since Ezra gave his lightsaber to her before leaving. But Sabine’s skillset stretches far beyond this, as she possesses some very impressive artistic talents. She tended to resort to painting on pretty much anything and everything when she felt like it, including her armor, the rebel starbird logo, and a giant mural of the Spectres on Lothal, as well as changing her hair color regularly. She also was known to use explosive paint in battle, leaving behind painted symbols (typically the starbird logo) that would explode when enemies got near it. Though Sabine had a complicated relationship with her own family, she developed an in incredibly close bond with the Spectres. She developed a particularly close relationship with Ezra Bridger, and she also looked at Kanan and Hera as parent figures during her teenage years.
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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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