Ahsoka will make history for Star Wars' run on Disney+, bringing the series into theaters for a limited capacity.
Lucasfilm's Ahsoka series continues to tie together the entire Star Wars universe with each new episode, bringing in important plot points featuring the titular hero first seen in both The Clone Wars and Rebels.
And while Star Wars hasn't seen the big screen spotlight since 2019's Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker became one of the franchise's biggest disappointments, the franchise appears to be taking a unique route on that front in the near future.
Disney+'s Ahsoka Making Theatrical Debut
Star Wars announced that Episode 5 of Ahsoka will have a limited theatrical release upon its debut on Tuesday, September 12, giving fans the chance to see the episode before it hits Disney+ at 9 p.m. ET later that night.
Screenings will be held in 10 cities across the United States at 5 p.m. PT, with East Coast viewers getting about an hour of a head start on the general public due to the time differences across the countries. Those cities can be seen below along with their local times for the showings:
- Boston, Massachusetts - 8:00 p.m.
- Chicago, Illinois - 7:00 p.m.
- Dallas, Texas - 7:00 p.m.
- Los Angeles, California - 5:00 p.m.
- New York, New York - 8:00 p.m.
- Orlando, Florida - 8:00 p.m.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 8:00 p.m.
- San Francisco, California - 5:00 p.m.
- Seattle, Washington - 5:00 p.m.
- Washington, DC - 8:00 p.m.
Screenings will also be held in London, the U.K., Bangkok, Thailand, and Sao Paulo, Brazil along with the 10 U.S. screenings.
This is the first time that Disney has held a theatrical screening like this for a single episode in the middle of any show's run on Disney+.
Previously, Star Wars gave the Obi-Wan Kenobi series a theatrical release on June 22, although this included all six episodes after the show made its entire streaming run.
Marvel Studios also gave a special theatrical release in Pakistan for Ms. Marvel due to that country not having Disney+ available, with two episodes being released in theaters on June 16, June 30, and July 14.
Will Ahsoka's Theatrical Trend Continue?
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Ahsoka.
With Disney looking to put Ahsoka in this kind of theatrical spotlight in the middle of Season 1, it seems clear that the studio wants to bring shows like this one into more avenues for fan access.
And especially with Star Wars not returning to theaters with a new movie until 2025, this limited run for Ahsoka will give fans a tease of what's been missing since Episode IX last ran on the big screen in late 2019 and early 2020
This episode will also mark a huge turning point for the show itself with the final moments bringing Hayden Christensen's comeback as Anakin Skywalker, with the former Jedi Knight showing up in what appeared to be the World Between Worlds.
And after Episode 4 made fans believe that Ahsoka could potentially be close to her death, her revamped relationship with her former Jedi Master will be a key plot point to follow in the coming weeks.
The first four episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+.