Ahsoka Trailer Breakdown: Beware The Heir To The Empire

Are you a fan of "Star Wars" animation? If so, you're probably experiencing a mix of exhilaration and anxiety watching the trailers for "Ahsoka," a spinoff of "The Mandalorian" that doubles as a sequel to the critically acclaimed "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars Rebels" animated series. If you're not, well, you better get strapped in. "Clone Wars" and "Rebels" co-creator David Filoni, who's also the head writer and executive producer on "Ahsoka," is about to fully obliterate the divide separating the live-action and animated sides of a galaxy far, far away.

"Ahsoka" sees Rosario Dawson reprising her role as the live-action iteration of the titular Force-wielder from "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett." There's a lot that casual viewers unfamiliar with "Star Wars" animation might not realize about the Togruta warrior, not least of all the not-so-insignificant fact that she was once Anakin Skywalker's Padawan before leaving the Jedi Order. "The Mandalorian" and "Boba Fett" didn't exactly help in clarifying this matter, with characters frequently (and inaccurately) referring to Ahsoka as being a Jedi on those shows. At the same time, Ahsoka herself only vaguely alluded to her shared history with Anakin, so you're forgiven if you missed that entirely.

Perhaps that's why the newly released "Ahsoka" trailer goes out of its way to emphasize that its protagonist was once an upstart kid who fought side by side with the man who would ultimately become Darth Vader during the Clone Wars. Thankfully, that's far from the most interesting thing in the preview. Let's dive into the rest of it, shall we?

There's no light without the dark, as "Star Wars" reminds us time and time again. Sure enough, the "Ahsoka" trailer offers a better look at the late, great Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll, a former Jedi turned wielder of the dark side, and his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno). No doubt, the pair will end up fighting Ahsoka one-on-one at some point during the series since, you know, killing those who dabble in the light side of the Force is kind of what these dark side types are all about. What's more, this new trailer confirms they're also in cahoots with Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), the former Imperial Magistrate and faithful servant to the Big Bad on "Star Wars Rebels," Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Ahsoka, as you may recall, bested Morgan in combat on "The Mandalorian" and demanded that she reveal where Thrawn has been chilling since the Galactic Empire fell. As it turns out, though, Morgan might not entirely know the answer to that question herself, as we see her, Baylan, and Shin using a holographic star map to apparently locate Thrawn during the trailer. "What happens when we find Thrawn?" Shin asks. "Power. Such as you've never dreamed," Baylan replies.

Anyone who's never seen "Star Wars Rebels" may find themselves thoroughly lost by the time they're done watching the newest "Ahsoka" trailer, given the sheer number of characters who pop up along the way. For starters, there's the Twi'lek Rebel pilot Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who's shown here flying her ship, the Ghost, head-first into danger with her lovable, chaotic good astromech droid C1-10P (aka Chopper) in tow. We also see her warning members of the New Republic of the imminent threat posed by the remaining Imperial forces, picking up a key story thread introduced in "The Mandalorian" season 3 involving the now-deceased (?) Moff Gideon and the other members of the Shadow Council.

(As always, the villains in "Star Wars" prize subtlety above all else when it comes to their naming conventions.)

The other two former members of the Ghost's crew and major "Rebels" players seen here are the Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and a small hologram of the young Jedi-in-training Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Ezra, as we'll get into a little later, has been MIA since the "Rebels" finale, which concluded with a scene showing Sabine and Ahsoka meeting up after the Battle of Endor to set out and, hopefully, find him at long last. As for the final still-living "Rebels" hero (RIP Kanan Jarrus), Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, he's nowhere to be seen in this trailer. Of course, we recently caught up with the Lasat Rebel turned New Republic pilot during "The Mandalorian" season 3, so odds are he'll show up to reunite with the rest of the "Rebels" gang at some point in "Ahsoka" itself.

Remember that whole thing about Ahsoka and Sabine teaming up at the end of "Star Wars Rebels" to locate Ezra? Well, it's clear the pair had some kind of fallout after that. "She's still just as stubborn as ever," Ahsoka says at one point in the trailer, accompanied by a shot of Sabine surveying what's almost certainly Lothal (the Outer Rim planet where Sabine, Ezra, and the rest of their found family first met up). It's an image that perfectly homages a nearly identical visual from "Rebels."

More intriguingly, it appears Ahsoka took on Sabine as her apprentice before their parting of the ways, with Sabine tersely referring to the former as "Master." It's little wonder things didn't work out for the two, given the residual guilt and emotional trauma Ahsoka is obviously still struggling to process over what happened to Anakin after she quit the Jedi Order. "I walked away from him just as I walked away from Sabine," we hear her say. No doubt, that internal conflict will heavily inform Ahsoka's arc on the series, presumably spurring her to resume training Sabine (who, let's not forget, first began studying the Force with Kanan on "Rebels"). She'll need the guidance for sure, as we eventually see Sabine waging a full-blown lightsaber duel with Shin.

Guess who's back? Back again! Blueface's back! Tell a friend!

"Blueface," who's better known to the world as Grand Admiral Thrawn, was teased on "The Mandalorian" and technically appeared in the first "Ahsoka" trailer (although he was only shown from the back). This new trailer, on the other hand, unveils the Chiss ex-Imperial and master strategist in all his red-eyed, blue-skinned glory. "Rebels" voice actor Lars Mikkelsen (brother of "Rogue One" co-star Mads Mikkelsen) is returning to play the character in live-action, too, and he looks more or less like his animated counterpart did, albeit now in three dimensions (so to speak).

But what is Thrawn's secret plan anyway? The character being referred to as the Heir to the Empire in the "Ahsoka" trailers is, at the bare minimum, a nod to Timothy Zahn's novel trilogy of the same name that introduced Thrawn in the no-longer-canonical "Star Wars" Expanded Universe. Then again, it could be a tease of how, precisely, Thrawn intends to strike back at the New Republic, with the show potentially lifting certain plot points directly from Zahn's books. "The Mandalorian" season 3 already hinted as much, suggesting that the remains of the Empire are not only amassing their forces but may be working on something involving cloning (much like Thrawn's grand scheme in the EU).

For as much plot as the "Ahsoka" trailer covers, there's also just a lot of scattering of Easter eggs for "Star Wars" animation fans to lap up like catnip as they await the show's premiere. Along with a glimpse at the mural of the Ghost's crew featured in the "Star Wars Rebels" finale's epilogue (crafted by the artist still known as Sabine herself), the trailer shows Sabine trimming her hair to the same length that it was on "Rebels." It seems to be a largely symbolic act that speaks to her renewed commitment to tracking down Ezra and defeating Thrawn, but it's a fun nod for "Rebels" fans all the same.

Then there are the smaller details that also showed up in past "Ahsoka" trailers and TV spots, including a hologram of Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly reprising her "Andor" role), who's now serving as the Chancellor of the New Republic. Then there's David Tennant as the voice of Huyang — the lightsaber-building droid he previously voiced on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" — along with a closing shot of what looks like an Inquisitor from "Rebels" (who previously made their live-action debut on "Obi-Wan Kenobi") utilizing one of their trademark spinning lightsaber weapons.

Last, but certainly not least, there's a glimpse of what could be the tendrils of a Purrgil — one of the whale-like space creatures that pulled Ezra and Thrawn's ship into hyperspace during the climax of the "Rebels" series finale (at Ezra's urging through the Force, natch). Could Ezra himself be nearby in this scene? And where did Thrawn flee to after untangling himself from that mess? All such matters will be brought to the light when "Ahsoka" premieres on Disney+ on August 23, 2023.