Ahsoka

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Ladies and Gentlemen… start your raving.

She’s back.
And…

He’s heeeeeeeeeeeeere…

 

Some old friends - Mon, Sabine, Chopper, though no Zeb yet - and of course, some new adversaries to join The Illustrious Imperial Badass, The Chief Blue Meanie, The Artist Of Antagonists… give it up for Brainy Smurf!

 

edit: oh, and…

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[biostem]

Was that Sabine I saw in the trailer?  And Hera!  And the old Lightsaber-crafting droid!  I hope hope hope they don't turn Thrawn into a goof or a villain-of-the-week...

[Glacier Peak]

So are red lightsabers still the bad guys? If so, how are there so many Sith? No more rule of two??

[biostem]

2 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

So are red lightsabers still the bad guys? If so, how are there so many Sith? No more rule of two??

A lot depends upon what mythology you're going with.  I think it was "Legends" where a Sith had to "bleed" a Kaiber crystal to turn it red, but ever since newer media, you have the various Inquisitors and such.  Regardless, Sidius clearly had multiple apprentices, (Dooku/Tyranus, Maul, etc), and they also had others with them, Asaj Ventress, Savage Oppress, etc), so I don;t think rule-following is high up on any darksider's list of priorities...

[Techwright]

11 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

 

 

Actually, there's 3 times for Tennant.  He played identical characters in Broadchurch and its American inferior, Gracepoint.

 

4 hours ago, biostem said:

Was that Sabine I saw in the trailer?  And Hera!  And the old Lightsaber-crafting droid!  I hope hope hope they don't turn Thrawn into a goof or a villain-of-the-week...

 

Yes, Yes, and yes, Huyang.  In an era when they try to show R2D2 as greatly aged (The Last Jedi) and try to pitch that droid parts are hard to come by in 30 years (The Mandalorian), Huyang has been serving the Jedi for a thousand generations.  I'm glad they've brought him, and David, to the live action Star Wars. (Oh, and there's some very slight changes to the droid's face.  It looks like they partially modeled it on Tennant's features.)

 

I don't think they're going to mess up Thrawn, though the style of presentation, mini-series as opposed to dense novel, may be a limiting factor due to time.  For one, Dave Filoni is deeply involved in this.  For another, they like to consult with Timothy Zahn when writing Thrawn.  I think the fact that the trailer refers to Thrawn as "Heir to the Empire" is an acknowledgement that Zahn is onboard for the show. For the third, if I had to guess from viewing the back of the head, that's possibly Lars Mikkelsen, the man who understood how to voice Thrawn.  As to goof or genius, if anything, I'd expect at this point in canon for Thrawn to be more intimidating than in Rebels.  There, Thrawn really had only two weaknesses: 1) he didn't weed out self-interested subordinates fast enough before strategic events and 2) he didn't seem to be able to fully grasp the possibilities of force use.  I'd like to think that a Thrawn who survived a force-governed purgill attack will be much more likely to correct those two weaknesses, or at least shore them up.

 

3 hours ago, Glacier Peak said:

So are red lightsabers still the bad guys? If so, how are there so many Sith? No more rule of two??

 

I strongly suspect that these are not Sith, but are either surviving Inquisitors now acting as warlords, or far more likely, this is an outside group of dark-side users.  Notice the blades are actually not red, but orange, though admittedly on the red end of the orange spectrum.  I think that's deliberate to communicate that these are not true Sith.  Canon lore has established for some time that Sith and Jedi are but two orders in a larger universe of groups wielding all three stances in the force:  light, balance, dark.  Knowing the generally held understanding, that Favreau and Filoni have been tasked with making the Sequel Trilogy work by filling in the backstories, I'm left wondering if these orange-sabered folk are the origins of the Knights of Ren.  They could, however, be an organization from the legends books now finding their niche in canon.  The legends works are vast and I've only read a small portion.

 

At the point in time that this story takes place, there should be only 1 Sith: Palpatine, though he's off the scene somewhere, nursing his wounds and trying to grow a viable clone body.  If events in various recent works play out as folks think, Snoke is not on scene yet, and will likely be created soon.

 

Additional thoughts:

• Looks like we get Mon Mothma again.  I'd be very interested to see if the current mess of bureaucracy in the New Republic is a product of her failings.  Some leaders lead in war well, but not in peace. 
• Sabine appears to have adopted a small lothcat for a pet.  It's an interesting choice:  A lady of action adopting something that tends to anchor one to a domestic life.  I wonder if that's a reflection of where she is at this point? She's not in armor, something we've never seen. It seems from the trailer that she and Ahsoka broke off their search at some point.
• The robot guards that Ahsoka fights are of a style not known to me.  The fight appears to be in a temple.  Due to the light-colored stone, I suspect a Jedi temple.  The dark grey and red battle droids' color scheme suggests Sith, or at least "villain group".  Perhaps the battle droids were brought to the temple by an outside force.  Maybe the orange-saber fighters?
• Hera is piloting the Phantom II, the smaller craft that docks as a back fin, of sorts, to her ship The Ghost.  Makes me wonder where The Ghost is.  The last canon shot we had of it was in Rogue One.  It has been assumed she used it during the space battle of Endor, where the Death Star II was destroyed.  We do know from canon discussion that she was there.
• The ship bridge design that both Thrawn and his protege walk in, as well as the 3 large ships (capital ships I presume) do not appear to be of empire, New Republic, nor Chiss design (I had to google the Chiss ships).  This makes me suspect Thrawn has either forged an alliance or made a conquest to bring these under his control. 
• Morgan Elsbeth, Thrawn's follower, returns. (Incidentally, the actress was godchild to Bruce Lee.) While it might be flashbacks to events prior to The Mandalorian episode The Jedi, There's no indication of such.  If it is up to date, she was sprung from prison somehow, probably by Thrawn's planning.
• Ahsoka confronts Ray Stephenson's character.  First off, whomever gave him the whole look (costume, hair, makeup), they deserve a nice reward.  He looks every inch a being of power, and Stephenson manages to make him look at ease in said power.  I look forward to finding out about this character.  It's the chamber in which they meet that has my attention.  It screams two things:  Jedi temple and The World Between Worlds (TWBW).  This is a very important discovery first made in Rebels.  If you've not seen Rebels , this next bit is a massive spoiler, though I suspect the whole Ahsoka miniseries will be the same.    TWBW is a plane of existence that connects to every point of time and space.  With it, one could rewrite the universe of Star Wars.  Ahsoka's life was saved by the use of it.  Probably the greatest contribution of Ezra Bridger was not the defeat of Thrawn and his fleet, but twice denying the Sith access to TWBW.  It appears Ray and Ahsoka will meet and dual in another access chamber to TWBW.  There's even what appears to be archaeology equipment in the chamber, same as the first time. 
• They appear to be giving Ray a "hallway scene".  This has becomes a "thing" in Star Wars since Rogue One.  Hallways encapsulate opponents for maximum destruction.  So far we've seen ones for Vader, Luke, and Maul.  This suggest to me that they're telling us Ray's character is on par with them.
• Ahsoka's dual with the double-saber wielder.  This dual gives me pause and make me think that at least this orange-sabered fighter is an Inquisitor.  It's not just the helmet, which reminds me of the helmet of the Eighth Brother of the Inquisitorius, but if you stop the video in just the right place, you see the distinctive curve of the metal handguard.  This type weapon has only been seen before in the ownership of the Inquisitors. 
• Minor detail but cool:  Ahsoka is wearing spit-toed shoes like those seen in Asian martial arts films.

What really intrigues me is what is actually going on with Thrawn.  In Rebels he states that all he wanted was results for his emperor.  In the books, we see that everything he does is ultimately for his people, the Chiss.  What is his real goal here though? Using the term "Heir to the Empire" suggest that he's setting himself up as the leader of a re-established empire, at least from the good guys perspective.  I find it hard to believe, though that Thrawn doesn't know about the First Order, and by extension, The Last Order.  He seems to be one of the few remaining empire leaders that Palpatine would entrust with the secret of his survival.  So is Thrawn working for himself, for the Chiss, or secretly for his emperor?

 

I look forward to seeing what Eric Voss of New Rockstars YouTube channel manages to discover from the trailer.

[biostem]

Does Sabine not seem old enough, though?  If she was supposed to be a teen (at the youngest) in rebels, which was like 5 years before the OT, and this is about 5 years after RotJ, then I guess a late 20-something could work, (or the actress just looks young in general).  I hope we see Hera's son.  He should be like 10-12 years old now, right?  I have to assume the big reveal, besides Thrawn, will be Ezra, though...

[Hyperstrike]

Star Wars shares a concept with Highlander.
There can be only one.
And this crap ain't it.
I'm out.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Brainy Smurf conquering  London…

(BTW: watch the autocue - they’ve even XXXX’d his name out to avoid spoilers)

 

[Techwright]

7 hours ago, biostem said:

Does Sabine not seem old enough, though?  If she was supposed to be a teen (at the youngest) in rebels, which was like 5 years before the OT, and this is about 5 years after RotJ, then I guess a late 20-something could work, (or the actress just looks young in general).  I hope we see Hera's son.  He should be like 10-12 years old now, right?  I have to assume the big reveal, besides Thrawn, will be Ezra, though...

 

Not counting the final, time-jump scene in Rebels, the series ended in 1 BBY, on the cusp of 0.  Sabine was roughly 20, and Ezra 18.  Add 5 years to reach the end of Return of the Jedi, and another 5 to reach the start of The Mandalorian.  That would put Sabine around 30.  The question becomes when this scene in the tower on Lothal happens.  If it happens right after Ahsoka's appearance in The Book of Boba Fett, then add 2 more years.  So Sabine should be around 32.  Natasha Liu Bordizzo is 28 so it's not too much of a stretch, especially considering the Star Wars age-difference precedent of Alec Guinness at 62 playing a 57 year old Ben Kenobi.

 

1 hour ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

Brainy Smurf conquering  London…

(BTW: watch the autocue - they’ve even XXXX’d his name out to avoid spoilers)

 

 

So satisfying to see that he'll be playing the role again.  I'm curious how Thrawn will be portrayed.  Zahn established that Chiss have a slightly shorter average lifespan than humans, and after some number crunching, I realized a while back that Thrawn would be close to that lifespan age, if not slightly over.  So I would have expected an old Thrawn, but the behind-the-back shot showed black hair, not white.  Since Chiss are considered near-human, I would have expected at least shots of gray running through his hair.  It kind of feels like they're doing a handwave on his age.

 

EDIT:  I have a question:  Are any here well acquainted with Star Wars:The Old Republic MMO?  This morning I saw a speculation that Ray Stephenson is possibly playing an interpretation of the Eternal Emperor, who goes by various names like Valkorian. They speculate he has found a way through the ...well, the wonder that was discovered in Rebels.  If so, I'm guessing the blonde is his daughter?  If this proves true, then they are indeed Sith, and far more dangerous than Palpatine.  This may actually be the way they "erase" the Sequel Trilogy, as some have speculated.  But I've not played that game in most of a decade, and the story has evolved so much.  I've only understood bits of it from the expansion trailers, hence why I am asking.

Edited April 8, 2023 by Techwright
Added a question

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

2 hours ago, Techwright said:

So I would have expected an old Thrawn, but the behind-the-back shot showed black hair, not white.  Since Chiss are considered near-human, I would have expected at least shots of gray running through his hair.  It kind of feels like they're doing a handwave on his age.

 

"When one sets out to conquer the galaxy, you have to be a little self-aware. The image you project, whether in a personal interrogation, or on a vulgar 30-metre-high holographic statue, has to be one of power, confidence, and without vulnerabilities. This is the case in all cultures I've explored and, when necessary, crushed, in their art, their history, their legends.

 

That's why I use Just For Chiss brush-on hair dye. Sonic shower proof for up to thirty days, and guaranteed not to run, whether from Tatooine heat, Kamino showers, or in the face of transdimensional space squid..."

 

Speaking of space squid. We don't know how long he was travelling with the pod, to where, or when, or if time passes the same way around them. 

So he may not have aged as much as we think - or Ezra, for that matter.

 

On m'learned coll's Eternal Emperor theory (and it's nice to have him around on these threads, like our own personal Holocron...) 

 

1) Sorry to the haters, but Rey is not being erased. She's getting another movie about trying to rebuild the Jedi Order. Because that went so well for Luke.

 

2) If Ray is the Eternal Emperor and doin' the muckety-muckaround with timey-wimey stuff...

...what are the odds that we see Thrawn and Ahsoka uniting against a greater threat?

Since that could erase not just the New Republic, but the Empire as well, rewriting history in his image?

[Techwright]

1 hour ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

 

"When one sets out to conquer the galaxy, you have to be a little self-aware. The image you project, whether in a personal interrogation, or on a vulgar 30-metre-high holographic statue, has to be one of power, confidence, and without vulnerabilities. This is the case in all cultures I've explored and, when necessary, crushed, in their art, their history, their legends.

 

That's why I use Just For Chiss brush-on hair dye. Sonic shower proof for up to thirty days, and guaranteed not to run, whether from Tatooine heat, Kamino showers, or in the face of transdimensional space squid..."

 

Speaking of space squid. We don't know how long he was travelling with the pod, to where, or when, or if time passes the same way around them. 

So he may not have aged as much as we think - or Ezra, for that matter.

 

On m'learned coll's Eternal Emperor theory (and it's nice to have him around on these threads, like our own personal Holocron...) 

 

1) Sorry to the haters, but Rey is not being erased. She's getting another movie about trying to rebuild the Jedi Order. Because that went so well for Luke.

 

2) If Ray is the Eternal Emperor and doin' the muckety-muckaround with timey-wimey stuff...

...what are the odds that we see Thrawn and Ahsoka uniting against a greater threat?

Since that could erase not just the New Republic, but the Empire as well, rewriting history in his image?

 

I feel like I needed to use both a thumb's up and a laughter emoji for that post.  🙂

 

Since posting, I've continued to think about the speculation I relayed in my edit.  While I like the idea of the grand villain, I can see no good reason to bring in the Eternal Emperor at this point, unless one outcome applies (I'll get to that.)  The reason goes back to the alleged mandate that Favreau & Filoni were given: to make the Sequel Trilogy "work" by creating a good backstory for it.  This they've been doing in the various works since they started, most notably in The Mandalorian and even as far back in the SW timeline as The Bad Batch.  Were they, in just 4 months, to wipe the Sequel Trilogy from existence, it would ruin all their hard work (some would say "impossible task", but I digress), and leave a lot of loose plot threads lying around. 

 

As to that "one outcome" I mentioned:  if the Eternal Emperor is brought in, dispatching such a formidable foe in 6 to 8 episodes would be a travesty, and quite likely overshadow Thrawn.  That leaves the possibility that the EE is somehow delayed in rising to power, perhaps wounded and hiding for 4 decades to lick those wounds and build a base of power.  In such a case, then the Sequel Trilogy story plays out, then, say, after 10 years, Rey's Skywalker Academy of Jedi is confronted by this renewed threat, probably leading to a whole new series of movies and TV shows.

 

But my musings have coalesced around a view more in line with Occam's Razer:  The orange-sabered force users are likely Dark Jedi, a wilder, less predictable version of Jedi likely to wield both light and dark.  These can act heroically or villainously depending on their perspective of an issue.  If they are following a story path similar to what I recall of the book "Heir to the Empire" (memory is rusty) then Thrawn might be manipulating these at the same time as they are trying to manipulate him, each for their own purposes.  They could, for example, attack New Republic craft for Thrawn while simultaneously trying to find the Jedi temple and access the World Between Worlds for their own goals.  It would be why Ahsoka would square off against Ray's character: she's been to TWBW and she knows it is incredibly dangerous.

 

Side note: a reactor referred to these new lightsabers as "blood orange".  I like that description.

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

46 minutes ago, Techwright said:

Side note: a reactor referred to these new lightsabers as "blood orange".  I like that description

Or Pumpkin Spicesaber.

 

If Zahn is properly on board then, yes, expect a few beats from the books - the automated fleet would certainly be useful, as would cloning tech. But then again, Brainy Smurf is known for his ability to deceive and surprise… hopefully the audience too.

[Techwright]

I've managed to identify the battle droids in the trailer, and we've actually seen them before, so no need for spoilers, I just didn't pay close attention to them when I first viewed them.

 

These are Magistrate Elsbeth's droids.  We last saw them when she was acting as a warlord over a village in the episode The Jedi of The Mandalorian.  So best guess is that either Elsbeth has dispatched them against Asoka, or Elsbeth's boss has sent them.  This might also explain why their energy staves are able to resist Ahsoka's light sabers.  Elsbeth was the one who had the pure beskar spear.  It's likely she's got connections to the First Order's supply of stolen beskar and may have put some into her guards' weapons.

 

[Techwright]

Pondering something, and wondering if we'll see a progression of this part of Ahsoka's story reaching all the way back to the Clone Wars:

Spoiler

Wondering if we'll see progress in the story of Ahsoka's connection to the Mortis family.

 

If you do not recall, The Clone Wars had an arc where Ahsoka, Anakin, and Obi-Wan were pulled into a pocket dimension where the Force was abundantly powerful, and a family of incredibly powerful Force wielders, the Mortis family, referred to by others as Mortis gods, ruled in declining balance.  Each was an aspect of the Force:  The Daughter was light side, the Son was dark side, and the Father was balance.  Through a series of events I'll not get into, the Son escaped the dimension, and the other two perished, but not before the Daughter gave the last of her strength to revive Ahsoka.  Since that time the Daughter's pet companion called Morai, a space owl with a tail, has gravitated to Ahsoka and can usually be found either close to her or close to a location she's been.

 

We've never seen the Son since then, though we've seen significant connections throughout the universe to that family, most notably at the Jedi Temple on Lothal, where they were depicted in an animated mural that was part of the guardianship to one of the portals to the World Between Worlds (WBW).  The WBW seems to be a central focus of the upcoming Ahsoka series, and this has me wondering:  will the Mortis story return with it?  I suspect there's more to what happened to Ahsoka than just reviving.  It's possible that the Daughter's life force is maturing in Ahsoka.  If so, her destiny is to become a replacement for the Daughter, and a counterbalance to The Son, or at least, that's what's possibly intended. Whether she lives to accomplish that, or not...we'll see.  But if the Son is to return, and seeing as Filoni is behind all this, I suspect it is so at some point, then this series might be an opportunity for him to make an appearance, even if in cameo.  I'm not saying he should be a big bad in this series, that would upstage Thrawn, but a reminder that he's loose and unchecked in the galaxy would be welcomed, and might generate future stories for Ahsoka.    The Son is basically the Star Wars universe's take on Pandora's Box: that which has escaped, bringing disaster on all.

 

[Techwright]

Minor news:

Lars Mikkelson commented on his character, Thrawn, stating that viewers might not understand the big picture of his plan until the last.  I'll link the source with the more-exact quote below.  I only point it out because in recent years viewers of Star Wars and other franchises have a nasty habit of writing off anything that they see as trivial or do not understand at first, missing concepts like foreshadowing and plot building.  Dave Filoni, the one behind this project, has a habit of creating episodes in TV that seem like "filler" but turn out to be crucial to the story.  The end of Star Wars: Rebels, the predecessor to the upcoming Ahsoka,  was a prime example of this.

 

https://www.superherohype.com/tv/532149-lars-mikkelsen-teases-thrawns-agenda-in-ahsoka

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Okay, we have a couple of character updates. Ray is not the Eternal Emperor: he’s Baleful Skull - sorry, Baylan Skoll (you know how much Filoni loves his soundalikes.)

 

Apparently he’s a rogue Jedi who escaped Order 66 by fleeing into the Unknown, a region that also contains the Zombie Emperor’s hideout and Sith shipyards on Exegol, and many other planets inhabited by the Dark Side.

 

So he has clearly learned abilities some may consider… unnatural, along with his apprentice Shin (Ukrainian actress Ivanna Sakhno, of Pacific Rim 2 and The Spy Who Dumped Me.) He is also an ally of Brainy Smurf, though the line between “ally” and “pawn” is thin.

 

We also have Wes Chatham jumping ship from the Rocinante and getting a promotion - he’s now Thrawn’s new right hand Captain Enoch, and Eman Esfandi is confirmed as one Ezra Bridger.

 

Steve Blum is not yet listed to return per IMDB, but there’s a bunch of actors we’ve seen who aren’t actually listed. I’m slightly wondering if Filoni threw Zeb’s guest shot into Mando S3 as a camera test, and also to gauge audience reaction.

 

But if getting the band back together is what the audience want…

 

[Techwright]

21 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

Okay, we have a couple of character updates. Ray is not the Eternal Emperor: he’s Baleful Skull - sorry, Baylan Skoll (you know how much Filoni loves his soundalikes.)

 

Apparently he’s a rogue Jedi who escaped Order 66 by fleeing into the Unknown, a region that also contains the Zombie Emperor’s hideout and Sith shipyards on Exegol, and many other planets inhabited by the Dark Side.

If this introduces the broader concepts taken up in the now Legends material, namely the idea of Dark Jedi, I'm all for it.  This "The Unknown" is, I guess, the "Unknown Regions" on many fan created galaxy charts.  Here is one of the clearer ones.  I've always wondered at the story potential for both the Unknown Regions and Wild Space:

 

So he has clearly learned abilities some may consider… unnatural, along with his apprentice Shin (Ukrainian actress Ivanna Sakhno, of Pacific Rim 2 and The Spy Who Dumped Me.) He is also an ally of Brainy Smurf, though the line between “ally” and “pawn” is thin.

By description, Skoll sounds like a retooling of Legends character Joruus C'baoth who was the Dark Jedi in Heir To The Empire, though it's been so long since I read it that I forget most of that character's role.  If Maul looked savagely feral in The Phantom Menace, Shin looks positively special forces.  The two trailer glimpses of her show extreme precision and utter determination.

 

We also have Wes Chatham jumping ship from the Rocinante and getting a promotion - he’s now Thrawn’s new right hand Captain Enoch, and Eman Esfandi is confirmed as one Ezra Bridger.

Captain Enoch as right hand is a surprise.  Though I never read more than Heir to the Empire, it was Captain Pellaeon who was Thrawn's right hand, and we've just seen him in the Shadow Council.  I wonder why the change in this case?

 

Steve Blum is not yet listed to return per IMDB, but there’s a bunch of actors we’ve seen who aren’t actually listed. I’m slightly wondering if Filoni threw Zeb’s guest shot into Mando S3 as a camera test, and also to gauge audience reaction.

I'm guessing they wanted to be sure they could generate a truly believable CGI Zeb before moving forward.  Several reactors have commented on the level of detail in Zeb's "live" appearance, far more than expected for a simple cameo.    "...bunch of actors we've seen who aren't actually listed."  You know, if this is really Rebels Season 5, then we do have Clancy Brown still around, and he had a major part in Rebels as governor-in-exile Ryder Azadi, who just happens to look a great deal like Clancy Brown.  Seeing that part of the show will be on Lothal, I'd not put it past them for bringing Brown in for a cameo at least.

 

But if getting the band back together is what the audience want…

 

 

[Techwright]

And now we have a tantalizing name drop that might just be a foreshadowing for Ahsoka.  It comes courtesy of the brand new game Jedi:Survivor and is mentioned so casually, that one might overlook it.  But since the Cal Kestes story is considered canon, it might be worth keeping in mind.  I'd also note this name drop ties in with a visual drop that occurred in the latest season of The Bad Batch.  Dave Filoni's design work, I'm sure.

 

As it has a bit of a spoiler for the game, just a tiny one (I'll leave the massive spoiler that came attached to it unsaid), I'll drop it here:

Spoiler

In Jedi:Survivor, Cal makes an inquiry into the Zeffo, an ancient force-sensitive species that once held dominion over much of the galaxy before disappearing.  Cal fought one of their automatons, built in their image, back in Jedi: Fallen Order (also canon).  The response Cal receives is that not much has been discovered, save that the Zeffo moved into the Unknown Regions.  This is the same Unknown Regions where events of Ahsoka are rumored to be taking place, and where the emperor and the Final Order are gathering strength. 

In The Bad Batch we also had an episode where...

Spoiler

...a giant mecha-kaiju is discovered and eliminated when it attacks.  It is ancient and sporting a distinctive look suggesting strongly that it is Zeffo in origin.  If true (and many fans think it is), this would mean that The Bad Batch is also foreshadowing what is to come in the Unknown Regions.             

 

This last spoiler is larger.  It gets it's own box:

Spoiler

In Jedi:Survivor, there's a religious center housing the Anchorites.  These "cultists" as the game refers to them, wear headgear that appears to be an attempt to mimic the Zeffo's look, including the long icicle-like jewelry, even in the same location.  I'm not sure how the Anchorites play into the whole Zeffo-in-the-Unknown Regions bit, but it is interesting that they are in the same game where the Zeffo are mentioned.      

 

I'd not be a bit surprised to discover that the Zeffo play a role in what is to come.  Knowing they were both force-sensitive and highly advanced, I'm wondering if this is how the empire discovers how to add force powers into a clone.

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Techwright

[LegionAlpha]

Pass. Does not thrill me or grabs me to the point I have to watch it. 

[Techwright]

Shocking news:  Just broke that actor Ray Stevenson died at only 58.  He's playing the lead Dark Jedi in this Ahsoka series, was Mandalorian Gar Saxon in the animated shows, and Volstagg in the Thor movies.

 

Strictly from a story point it makes you wonder if the Dark Jedi character will end somehow within this series, or if the part will need to be recast going forward.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/ray-stevenson-thor-punisher-war-zone-actor-dead-58

 

https://www.ign.com/articles/ray-stevenson-actor-in-rrr-thor-and-ahsoka-dies-at-58

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

Small update: Ahsoka has an official release date of August 23rd, for those of you that need to bother your phone provider/supermarket/airline loyalty app/mom to add time to your D+ sub. (Seriously: I'm not sure how many people really do fork out eight quid/eleven bucks a month to the Mouse, given how many corporate offers there are.)

 

There's also a tiny, tiny extra thing in the new mini-teaser/TV spot:

 

Microspoiler:

Spoiler

Sabine is seen facing off against Shin with Ezra's lightsabre. (In Rebels, Chop handed it on as she knew how to use it, and did - to escape Thrawn in the finale.)

 

She's also Mando, so very combat trained, and there's even a light dusting of Force sensitivity in her ancestry.

But whether or not she's a good enough amateur to hold out against a fully trained and unleashed apprentice is a whole other question.

 

 

 

[Techwright]

On 6/11/2023 at 8:04 AM, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

 

 

There's also a tiny, tiny extra thing in the new mini-teaser/TV spot:

 

Microspoiler:  (See Orange Response)

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Sabine is seen facing off against Shin with Ezra's lightsabre. (In Rebels, Chop handed it on as she knew how to use it, and did - to escape Thrawn in the finale.)

 

She's also Mando, so very combat trained, and there's even a light dusting of Force sensitivity in her ancestry.   Congrats! You found something about one of the Rebels I'd not heard.  Do you have a source you can point us to for that "Force sensitivity" bit?  That's completely new to me.

But whether or not she's a good enough amateur to hold out against a fully trained and unleashed apprentice is a whole other question.

Did you notice?  She's without her beskar armor.  The one thing she's never without in Rebels (and actually stated an identity tie to), the one thing that could protect her from a lightsaber, and she's not wearing it.  Why is that?  When we see the shot of Ahsoka meeting with her, I'd assumed she was just having some down time: getting the armor buffed, letting the pain dry, that sort of thing.  Now I'm wondering one of two things:

1.  Did she have to remove the armor due to a falling out with the Mandalorians?  She was wearing it in the final scene of Rebels, which scene is set after The Return of the Jedi.  2. Could it be worse?  Did Thrawn re-initialize the Dutchess program?  That's the weapon Sabine created and thought she'd destroyed.  The one Thrawn's forced used to kill Mandos using their bescar armor against them.

 

 

 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

14 hours ago, Techwright said:

Do you have a source you can point us to for that "Force sensitivity" bit?  That's completely new to me.

Per Screen Rant and a few other sources, Sabine is a distant descendant of Tarre Vizsla, Mando Jedi, and inventor of everyone's favourite McGuffin, the Darksabre. There are also events that make some folk think she might have some very light Force sensitivity scattered throughout Rebels, such as her strong connection to Ezra and character shifts after Kanan's exit. YMMV.

 

But that's no reason Filoni might not have read these theories, and gone hmmm... plus, plot-wise, you've noticed Sabine seems to be at a loose end. A battle-trained, slightly overzealous, force-sensitive kid hanging around when someone might be in need of a sidekick (whether they want one or not?) Wonder how that one's gonna go...

[Techwright]

I've been reading speculation of various iconic characters and famous actors making appearances within the upcoming Ahsoka.  As I ponder the possibilities, one makes sense, however, and might be very organic to the story, providing closure on an important plot point in the overall canon of Star Wars. 

 

Having Luke Skywalker appear, even briefly, after Ezra Bridger is (presumably) found would serve to have a Jedi Knight, THE Jedi Knight, conduct the knighting of Ezra Bridger.  I don't think I'm spoiling anything 5 years later by saying that Ezra Bridger left the Rebels series still technically a padawan, though his skills and new-found maturity at the end demonstrated he's ready to be a young knight.  While it technically is not necessary for his life to proceed, a knighthood is closure, and would follow the precedent of Ezra's master, Kanan, who, with no knight handy, was knighted by the Force itself using the (apparently redeemed) Force ghost of the Temple Guard (aka the Grand Inquisitor) within the Jedi temple.

 

There is, however, one possible counter to this: Ahsoka herself.  We've seen Ahsoka repeatedly say she's no longer a Jedi, but there've been hints, and if you know the work of Dave Filoni, you know such things are never just background noise, that Ahsoka has possible embraced the Jedi path again.  Hints like Clone Wars season 7 where, when Yoda questions whether Ahsoka is ready to return to the order, she doesn't say she'll never return, she says "not yet".  Then there's the title of her first live-action episode:  "The Jedi", suggesting not only that others perceive her as such, but that she's embraced that path again.  When she's referred to as a Jedi, she doesn't counter it, like she did when squaring off against Vader.  If it's true that she's finally returned to the path, Ahsoka herself may knight Ezra.  But Ahsoka was also a padawan in the Order and never (previously) a knight, so how could that happen?  The answer is Luke.  We've never seen how these two have met, and that may be a flashback in the series.  It may very well be that Luke convinces Ahsoka to return to the Order, and therefore Luke himself that knights her, allowing her in turn to knight Ezra.

 

All highly speculative (more so because I don't read canon books or comics, and therefore don't know how things play out there), but either suggested plot point allows both Luke to make an appearance, and Ezra to receive his knighthood finally.

 

There is, however, (heh, heh) one possible counter to all of this:  Kanan Jarrus.  How?  Remember Kanan's knighting.  It occurred in the Jedi temple on Lothal, a wellspring of force power, such that those not trained in projecting a force ghost in their afterlife may still make an appearance.  Kanan was knighted by one of these.  It would be a tremendous surprise cameo, but, as it's already strongly hinted that one or more Jedi temples are at play in the series' storyline, it could be that Kanan himself appears to Ezra in one of these temples, and knights him in a manner reminiscent of Kanan's own.  Of course, this means that Freddie Prinze, Jr. would get to play Kanan in live action.

 

I'll make another speculation: Filoni may bring additional characters unique to Rebels into live action. Ryder Azadi, for example, who looked so much like his voice actor, Clancy Brown, that having Clancy play the restored Lothal governor makes sense. Jai Kell or Mart, members of the Rebels at the fall of the Empire on Lothal.

[Shred Monkey]

Don't forget, at some point, perhaps 3-4 seasons from now, this all leads to a story that sets up Rey's backstory and separation from her parents.  It also will probably connect to Snoke and then Palpatine's return. 

 

It is clear to me that fixing Star Wars is Filoni's main purpose in life.  Truly a noble cause, as impossible as it may seem.