Ahsoka - Release Date, Cast, Plot, Trailer, And More Info

Lucasfilm Animation, like so many fledgling studios, took a moment to find its footing. Founded in 2003, the company released its first feature film, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," in 2008 to much scorn. Critics were quick to recognize the film was little more than three TV episodes hastily strung together, and its janky computer animation stood out like a sore thumb compared to the far more expressive and fluid visuals in films like "Kung Fu Panda" and "WALL-E" from that same year. "Clone Wars" also saw the debut of Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker's young, rambunctious Padawan, and a character who was immediately the target of much-undeserved derision (and more than a little sexism).

My, my, how the turn tables. Jump ahead to 15 years later and Lucasfilm Animation is now responsible for some of the best "Star Wars" storytelling of all time, including the animated "Clone Wars" series and "Star Wars Rebels." Both shows also prominently feature Ahsoka, who has likewise gone on to become one of the most beloved heroes in the franchise, evolving and maturing as a character with every subsequent appearance. Thanks to Lucasfilm Animation head honcho Dave Filoni's creative involvement with "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett," the divide between the live-action and animated sections of "Star Wars" has started to dissolve along the way, culminating with "Ahsoka."

Being both a spinoff of "The Mandalorian" and a sequel to "Rebels" (and, indirectly, "Clone Wars"), as well as the first "Star Wars" series anchored by a female protagonist, "Ahsoka" has rather high expectations to meet — not to mention, a whole lot of story threads to juggle. Let's break down everything you need to know about the show, shall we?

It's been pretty much around the clock "Star Wars" TV shows on Disney+ since 2021, between the various live-action series, the first two seasons of the "Clone Wars" spinoff "The Bad Batch," and the animated anthologies "Star Wars: Visions" and "Tales of the Jedi." However, there hasn't been a live-action show since "The Mandalorian" season 3 wrapped up in mid-April, giving us a much-needed four-month break between that and the world premiere of "Ahsoka" on August 23, 2023. 

"Ahsoka" also has the benefit of arriving on the heels of Marvel's series "Secret Invasion," which, not to kick it while it's down, certainly feels like an upgrade for the mid-week slot on the Disney+ schedule. (Okay, so that is kicking the show while it's down, but it's not like "Star Wars" turned anyone against it — "You have done that yourself!" as Obi-Wan Kenobi once put it.)

Set after the fall of the Galactic Empire and concurrent with "The Mandalorian" (an era in the "Star Wars" timeline known as The New Republic), "Ahsoka" follows its namesake as she investigates "an emerging threat" to the galaxy. At the heart of that threat is her old foe Grand Admiral Thrawn, a high-ranking Imperial who's been lurking in the shadows ever since the Empire went kaput all those years ago. When last we saw him on "Star Wars Rebels," Thrawn was being pulled into hyperspace by a pack of Purrgils (space whales, basically) at the behest of Ahsoka's fellow Rebel and Jedi in training, Ezra Bridger, who got yanked alongside him.

Since then, Thrawn has been name-dropped a couple of times on "The Mandalorian," including in the season 2 episode where Ahsoka bested his faithful ally, Morgan Elsbeth, in combat, demanding to know where her old boss is. But it's not just about finding Thrawn and discovering what he's up to. Ahsoka's quest is also about fulfilling her promise to find Ezra, which brings her back into contact with his former crewmates on the starship Ghost, including the pilot Hera Syndulla (who's now a New Republic General) and the former bounty hunter Sabine Wren (who's got a, well, complicated history with Ahsoka).

As rightly celebrated as Ashley Eckstein is for her voice performance as the animated Ahsoka Tano, Rosario Dawson has largely succeeded in putting her own spin on the character in live-action with her appearances on "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett." Dawson will now get the spotlight for the first time with "Ahsoka," where she will share the screen with the likes of Mary Elizabeth Winstead ("10 Cloverfield Lane") as Hera Syndulla, Natasha Liu Bordizzo ("Day Shift") as Sabine Wren, and Eman Esfandi ("King Richard") as Ezra Bridger. So far, their characters seem to have translated fairly seamlessly into live-action, too ... mostly. (I'll spare you the nerdy discussion my roommates and I have already had on this topic.)

Over on Team Thrawn, there's the late Ray Stevenson ("Punisher: War Zone") as the dark side user Baylan Skoll, Ivanna Sakhno ("The Spy Who Dumped Me") as his apprentice Shin Hati, and stunt performer Paul Darnell ("The Mandalorian") as the mysterious Inquisitor turned mercenary Marrok. Meanwhile, Lars Mikkelsen will reprise his animated role from "Star Wars Rebels" in live-action as Grand Admiral Thrawn, with David Tennant similarly voicing the lightsaber-building droid Huyang (a character he voiced on "The Clone Wars"). "Ahsoka" will also feature familiar "Star Wars" players like Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma and Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth.

Last, but definitely not least, Hayden Christensen is heavily rumored to pop up as Ahsoka's old mentor, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Will he appear in a flashback or dream sequence? Might Ahsoka be getting a visit from his Force ghost? Place your bets, folks!

Having cut his teeth as a live-action director on "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett," Dave Filoni will helm at least one episode of "Ahsoka." He's assembled a crack team of filmmakers to assist him in directing the show, including "The Book of Boba Fett" alum Steph Green (who's also directed episodes of "The Americans," "Luke Cage," and "Watchmen") and "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" co-director Peter Ramsey. Longtime "The Mandalorian" director Rick Famuyiwa is also helming part of "Ahsoka," as is Jennifer Getzinger (whose many directorial credits include "Agent Carter," "Jessica Jones," and "Mad Men") and Geeta Vasant Patel ("The Great," "House of the Dragon").

For Filoni, this is a really full-circle moment after having brought so many of the characters in "Ahsoka" to life for years in animation. "It's weird. I mean, it's great. I mean ... I don't know what to think about it," he said at the 2023 "Star Wars" Celebration (via The Hollywood Reporter). "I was seeing these people in my head, I've written them, drawn them and now they were just there."

Besides directing an episode, Dave Filoni is the sole writer and head executive producer on "Ahsoka." It's a situation that resembles that in "The Mandalorian," where Jon Favreau writes or co-writes every episode in addition to serving as showrunner. But while that approach has yielded increasingly mixed results as "The Mandalorian" has gone on, Filoni has the advantage of telling what looks to be a relatively contained story with "Ahsoka" (one that, for better or for worse, will directly set up future "Star Wars" projects). It's also a story he's been marinating on since as far back as the last season of "Star Wars Rebels" in 2018. As he told Empire Magazine in November 2021:

"I thought of this adventure for Ahsoka for a long time, and it's interesting to see how it's evolved. Years ago, I never would have imagined that it was sprung from a branch of a tree that had anything to do with a guy [like] Din Djarin, or a child that looks like Yoda. It's a great lesson for me on how, when you have other creatives like Jon Favreau, they can help lend such dimension and depth to what you're doing."

The full-length "Ahsoka" trailer (seen above) is pretty much a crash course in "Star Wars Rebels" characters, providing a sneak peek at just about every still-living member of the Ghost's crew, including Hera's rascally droid C1-10P (better known as Chopper), as well as offering a glimpse at the live-action Thrawn. There are also a lot of nods to memorable imagery and important locations in "Rebels," including Ezra's home planet of Lothal (where he and the other members of the Ghost's crew originally met) and the mural Sabine made from the series finale. As for the Ghost's loyal muscle, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, odds are good he will appear on the show itself, having briefly turned up as a New Republic Starfighter Corps pilot in "The Mandalorian" season 3.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lucasfilm head of development Carrie Beck offered her assurances that, as much as "Ahsoka" acts as a sequel to "Rebels," it can also be enjoyed as a standalone show. "That's been the challenge of the series," said Beck. "But Dave [Filoni] was very thoughtful about crafting the narrative in a way that could invite people in. The show tells them everything they need to know along the way."