After half a decade, it appears the whereabouts of Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger have been revealed for Ahsoka.
The duo has been in a state of limbo since the finale of Star Wars: Rebels, which saw Ezra use the purgil to pull the Chimaera into hyperspace from Lothal. Despite freeing his homeworld, the young Jedi went missing with the Chiss admiral for several years, leading to Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren embarking on a search following the Battle of Endor.
In what was once presumed to transpire immediately after the events of Return of the Jedi, Ahsoka's introduction in The Mandalorian reveals the hunt for Ezra and Thrawn is part of the MandoVerse. The epilogue of Rebels takes place roughly five years after Episode VI, with Tano's farewell to Luke Skywalker in The Book of Boba Fett likely being the precursor to her journey.
Fans will finally learn the fates of Ezra and Thrawn in Ahsoka - but it may not be what they expect. A new rumor suggests the pair have entered unexplored territory, a place with a different perception of the Force.
Ezra and Thrawn in "The New Beyond"
During the Ahsoka series in the events following the Battle of Lothal, Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn will reportedly wind up in an area called "The New Beyond" or "New Space," though those names may not be official. The rumor, as shared by Making Star Wars (MSW), describes this setting as "a completely new and unexplored area of the Star Wars universe," never before referenced in even the novels and comics.
Additionally, the territory is inhabited by beings who perceive the Force differently than traditional Star Wars characters. MSW suggests that magic users outcast by these societies have appeared in other stories, with some indicators pointing to Ivanna Sakhno playing a Nightsister or Lightsister in Ahsoka. Diana Lee Inosanto's Morgan Elsbeth also hails from this realm and is said to be appearing in the series.
MSW unequivocally stated that Lars Mikkelsen is portraying the live-action Thrawn, a continuation of the role he voiced in Rebels.
How Does "New Space" Fit Into the Galaxy?
Star Wars is at its most fascinating when weird new elements are introduced. Dave Filoni has done this twice before, with the Mortis in The Clone Wars and the World Between Worlds from Rebels throwing wrinkles into a galaxy fans thought they knew well.
In Star Wars literature, a realm called No Space is explored in the High Republic era and accessed by the original trilogy heroes in the Star Wars (2020) comic run. The Chiss Ascendancy lies within the Unknown Regions of space, where remnants of the Empire fled following the Battle of Jakku. Exegol in The Rise of Skywalker is also in that territory, and a Sith Wayfinder was required to reach the world.
But those options don't seem to be what "The New Beyond," or "New Space," is, unless MSW is missing pieces of information. Common assumptions that Ezra and Thrawn returned to the Ascendancy to help defeat the Grysk threat may be off the mark, particularly given the origins of the Nightsisters in this new chunk of the galaxy.
Unique interpretations of the Force aren't new to Star Wars. In the Thrawn Ascendancy novels, the Chiss refer to the energy field as Third Sight - and ironically call the young girls using the ability to navigate vessels "sky-walkers." Other entities view balance differently, like the Bendu from Rebels, who sees the Ahsla and Bogan as the light and the dark. Magic performed by the Nightsisters certainly has an element of the Force, though clearly unique.
How such a jarring difference in interpretation of the Force by beings from "The New Beyond" will impact Ezra could be fascinating. It will likewise lead to growth for Thrawn, whose greatest weakness is the unpredictable - which, in most cases, is the Force. The two will have been in "New Space" for quite some time when Ahsoka finds them, and they're likely to be new people to their friends, foes, and the audience
Ahsoka begins streaming in 2023 on Disney+.
STAR WARS Writer
