A prominent new Jedi has taken Ahsoka Tano's place in the franchise, and it is clear that Disney and Lucasfilm have big plans for their future. Since George Lucas and Dave Filoni created the Clone Wars movie in 2008, a lot of time has been spent fleshing out the character of Ahsoka Tano. Once Lucas finished creating his prequel trilogy and started focusing on The Clone Wars (both the movie and the TV series), it became clear fairly early on that Ahsoka was going to be catapulted into the spotlight. Fast-forward 18 years, and she is still one of Star Wars' biggest and most important characters, even under Disney's rule.
While Ahsoka has been one of the focal points of Star Wars since Disney acquired Lucasfilm from Lucas (she has appeared in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Star Wars Rebels, the final season of The Clone Wars, and then her own self-titled series), Disney has now seemingly replaced her with a different alien Jedi character named Devon Izara. Devon was featured prominently in the recently released Maul - Shadow Lord Disney+ series, and while fans understood that she would be a pretty important character in that show, no one expected her to replace one of the most notable Jedi of all time.
For a long time, Ahsoka was known as Star Wars' hopeful alien Padawan in the Jedi Order. Devon is strikingly similar to Ahsoka in that regard, as she is a hopeful alien Jedi padawan herself. Of course, in Ahsoka's case, everything came to a head in The Clone Wars Season 5 when Ahsoka left the Jedi Order, meaning she could no longer be classified as a Jedi Padawan. However, Devon followed suit at the end of Maul - Shadow Lord, as she also willingly walked away from the Jedi Order, but more on that later.
Ahsoka and Devon were both introduced into Star Wars in similar manners. As mentioned, they were both alien Jedi Padawans with a bright future ahead of them. However, a lot of fans were skeptical of Devon's role in Shadow Lord, just as many were skeptical of Ahsoka when she was introduced in The Clone Wars.
Something no one saw coming that provides even more evidence that Star Wars is replacing Ahsoka Tano with Devon is the fact that Devon was just as important as Maul in Shadow Lord. Maul is one of Star Wars' most iconic and fleshed-out characters. He is also extremely popular, as a lot of people who aren't even fans know who Maul is. Therefore, when Shadow Lord was announced, many believed that it would mostly be focused on Maul getting his criminal enterprise.
However, in retrospect, the show was largely focused on Devon's character arc. She had just as much screentime as Maul, and Maul getting the Shadow Collective revived took a back seat to Devon's plot and the exploration of her character.
That structure is not unlike what The Clone Wars did with Ahsoka. Many believed The Clone Wars would simply focus on adventures with Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and other Jedi as they fought in different battles throughout the war. However, the show quickly established that it was actually more about Ahsoka and her journey. In a sense, Ahsoka became the main character of The Clone Wars, and Devon became the main character (alongside Maul) of Maul - Shadow Lord.
It is worth noting that Disney and Lucasfilm also already announced that Maul - Shadow Lord will receive a second season, and that the announcement came before the series premiered on Disney+. Therefore, it seems as though Lucasfilm already has specific plans for Devon's character and her own journey, and that those plans will be executed no matter what.
If Devon wasn't going to be a major character within the franchise, Lucasfilm would not have been so eager to get Shadow Lord's second season greenlit. It also seems as though Disney has a lot of faith in Shadow Lord and Devon's character arc since it went ahead and allowed Lucasfilm to begin working on the second season before Season 1 even began airing.
It is also quite poetic that Devon is taking Ahsoka's place in Shadow Lord, since the recently released Disney+ series takes place essentially right after the end of The Clone Wars on the Star Wars timeline. Ahsoka made other appearances in the Star Wars timeline after The Clone Wars, of course, but her Jedi arc ended right before Devon's character arc began.
So, it is clear that Star Wars has officially replaced Ahsoka with Devon. Season 2 of Ahsoka's own Disney+ series is yet to be released, but she is not as prominent a character as she used to be, and fans may not really see her much more after Ahsoka ends. Devon, however, will seemingly be a central figure in Star Wars storytelling for the foreseeable future. Disney and Lucasfilm clearly have a lot of confidence in Devon and her ability to carry Star Wars for the next few years, and, honestly, they should be confident in her because Devon is a better Jedi character than Ahsoka.
Why Devon's Character Arc Is Better Than Ahsoka's
Ahsoka has an incredible character arc in Star Wars; one of the best, even. However, in just one season of television, Devon Izara's story has already truly become more compelling than Ahsoka's.
Devon and Ahsoka have similar character arcs. Both were apprentices to a powerful Force user in their younger years, and in both instances, there was some animosity early on between the master and the apprentice. For example, Anakin was not happy when he first learned that Ahsoka was going to be his Padawan. Similarly, Devon was extremely reluctant to take Maul on as her master for most of Shadow Lord Season 1.
Ahsoka and Devon also displayed a strong attachment to their Jedi Masters, which eventually led to both of them walking away from the Jedi Order. In Ahsoka's case, she became extremely close to Anakin. Jedi aren't supposed to love (even in a platonic sense), and are definitely not supposed to form attachments with anyone because loss is inevitable. Ahsoka didn't exactly turn away from the Jedi because of her attachment to Anakin, but that closeness to him and to the rest of the Order made her feel more betrayed.
On Devon's side, her attachment to her Jedi Master, Eeko-Dio Daki, directly caused her to turn to the Dark Side. When Darth Vader struck Master Daki down, Devon flew into a rage with tears running down her face out of sadness and anger. Devon's attachment to Daki caused her to express emotions that are closely tied to the Sith, and at the end of the finale, her voice even became distorted, signifying that she had totally turned away from the Jedi and was ready to be trained by Maul in the ways of the Dark Side.
Now, Devon is absolutely farther on the Dark Side of the Force spectrum than Ahsoka is or has ever been. However, their arcs were similar in the fact that they left the Jedi Order and started allowing the darkness to creep into their lives. Ahsoka was able to control it within her and find more of a balance in the Force, whereas Devon completely flipped from the Light Side to the Dark Side.
At the end of the day, Devon's character arc is more interesting than Ahsoka's because they have both gone through an incredible amount of character development, but Devon's only took 10 episodes while Ahsoka's took seven seasons of The Clone Wars, multiple seasons of Star Wars Rebels, and all of her other appearances throughout Star Wars.
Devon's journey was so efficient in the way that every single moment, every single line of dialogue, and every single decision seemingly held so much weight and had so much influence over her future. Ahsoka was a great character in The Clone Wars, but quite a bit of her screen time in that show was simply filler. Yes, it got fans connected to her on a deeper level and made fans care about her, but viewers have already become extremely connected to Devon in just 10 episodes of Maul - Shadow Lord.
There is also a sense of uncertainty when it comes to Devon. She does not appear in Solo alongside Maul. She never popped up in Star Wars Rebels, and was not mentioned in that show either. Fans don't know what happened to her at all. No one has any idea if she will have a redemption arc, if she will be killed, etc.
When Clone Wars was originally airing under George Lucas, fans felt the same way about Ahsoka. Then, after Disney acquired Lucasfilm, Ahsoka popped up in Rebels, so everyone knew that she survived the events of the Clone Wars. Ahsoka's character arc also always seemed like it would have somewhat of a happy ending. With Devon's, there is so much room for tragedy, and, as mentioned, so much uncertainty. No one knows which episode of Maul - Shadow Lord could be her last.
Star Wars Needs Devon in More Projects
Devon Izara is Ahsoka's replacement in the entire realm of Star Wars, and she should be treated the same as Ahsoka has been when it comes to appearances in future Star Wars titles.
For example, if Devon survives past Maul - Shadow Lord (which she should, as it could be a major waste of an exceptional character if she doesn't), she should absolutely show up in other TV shows, or potentially a few feature films, so that her story can continue to be fleshed out.
Star Wars has hit such a home run with Devon that they need to capitalize on making her character arc and journey in the galaxy far, far away as good as it possibly can be. Since she had so much character development and such an intriguing arc in Shadow Lord, they could hit the ground running with her in other projects.
Now, it is important to mention that Devon doesn't need to just show up anywhere and everywhere. Ahsoka is an amazing character, but it almost seemed like they shoehorned her into The Book of Boba Fett just to elicit a reaction from the audience. Devon doesn't need that, as it could potentially weaken her as a character.
Lucasfilm needs to be strategic in how it moves forward with Devon. Sometimes, less is more (as proven in Shadow Lord since that entire story was so compelling in just 10 episodes), and she shouldn't make an appearance in a Star Wars project unless it truly feels organic and makes her story better.
Some fans may not even realize it yet, but Star Wars has another A-tier character in its hands with Devon Izara, and, by the end of her story, she could be one of the most well-written and compelling characters in franchise history.
