Former Star Wars Rebels writer Henry Gilroy recently threw shade at Ahsoka Season 1 over its shocking Sabine Wren Jedi twist. Davie Filoni's 2023 streaming series, which followed up on the story set out by Rebels before it, saw Natasha Lui Bordizzo's Sabine confirmed as Force-sensitive. This culminated in a divisive moment among fans during the Ahsoka Season 1 finale in which the armor-clad Mandalorian used the Force without any proper training to harness her powers.
During an appearance on the Pod of Rebellion podcast, Gilroy commented on Sabine's Jedi turn in Ahsoka, calling it a shock and not what he had envisioned for the character when he was working on Rebels. "It was absolutely not the plan," to make Sabine a Jedi, Gilroy posited, adding that, "We had a conversation in Season 3 about whether [to, and] we actually felt that not only did it step on Ezra’s story, but it was a retread:"
“It was absolutely not the plan. As a matter of fact, we had a conversation in Season 3 about whether that, and we actually felt that not only did it step on Ezra’s story, but it was a retread. Like we already did this. The idea of Sabine training as a Jedi when she is already this fantastic warrior of her own type, we felt like this is overkill."
He continued, remarking that he "had nothing to do with the Ashoka series," so it was a bit of a surprise to see it happen, considering, as he put it, "pretty much our entire story team discussed and agreed that it was a bad idea:"
"So, honestly, I had nothing to do with the ‘Ashoka’ series. So I was shocked. Because pretty much our entire story team discussed and agreed that it was a bad idea. We did a pros and cons list, and we were like, ‘Yeah, is this kind of like a weak retreat. Why would we push that way?’"
Gilroy went on to describe how he thought Sabine didn't need a Jedi bent to her to be considered a good leader or have a powerful story. One example he pointed to was the character's journey with the Dark Saber.
"What I love about her story with the Dark Saber is you don't have to be a Jedi to have Jedi ideals," he lamented:
"However, what I love about her story with the Dark Saber is you don’t have to be a Jedi to have Jedi ideals, and embrace the Jedi philosophy. And I think that's what’s really a more important thing, rather than like now I’m gonna Force push Ezra from his feet even though I have never used the Force before."
The Rebels writer went on to reiterate that he thought making Sabine a Jedi "kind of diminished her [story]" as told in the hit animated series:
"Yeah, I felt like it really kind of diminished her in trying to make her a Jedi, because she doesn’t need it. She doesn’t need to use the Force."
Sabine is set to return next year with the incoming second season of Ahsoka. This next chapter in the star-faring streaming series will see Bordizzo's Mandalorian mercenary stranded with Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano in an entirely new galaxy, harnessing her powers with the Force while clashing with the mysterious Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati.
Was Making Sabine a Jedi a Good Idea?
In the Star Wars universe, it is always exciting to give a fan-favorite character a surprise Jedi arc. There are few highs as a Star Wars fan better than getting to see that hero or villain unexpectedly use the Force for the first time.
However, looking back on the Sabine twist in particular, it may not have been for the best in retrospect. Henry Gilroy may have a few points in his dissection of the now-divisive Ahsoka story beat.
As he mentioned, one of the key parts of Sabine's Rebels arc was her learning that she did not need some other-worldly Force to be a leader. She could embody the ideals of a Jedi, but did not actually have to be one.
This provided an interesting foil for her fellow Ghost crew member, Ezra Brider (played by Eman Esfandi in Ahsoka), to bounce off of. Ezra was the Force-using protege of the bunch, and Sabine was something wholly different. And that was okay. Exciting even. Sabine did not need the Force to be on equal footing with Ezra.
However, introducing a level of Force sensitivity into the equation somewhat downplays the character's journey to this point. So, did she actually need the Force to succeed? Because that is what Ahsoka Season 1 makes it sound like.
Hopefully, with Ahsoka Season 2 on the way sometime in 2026, fans will gain more context for Sabine's Jedi twist, providing audiences with a clearer picture of why she had to become a full-fledged Padawan by the end of Season 1.
