In last Tuesday's episode of Ahsoka, we finally got to see Star Wars Rebels characters Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn in live-action. Neither Lars Mikkelsen nor Eman Esfandi disappointed and we're eager for them both to get more screen time in tomorrow's penultimate chapter and next week's finale.
Thrawn, who now commands what appears to be an army of undead Night Troopers, has allied himself with the Night Mothers (who we can now confirm are named Aktropaw, Klothow, and Lakesis). They're Dathomiri Nightsisters who, as we saw in The Clone Wars, are capable of tapping into magic which can raise the dead and cause off sorts of chaos in the Star Wars Galaxy we're all so familiar with.
Elsewhere, we also get a closer look at the returning Ezra, Captain Enoch, and the Stormtroopers who quite literally seem to be held up by magic.
With the WGA strike nearing its end, we're hoping Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni will soon be able to share more about the story he's told here. Earlier this year, though, he made it clear that he views Thrawn as a full-blown villain (rather than the anti-hero we've seen in Timothy Zahn's recent novels).
"[He is definitely the bad guy in the New Republic era], in my eyes," the filmmaker said. "When Timothy Zahn wrote Heir To The Empire, Thrawn became this very iconic villain, because he was different than anything we’d seen before. He wasn’t another helmet-wearing, lightsaber-wielding bad guy, you know? There’s a lot of pull to make characters that are like Vader, because it is so iconic."
"But the boldness that Tim had was to make somebody that wasn’t like that, that didn’t have those abilities, but could fight in a different way. In the words Star Wars, the 'war' part of it - him being a Grand Admiral, a leader, a military strategist, a Moriarty archetype, someone that will out-think you, out-strategise you - that really resonated."
"He’s a critical player in this time period," Filoni teased. "We’re fortunate to have that character, and fortunate to have Lars [Mikkelsen] playing him."
Check out these new spoiler stills from Ahsoka below.
Set after the fall of the Empire, Ahsoka follows the former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.
In addition to Rosario Dawson in the title role, the series stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, the late Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll, Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati, Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth, David Tennant as Huyang, Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Eman Esfandi appearing as Ezra Bridger.
Ahsoka was written by Dave Filoni, who executive produces alongside Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson, and Carrie Beck. Directors include Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Rick Famuyiwa.
The first six episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+.