As Ahsoka launches on Disney+, Star Wars Rebels fans will finally have closure with the search to bring Ezra Bridger home.

Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) continues the search that she started in Star Wars Rebels and continued in The Mandalorian. Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn? The moment that Ahsoka utters Thrawn’s name in season 2 of The Mandalorian was the moment that every Star Wars Rebels fans knew: Dave Filoni didn’t forget about us. Even though his lips were sealed during the Star Wars Rebels panel during Celebration in 2019, he always had a plan. It’s nice to see that his plan is finally streaming on Disney+.

In keeping up with the duality of honoring what has come before, Ahsoka features shots that fans watched in the Star Wars Rebels finale. It was previously assumed that those shots were almost immediately after Return of the Jedi but now, my thinking is that it’s not quite as soon as we once thought. Regardless, it’s nice to see the same shots in live-action. Similarly, a few actors–including Clancy Brown, Lars Mikkelson, and David Tennant–also reprise their roles from the previous animated series. Plus, we also see the mural make its transition to live-action but using the animated characters in doing so.

(Edit: What threw me off was the dedication of the monument to the Ghost crew. It’s clear from rewatching the scene in Star Wars Rebels that they have similar shots but are definitely two different days altogether. Sabine Wren has short hair when Ahsoka first arrives in the series finale, unlike the first episode.)

The overlying theme to the series appears to be master and apprentice. We see this on both the dark side of the force–with Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) and the light. I have a few questions about this especially since Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) has never shown any inklings of being a Force user. One must assume that Filoni will deliver the backstory on her training. Given the closing shots of Star Wars Rebels, it opens up even more questions about the same shots in this series. In any event, could Ahsoka’s past come back to haunt her? We all know what happened to her own master, Anakin Skywalker. His downfall was a disaster for the entire galaxy.

General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) also makes her live-action appearance. It also means that Chopper is coming along for the ride, too. I love what Winstead brings to the role and can’t wait to see what happens in the episodes to come.

Another thing I appreciate about the series is how veteran Star Wars composer Kevin Kiner scores Ahsoka. It makes since especially since he’s been with many of the characters from the beginning.

Disney sent the first two episodes the other day. Distracting watermark not withstanding, they’re continuing The Mandalorian‘s inconsistent run times. It would be nice to see some consistency in this department. But hey, we’re getting closure so I cannot complain too much.

Do you need to be completely familiar with either Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars Rebels? Not necessarily, However, it would probably help to watch the final season of Rebels as it serves as the reintroduction to Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) in canon. Fans are still getting the classic action that have defined Star Wars since George Lucas started the franchise back in 1977. Dave Filoni was there when Ahsoka Tano was first created for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Filoni has been with Ahsoka Tano every step of the way and the series is in good hands.

Ezra is still out there and it’s time to bring him home.

CREATOR/HEAD WRITER: Dave Filoni
DIRECTORS: Dave Filoni (1×01), Steph Green (1×02), Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Vasant Patel,
Rick Famuyiwa
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson, Carrie Beck
CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Karen Gilchrist
CAST: Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ray Stevenson, Ivanna Sakhno, Diana Lee Inosanto, David Tennant, Lars Mikkelsen, Eman Esfandi

Disney+ will launch the two-episode premiere of Ahsoka on August 22 2023 at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT. New episodes will premiere weekly. Grade: 4/5

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