A new image offered fans their first HD look at Baylan Skoll's major redesign heading into Ahsoka Season 2. Dave Filoni's force-wielding streaming series is set to return sometime next year, picking up the tale of Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano and the rest of the Star Wars: Rebels crew. As part of this star-faring adventure, Dawson's Jedi master will again clash sabers with the villainous Baylan Skoll, although he will look slightly different from how he once did.
Fans uncovered a picture of Baylan Skoll in Ahsoka Season 2, offering the first HD look at the character's new design. After the tragic death of original Baylan actor Ray Stevenson in 2023, it was announced that Game of Thrones star (and close friend of Stevenson's) Rory McCann would step into the role.
While fans in attendance at Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo earlier this year got a sneak peek at what McCann's redesigned version of the morally ambiguous villain will look like, this new picture (as shared online by X user Morai the Messenger) gave the rest of the world a glimpse of their own.
The picture shows McCann's take on Baylan holding his orange lightsaber to his face with his hood up. It seems to be an upscaled version of the same image shown at Celebration back in April.
While the redesign between Stevenson and McCann's versions of the character is not a total makeover, his beard is notably darker and darker, and his hood appears much more worn and rugged.
Fans can expect McCann to bring his own take to the Baylan Skoll character, indicating that Lucasfilm and Disney+ are not trying to drastically change the villain and making the transition between actors as streamlined as possible.
Ahsoka Season 2 will stream on Disney+ sometime in 2026 (read more about the upcoming Star Wars streaming slate here). The second season, once again helmed by Lucasfilm creative lead Dave Filoni, will follow Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano as she is stranded in another galaxy far, far away, entirely separate from the prime Star Wars universe. She, McCann's Baylan Skoll, and Natasha Liu Bordizzo's Sabine Wren are stranded there while the terrifying Grand Admiral Thrawn (played by Lars Mikkelsen) assembles an army in the known Star Wars galaxy.
How Will Baylan Skoll Change in Ahsoka Season 2?
With a new actor coming in to play Baylan Skoll in Ahsoka Season 2, there will almost surely be some changes to the character. A new person behind the role will mean they will, obviously, put their own spin on it.
However, everything points to the character being as similar to Ray Stevenson's version of him as possible.
Ahsoka Season 1 ended with a massive setup for Baylan Skoll, with him (and his apprentice, Shin Hati) finally making it to this other unknown galaxy alongside Ahsoka with some glorious purpose. It would seem that, headed into Season 2, the same primary mission will be present for the character, whatever that may be.
According to Ahsoka star Ivanna Sakhno, her Shin Hati and McCann's Baylan will be closely intertwined once again in the new batch of episodes, as she teased during a conversation with The Direct earlier this year.
So, when Ahsoka finally debuts on Disney+, fans can expect a redesigned look for Baylan Skoll, thanks to a new actor playing the character. Still, many familiar elements will be present to make things feel as seamless as possible.
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