"We're telling the story of this character who has been trained by the greatest Jedi of all time in Anakin Skywalker." - Dave Filoni
What appears to be a pretty harmless statement on the surface (made by the Ahsoka showrunner in the recently released featurette below) has since generated quite the discourse online.
Star Wars fans either strongly agree with Filoni's sentiments or are horrified that he could consider the Jedi who became Darth Vader greater even than Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda. Still, we actually think the franchise veteran is on to something here.
Filoni, who started his career at Lucasfilm developing The Clone Wars alongside George Lucas has long said he believes Anakin fulfilled his destiny as The Chosen One, even if it meant destroying many of the Jedi in the process. We also can't dismiss the fact that, in terms of his powers alone, the hero-turned-villain is indeed the greatest Jedi.
Like most things Star Wars-related, we're not surprised Filoni's comments have generated a small level of controversy (things have quickly gotten ugly on social media), but the most interesting takeaway here is the title character being trained by Anakin is clearly something Ahsoka is going to devote a lot of time to exploring.
You can see Filoni's comments in full 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.
Ahsoka will launch exclusively on Disney+ on August 23 with a two-episode premiere.