Star Wars fans were spoiled over the weekend with a plethora of exciting announcements about the future of the galaxy, far, far away. Now, one leading Star Wars actress shared her reaction to one of Star Wars Celebration's most exciting reveals.
Lucasfilm is full steam ahead for Dave Filoni's Star Wars stories, referred to by some as the MandoVerse. The next series to pick up the story, Ahsoka, will premiere in August 2023 and seems to take plenty of inspiration from Timothy Zahn's hugely influential Heir to the Empire Legends trilogy with the long-awaited return of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Filoni's work is set to culminate in a feature-length film, but his most recent project will reunite fans with his earlier work, as plenty of beloved Star Wars Rebels characters finally return to the screen.
Rebels Star Weighs in on Hera's recast
Sharing her thoughts on Instagram, Vanessa Marshall, the original voice of Hera Syndulla in Star Wars Rebels, reacted to the Ahsoka trailer.
Fans will know that Marshall has been recast with Mary Elizabeth Winstead set to take over the role as the character joins the Ahsoka live-action series.
Marshall voiced Hera in Star Wars Rebels, Forces of Destiny, The Bad Batch, and in the video game Star Wars: Squadrons released in 2020.
However, despite the recast, it seems that there are no hard feelings between Marshall and the Ahsoka series.
Marshall exclaimed that she is "so excited to watch this with [her] #starwarsfamily," and congratulated "all involved" in the making of the show:
"I am so excited to watch this with my #starwarsfamily! This trailer is everything! Congratulations to all involved."
She then referred to herself as a "Weeping Fangirl," and shared that she "love[s] love[s] love[s]" the footage that was shared at Star Wars Celebration.
Unfortunately, though, the talented actress was unable to attend Star Wars Celebration, which was recently held in London.
Despite her notable absence, Marshall promised fans that "we will all be together again soon:"
"I am so excited to watch this with my #starwarsfamily! This trailer is everything! Congratulations to all involved. Weeping Fangirl over here! Just love love love this! So sorry not to be at Celebration this weekend. Know that I am sending all my love, and we will all be together again soon!"
Over the weekend, it was confirmed that Winstead would be playing live-action Hera in the upcoming Disney+ show Ahsoka, and the actress already shared her appreciation for the woman who first brought Hera to life.
In a recent interview with ET Online, Winstead praised Marshall for doing "such an incredible job in Rebels" and acknowledged that the actress had "brought so much to that character:"
"I think she did such an incredible job in 'Rebels' and she brought so much to that character."
However, Winstead also explained that she will be "sort of doing [her] own version" of the character, and as such, there may be some deviations between Hera in Star Wars Rebels and the version that fans see in the Ahsoka series.
“I am sort of doing my own version and trying to kind of capture the essence of who I feel she is in my voice and my body, but I think what she did was absolutely incredible.”
Which Rebels Characters To Expect in Ahsoka?
Hera won't be the only one to make the jump to live action in Ahsoka.
Fans will know that the colorful Mandalorian Sabine Wren is set to make an appearance in the upcoming Disney+ project as well.
Last year, fans found out that Natasha Liu Bordizzo was cast in the role of Sabine, a Mandalorian and revolutionary leader who joined the ghost crew after spending time as an imperial cadet and later a bounty hunter.
There was also a brief appearance of Ezra Bridger in the trailer, and fans were treated to a hologram of the beloved Jedi from Lothal who has been confirmed to be played by Eman Esfandi.
However, whilst many of the roles have been recast, one of the most exciting announcements was that original Grand Admiral Thrawn voice actor Lars Mikkelsen will reprise his role in the live-action series, who is certainly excited to be back as the villain.
Similarly, veteran voice actor Steve Blum has already returned to his Rebels role, voicing Zeb. Blum made a surprise cameo in The Mandalorian Chapter 21 episode 'The Pirate', which thrilled Star Wars fans everywhere.
Unfortunately, there seems to be no transparency in how Lucasfilm decides whether a part should be recast, or given to the original voice actor.
Still, Hera will likely have a hugely important role, and play an instrumental part in finding Ezra Bridger, of whom she became a maternal figure after he was orphaned on his seventh birthday by the Empire.
Ahsoka will begin streaming on Disney+ in August 2023.
