Ahsokahas become one of the most hotly anticipated new series of the summer, and it’s easy to see why. The series stars Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, a character who has become a fan-favorite throughout her numerous appearances in animatedStar Warsseries over the last 15 years. After debuting in live-action during the second season ofThe Mandalorian, Ahsoka is receiving her own standalone series for the very first time, and it’s a dream come true for many fans out there.
The series is also building off a lot of the other work that creator Dave Filoni has done in the various animatedStar Warsseries. Several characters fromStar Wars Rebelsare also making the jump to live-action, including Hera Syndulla (played by Mary Elizabeth-Winstead), Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
Fans have been looking forward to theAhsokaseries for years now, and it isdebuting at a crucial timein the overallStar Warsfranchise.Ahsokaneeds to be a win for Lucasfilm, as the studio has bet a lot on the series, both financially and creatively. Here’s how the series will play an important role in the studio’s plan forStar Warsmoving forward:
The Franchise Has Lost its Way
Firstly, it’s important to recognize the place thatStar Warsis in right now. The franchise used to be expanded on-screen fairly rarely. In the first 30 years of its existence, there were six live-actionStar Warsfilms that were released. After Disney purchased Lucasfilm about a decade ago, that number has nearly doubled to 11 live-action movies, in addition to four live-action streaming series. Both of those numbers are also set to grow over the next few years, as three more films are in active development and three new streaming series are set to premiere throughout this year and next.
With that kind of rapid expansion, there werebound to be some growing pains. However, the troubles facingStar Warsdon’t have simple remedies. Casual audiences have become overwhelmed with the amount of new material from the galaxy far, far away. Part of the issue is that all of these new films and shows have been produced with seemingly little thought put into their relation to one another. Beyond the divisive sequel trilogy of movies,Star Warshas been mostly directionless. The franchise has been jumping all over its timeline, with very little interest in exploring characters that don’t stem from the original trilogy of films.
The franchise has gone fromRogue OneandSolotoThe MandalorianandThe Book of Boba Fettback toObi-Wan KenobiandAndor.While many of these shows have told compelling stories, the seemingly random jumps throughout the universe have resulted in audience disorientation. It has become hard to follow what is going on in theStar Warsuniverse, as every new project pulls the viewer in a completely different direction from the last. This has removed some of the easy accessibility of theStar Warsfranchise, as there is so much background material that is necessary to watch each new project.
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Building to Dave Filoni’s New Movie
By building off the success ofThe Mandalorianand the various animated series,Ahsokais poised to offer a refreshing new direction toStar Wars.The show will be building off storylines established within bothRebelsandThe Mandalorian, which is sure to please the franchise’s dedicated fans. One of the biggest things working in the show’s favor is that it will also offer a new jumping-on point to casual viewers. While Filoni has stated thatAhsokaoperates in some ways as a fifth season ofRebels, he has also stated thatviewers don’t need to have seen the animated seriesorThe Mandalorianin order to follow the story ofAhsoka. All signs point toAhsokacontinuing to build up Grand Admiral Thrawn as the galaxy’s next big villain post-Return of the Jedi, which is a thread likely to continue beyond this show’s first season.
Earlier this year, Lucasfilm announced three newStar Warsfeature films, which all tell new stories and got fans excited for drastically different reasons. One of these films is an as-of-yet untitled film from Filoni, which will serve asa crossover finale of sortstoAhsoka,The Mandalorian,The Book of Boba Fettand any other show set within that time period. Though it is not confirmed, it seems likely that this film will be a loose adaptation of the trilogy ofThrawnbooks, primarilyHeir to the Empire, written by Timothy Zahn in the ‘90s.
While we won’t bore you with the details of that story (of which there are many), having Thrawn serve as the primary antagonist for all these shows before building that story into one climactic film could be an excellent idea. This approach allows theStar Warsfranchise to build upon the success of its hit shows likeThe Mandalorian,while also providing a specific and clear overall direction to the story.
Related:Star Wars: Why Dave Filoni’s ‘Mandoverse’ Movie Could Be the ‘Episode VII’ Fans Always Wanted
Fan-Favorite Characters
Beyond giving the overall franchise a new direction to focus its story in,Ahsokais also breathing some new life intoStar Warsby introducing audiences to many new (or new to them) characters to fall in love with. BeyondRogue OneandThe Mandalorian, every newStar Warsmovie and show that has been produced by Disney has focused on or heavily featured the franchise’s legacy characters. Whilewe love the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and Boba Fett, it’s also not a bad thing to expand the franchise in new directions.
While yes,Ahsokais being largely built around characters that were already established inRebels, the truth is that not very many people outside the die-hardStar Warsfan base actually watchedRebels. Characters like Ahsoka, Sabine, Hera and Ezra have already proven their potential in previousStar Warsmaterials. Upgrading them all to starring roles in live-action shows and films allows the franchise tomove on from its legacy charactersfrom the original trilogy. These new characters have already developed a passionate fan base; introducing them to a wider audience could regain the interest of a lot of casual fans and breathe some new life intoStar Wars.
