Ahsoka Crew Say The Animated Star Wars Series Aren't Mandatory Viewing

The world of "Star Wars" animation has always been kind of separate from the live-action one; from Genndy Tartakovsky's "Star Wars: Clone Wars" offering a more mythology-focused take on the Jedi, making them demi-gods of Ancient Greek myth rather than monk warriors, to Dave Filoni's work on "The Clone Wars" convincing George Lucas to be hands-on with "Star Wars" animation and (along with "Star Wars Rebels") introducing a lot of lore in the form of fantastical concepts like the Ghosts of Mortis and the mystical World Between Worlds.

But that has changed in recent years, with filmmakers such as Rian Johnson and Jon Favreau referencing or outright bringing animated characters and elements over into their live-action "Star Wars" projects. Indeed, the most important "Star Wars" titles to be at least aware of right now are all animated, in no small part due to the importance of the character Ahsoka Tano to the franchise at large. For the past 15 years, audiences have seen Ahsoka go through countless ordeals and missions, many of them involving other major players in the "Star Wars" galaxy.

Now, Ahsoka is finally getting her own TV show, a "Mandalorian" spinoff that continues the stories from "Clone Wars" and "Rebels." Titled "Ahsoka" and overseen by Filoni as head writer, the series will include most of the main characters from "Rebels" (including its most popular villain), but now in live-action and with (mostly) different actors playing them.

The problem is, not everyone who will watch "Ahsoka" will be familiar with that 15 years of animated storytelling. "That's been the challenge of the series," Lucasfilm head of development Carrie Beck told Entertainment Weekly. "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."

Indeed, the years' worth of backstory and mythology built into "Ahsoka" can be seen as a blessing and a curse. While it is tempting to consider the show a direct sequel to "Rebels" — particularly since its trailers have specifically recreated the final scene in the "Rebels" series finale — it is also part of a collection of live-action "Star Wars" shows that have been mostly standalone and required little previous knowledge of the franchise.

The worst-case scenario for "Ahsoka" would involve the show either going full nostalgia and alienating newcomers, or completely ignoring "Rebels" and "Clone Wars," alienating longtime fans. That last bit seems unfortunately probable given the way "The Mandalorian" and "Obi-Wan Kenobi" have already seemingly erased an integral part of "Clone Wars" from existence — Duchess Satine Kryze.

The best-case scenario, then, would be something akin to "The Lord of the Rings." That story can be enjoyed knowing absolutely nothing else about hobbits or Middle-earth. And yet, the importance of the ring, the story of Sauron beyond being just some cartoon villain, and the characters of Galadriel, Elrond, Glorfindel, and the importance of Aragorn's lineage only really come to light in the larger Legendarium, particularly "The Silmarillion." We see this in the way "The Rings of Power" has used scope and scale to contextualize the War of the Ring as just the final chapter in a story that started long, long before. 

If done right, "Ahsoka" can do something similar, telling a standalone story that can be enjoyed on its own merits, while still reaping what the animated "Star Wars" projects have sowed over the past 15 years.

"Ahsoka" begins streaming August 23, 2023, on Disney+.