An Ahsoka executive producer confirmed the three main (returning from Rebels) characters of the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series.
Casting for live-action Rebels characters has been a hot topic for fans over the past few years, especially once Rosario Dawson debuted as live-action Ahsoka in The Mandalorian Season 2.
Rebels characters like Grand Admiral Thrawn, Chopper, and Ezra Bridger have all appeared in the Ahsoka trailer but will not be the most essential characters.
Ahsoka's Three Leading Characters
While speaking with Total Film magazine, Ahsoka executive producer Carrie Beck said that the show is about “a Jedi, a warrior, and a general,” indicating that Ahsoka, Sabine Wren, and Hera Syndulla are the most important characters in the series.
Making their live-action debuts, Sabine is played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Mary Elizabeth Winstead is portraying Hera.
Beck added, "These characters are defined by their roles and responsibilities to each other and the galaxy."
This furthers the confirmation and Lucasfilm's idea of embracing a female-led Star Wars project. Leading star Rosario Dawson said it "took [her] a second to appreciate how many women were on the show [Rebels]:"
"When you watch the 15 years of Ahsoka’s journey in animation – it took me a second to even appreciate how many women were on the show. And that was Dave’s proclivity. That was George Lucas’s proclivity. And now to see it continue on with Jon and Kathleen [Kennedy] – it’s really quite beautiful."
Dawson added that Ahsoka, Sabine, and Hera have "been so prominent as female representation in a space that we don’t get to really see women be like that:"
"I think that’s actually one of the reasons why people have loved Ahsoka’s and Sabine’s and Hera’s journey all of this time. Because they had been so prominent as female representation in a space that we don’t get to really see women be like that, to be such leaders, to be finicky, to be headstrong, to be stubborn, and to see how different they are, and how well they come together as a chosen family."
She then praised director Dave Filoni and Carrie Beck's support of making inclusivity "inherent to the story:"
"It just was really fun to see how that’s only just expanded and grown, and that there’s such a rich history there, and not just because of a desire for more inclusivity or diversity, but because it’s just been inherent to the story that’s been told ever since Dave and Carrie came on board."
Ahsoka Setting a Precedent for Female-Led Star Wars Projects
Star Wars has long been a place of putting women in a position of power, specifically making Princess Leia in the original film not a damsel in distress but a badass who knows how to wield a blaster.
In 2015, The Force Awakens re-wrote what a Star Wars film could be, making Rey the leading character and soon-to-be Jedi, similar to Luke or Anakin Skywalker of their respective trilogies.
In animation, between both Clone Wars and Rebels, Ahsoka Tano has been represented well since 2008. Disney+'s upcoming is truly leaning into these three female characters from Rebels while not bringing back fan-favorite Kanan.
Ahsoka premieres on Disney+ on August 23.
