Ahsoka Season 2 is going to be a lot different than Season 1 in multiple ways, especially regarding its tone, according to one of the Disney+ show’s biggest stars. Ahsoka Season 2 seems to have been in development forever. Season 1 premiered in 2023 and ended on a major cliffhanger for both of its major plotlines, and Star Wars fans are itching to go back to the galaxy far, far away, as well as the additional galaxy that was introduced in Season 1. However, it seems Season 2 will feel different on multiple fronts.
Ahsoka star Eman Esfandi, who portrayed Ezra Bridger in the show’s first season and will reprise his role in Season 2, recently joined The Moviegoers Society (a podcast shared via YouTube by Nerdtropolis) to talk about the upcoming installment of the Star Wars series. Esfandi detailed what fans can expect from the upcoming Ahsoka season, the challenges the cast and crew have faced, and how Season 2 will have a different tone from Season 1.
Specifically, Esfandi talked about how Ahsoka Season 2 was the "biggest project [he has] ever been on" and how it provided "a lot of first time experiences" for the Ezra Bridger actor. Esfandi mentioned that it felt more illustrious to work on Season 2 because much of the filming took place at Pinewood Studios, one of the most prestigious studios in entertainment history.
The actor even noted that, at one point, Tom Cruise (who visited the set of Star Wars: Starfighter and shot one of the action sequences) "flew by on his helicopter," making everything feel even bigger than it already was:
"So Season 2, the energy of it… I’ve never been on a project that long. Biggest project I've ever been on. I've never flown out to a different country and lived there for 7 months for anything. It was a lot of first time experiences for me. We were at Pinewood Studios, where they also shot a lot of the most famous movies you know, and there's posters on every wall of them and you're like, 'Wow.' And Tom Cruise flew by on his helicopter. I'm like, 'There goes my hero.'…"
For reference, Ahsoka Season 1 was largely filmed in Los Angeles, California, so the move to Pinewood Studios for Season 2 was a big change for Ahsoka's production.
Esfandi then dove into how the writers' and actors' strikes affected the production and development of Ahsoka Season 2. As mentioned, it has been three years since Season 1 premiered, and the strikes occurred while Season 1 was airing. The length of the strikes made it hard for Season 2 to get off the ground quickly, and it was one reason it had to be pushed further back than Disney and Lucasfilm likely wanted.
When the strikes were ongoing, Esfandi admitted that he and the rest of the cast had no idea if they were "going to do a Season 2," despite "[loving] Season 1." However, they got "up and running," and after the strikes ended, "everybody [was] so locked in," according to the actor:
"The strikes happened and it was like, 'Who knows? Are we going to do a Season 2? Loved season 1. Are we going to do a Season 2? Who knows?' It happens… The amount of the strike, a year ahead; that's about how long it took to get up. But we're up. We're up and running. We're there. And everybody is so locked in."
The Star Wars actor noted just how different all the actors were on set, particularly in terms of their characters. According to Esfandi, "everyone's fitter, and everyone's just moving different" when it comes to Season 2. Specifically, he admitted that it seemed like, with Season 1, that "everybody maybe was even understanding how to fit their personal expression," but for Season 2, everyone hit their stride early, making the acting more efficient:
"Every actor that I met in Season 1 is not the same actor they are for Season 2. Does that make sense? Everyone's fitter, and everyone's just moving different, and everyone's got their own routines locked in. Season 1, it felt like everybody maybe was even understanding how to fit their personal expression, and routines in with Star Wars, and everything that it takes."
Esfandi specifically praised Ahsoka Tano actress Rosario Dawson for her work and dedication during Season 2's production. The actor revealed that Dawson has to go through "three hours, four hours of makeup" at the beginning of the day, work a 10-12-hour filming shift, and then spend one hour getting the makeup removed at the end of each day.
He admitted that "her discipline is amazing" and that "it just felt very electric." However, Esfandi also talked about the rest of the cast and crew, saying that "it felt like everybody was on a mission," and noting how everyone's dedication "reflects in the show:"
"Especially Rosario Dawson, who has three hours, four hours of makeup on, an hour of makeup off at the end, in between that, a 12 hour day or 10 hour day, drives back and forth in and out of London. I am so impressed by her stamina at doing that. I have one hour max in the chair and I'm falling asleep in it. Her discipline is amazing and… It just felt very electric. It felt like everybody was on a mission and it's interesting ‘cause it reflects in the show."
Perhaps most notably, though, Esfandi revealed that Ahsoka Season 2 will have a much different tone than Season 1 did. In particular, he said that Season 2 is has "way more to deal with" and that it is "just really electric:"
"The writing of Season 2 and what goes on, which I won't say much about, it required everyone to do that. It was like, the tone shifts, you know? It's way more intense. It's way more action. It's way more to deal with... It's just really electric. It was a really amazing experience."
The actor who plays Ezra Bridger (who also recently appeared in Spider-Man: Brand New Day) said he couldn't say much about what will actually happen in the upcoming season of the Disney+ show. However, he did confirm that fans will get to see Ezra "a lot more than (in) Season 1."
For reference, Ezra wasn't featured in Season 1 until the later episodes after the show's main characters traveled to Peridea. Ezra was ultimately reunited with some of his friends, but he didn't have much screen time in the season as a whole. It seems as though Esfandi teased that Ezra will be heavily featured in Season 2, which makes sense because Season 1 hinted that he would be at the center of one of the show's major plot lines in the upcoming installment.
During the podcast appearance, Esfandi also talked about how Season 2 will be different from Season 1 in the sense that Season 1's main goal was "completing a full-circle evolution for all the fans of Rebels." Now that the circle is complete, Esfandi admitted that Season 2 "feels more like it's time to expand" and that "it's time to experience a new part of Star Wars:"
"Those… scenes I'm in [in Ahsoka Season 1], really most of it felt like, this is completing a full circle evolution for all the fans of 'Rebels' and that was the goal, really, and I think it worked. And so, it's cool and exciting 'cause now, thinking of Season 2, it feels more like it's time to expand. It's time to experience a new part of Star Wars with this band of Rebels that we've come to love, we grew up with, and now we've reconvened with. The band's back together. It's time to go on tour, is how it feels."
Per Esfandi, Ahsoka Season 2 is going to try to capture the magic of Star Wars in a different way than Season 1 did. Notably, the upcoming Season of the series does not yet have a specific release date, but Disney+ confirmed it will be sometime in 2027.
Ahsoka Season 2's Tone Shift May Confirm One Popular Star Wars Theory
Ahsoka Season 1 ended with two major cliffhangers. On one hand, Ray Stevenson's Baylan Skoll (who had to be recast after his passing) was shown standing on a statue representing one of the Mortis gods from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, hinting that they could play a role in the next installment.
On the other hand, Thrawn and Ezra made it back to the regular Star Wars galaxy, which indicated that Thrawn would begin building his forces and wage an all-out war on the New Republic.
With Esfandi confirming that Ahsoka Season 2 will have a different, darker, and more intense tone, it could support theories that the Mortis gods will play a major role in Season 2. The Mortis gods have already been featured fully in The Clone Wars, and they were referenced in Rebels, so they already have deep ties to Ahsoka and the Rebels crew.
However, one theory for Ahsoka Season 2 suggests that Abeloth could become involved. For reference, Abeloth is a character from Star Wars Legends, one of the darkest and most dangerous entities in the entire universe. However, she is also tied to the Mortis gods.
If Abeloth is included in Season 2 and Lucasfilm handles her the right way, it would make Ahsoka Season 2's tone feel vastly different from Season 1's. In Legends, Luke Skywalker (who, in Legends, was undoubtedly the most powerful Jedi of all time) had to team up with Darth Krayt just to subdue Abeloth. The two couldn't even defeat her permanently.
Ahsoka, Baylan, and Shin Hati are nowhere near as powerful as Luke and Darth Krayt were in Legends, so if Abeloth is featured in Season 2 and is given even a fraction of her power from Legends, it would make Season 2 feel different.
