Ezra Bridger actor Eman Esfandi confirmed that his Star Wars character is going to be changed in the upcoming second season of Disney+'s Ahsoka, which will likely disappoint some fans. Ahsoka is finally returning on January 20, 2027, continuing the story that was left off in Season 1, which premiered in 2023 and ended on a rather nail-biting cliffhanger.
In a recent interview with Brandon Davis on The Brandon Davis Show (as shared via YouTube), Ahsoka Season 2's Eman Esfandi (who played Ezra Bridger in Season 1 and will reprise that role in Season 2) teased what is to come for Ezra in the upcoming installment of the MandoVerse series. Specifically, the actor revealed that Lucasfilm is going to abandon one beloved part of Ezra's character in Season 2, which may upset a few fans.
Before stating exactly how Ezra is going to be different in Season 2, Esfandi talked about how effective Lars Mikkelsen's Grand Admiral Thrawn is as a villain, teasing that he will be back to full power in Ahsoka Season 2. The actor even stated that he recently had "a Rebels rewatch in preparation for (Ahsoka) Season 2," and that "it never ceases to amaze [him] how cunning and intelligent Thrawn is:"
"Yeah, I mean, there is so much to consider with Grand Admiral Thrawn back in the main galaxy. He has been such a strategic warlord throughout every iteration we've ever seen him in, whether it's the books or 'Rebels,' which we see him most in. And I've just done a 'Rebels' rewatch, recently, in preparation for Season 2. And wow, it never ceases to amaze me how cunning and intelligent Thrawn is in the way he does this..."
Esfandi then talked about how Ezra is "one of the few people in the New Republic army" who can attest to how dangerous Thrawn is. The actor also stated that "there's a lot for Ezra to have to adjust to," which will be a challenge for the character. However, being in the ranks of the New Republic and a part of the army will give the New Republic a bit of an advantage, as Ezra has a lot of history with the Grand Admiral:
"So, Ezra now, in Season 2, has technically become one of the few people in the New Republic army, truly few people, who have ever even faced or known the threat of Thrawn. And he was just on this planet for so long. So, he must know some things that he's seen... There's just a lot for Ezra to have to adjust to, and relay, and consider, and live up to now that he's back and he's the only one who's ever saved anyone from Thrawn in that way."
The Star Wars actor (who also recently appeared in Spider-Man: Brand New Day) then reiterated that, in Season 2, Ezra is going to be "plenty busy" taking care of things "with the New Republic army," proving that he will be in a much different position than he was in during the events of Season 1. This means that one part of Ezra's character will be changed fundamentally, and that Star Wars is abandoning that nomad aspect of Ezra's character that was introduced in Season 1:
"So, Ezra is plenty busy during Season 2 with the New Republic army. It's going to be really exciting."
For reference, Ezra was absent from a large portion of Ahsoka Season 1. He finally made his grand return to the Star Wars story after Ahsoka, Huyang, and Sabine Wren ventured to Peridea, which is in an entirely different galaxy that fans had never seen before.
When Ezra was reintroduced, it was established that he had been living on Peridea as a sort of nomad. His hair and beard were long; he had made friends with alien creatures, and he had seemingly been living off the land.
Essentially, Season 1's Ezra had been cut off from the New Republic completely and was presented as more of an outsider since he had been away for so long. This allowed fans to see a different side to the character, but it also gave Ezra the chance to connect to the Force on a deeper and more natural level.
Fans enjoyed seeing Ezra in a different light and praised Lucasfilm for making his character more mysterious, especially since he was a major piece of the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars Rebels.
However, now that Star Wars is thrusting Ezra into the ranks of the New Republic army, he will be fundamentally changed from the way he was in Season 1, and will go back to the way he was presented in Rebels, which could be seen as a regression in character development.
What Will Happen to Ezra in Ahsoka Season 2?
There are still a lot of questions surrounding Ahsoka Season 2, especially when it comes to what will happen to the main characters who were established members of the Ghost crew in Rebels. A while back, many fans would not have been worried about them at all because there were plans to continue the MandoVerse, but now that the future of the MandoVerse is in question, Star Wars could do whatever it wanted with those characters.
For reference, at one time it was announced that Dave Filoni was developing a feature film that would serve as the Avengers: Endgame-like culmination to the MandoVerse. Some time later, it was rumored that the project could turn into a limited series on Disney+, but now, with the poor performance of The Mandalorian & Grogu at the box office, its mere existence is in question.
If Disney and Lucasfilm have internally axed Filoni's big project, the MandoVerse could come to an end sooner than expected. If that is the case, Ahsoka Season 2 could kill off some major characters, and Ezra could be one of them.
Fans will know that Filoni is not afraid to kill off important people in the Star Wars universe. Freddie Prinze Jr.'s Kanan Jarrus received one of the most emotional deaths in all of Star Wars in the final season of Rebels, and considering he was Ezra's master, if push comes to shove in the fight with Thrawn, it is possible Ezra could make a similar sacrifice.
However, it is also important to note that Ezra could make it through to the end of Ahsoka Season 2 and be featured in other future projects, whether it be Filoni's movie or show, or something else.
