Ahsoka's Touching Ray Stevenson Tribute Explained

Ahsoka's series premiere featured a touching tribute to one cast member.

By Sam Hargrave Posted:
Ray Stevenson Ahsoka Star Wars

The Disney+ premiere of Ahsoka, "Master and Apprentice," left off with a title card reading "For our friend, Ray." But who was this tribute dedicated to?

Ahsoka Pays Tribute to Ray Stevenson After Death

Ray Stevenson in Ahsoka
Star Wars

Ahsoka's Episode 1 "For our friend, Ray" tribute was included to honor Ray Stevenson who plays Baylan Skoll - a former Jedi Knight that switched career paths to become a mercenary after surviving the Order 66 attack.

The Irish-born actor tragically passed away on May 21, 2023, not long before the series premiere, after production wrapped on Ahsoka in October 2022.

As such, the team behind Ahsoka included the tribute to honor the memory of Stevenson, who is expected to play a key villain role across the series.

The Disney+ series wasn't Stevenson's first go-around in the galaxy far, far away, having voiced Gar Saxon in The Clone Wars and Rebels too.

The actor also appeared in the MCU as The Warriors Three's Volstagg across the first three Thor movies, with some of his other filmography including Vikings and Dexter.

The Thrawn loyalist Morgan Elsbeth hired Stevenson's Baylan Skoll in Ahsoka to free her from New Republic capture and assist in finding the Empire's last Grand Admiral alongside his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno)

The first two episodes of Ahsoka are streaming now on Disney+.

- In This Article: Ahsoka
Release Date
August 22, 2023
Platform
Actors
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Natasha Liu Bordizzo
- About The Author: Sam Hargrave
Sam Hargrave is the Associate Editor at The Direct. He joined the team as a gaming writer in 2020 before later expanding into writing for all areas of The Direct and taking on further responsibilities such as editorial tasks and image creation.