Ezra Bridger's appearance in live-action Star Wars has been an inevitability.
The inclusion of animated stars Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian's second season opened the door for unlimited possibilities, and the namedrop of Grand Admiral Thrawn in "Chapter 13" made it clear that Lucasfilm was going all-in on the live-action front . When we last saw Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels , the Chiss was being hauled away with Ezra Bridger into the unknown reaches of space, and the epilogue of the series set up a new story that would revolve around the search for the missing warriors.
A report surfaced recently suggesting that the long-anticipated sequel to Rebels would be moving away from the animated space and would instead be told in the newly announced live-action series Ahsoka , starring Rosario Dawson. The show will presumably pick up on the trail left in The Mandalorian when the fan-favorite appeared and her hunt for Thrawn will continue, likely culminating in the return of Ezra as well.
But who will be playing the young Jedi?
NEWS
Kessel Run Transmissions has reported that Lucasfilm is eyeing Mena Massoud as the frontunner to portray Ezra Bridger in live-action. Massoud, known for his role as Disney's live-action Aladdin, will presumably make his debut as Ezra in Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka series.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Massoud's casting isn't much of a surprise, as he was one of the big names that threw his name in the hat for the role many months back . Rahul Kohli has spent a decent amount of time trolling the fandom about the potential for his taking on the role and Taylor Gray seemed like a natural consideration given the continuity of the voice, but Massoud checks off all the boxes that Disney and Lucasfilm were looking for in a live-action Ezra.
What we can expect from Massoud's Ezra remains unknown. The character will clearly have some sort of tie to Thrawn, given the duo's dramatic exit in the Rebels series finale, but what they're both up to is still a question mark. Timothy Zahn's Thrawn novels have been setting up the Grysk species as a serious threat in the Unknown Regions, so perhaps Ezra and Thrawn have formed an alliance to defeat this enemy.
If that proves to be the case, then simply finding Ezra in Ahsoka will just be the beginning of the Jedi's live-action journey. With reports that the overall narrative within The Mandalorian's timeline won't be culminating until 2027 with all of the stories colliding, it's a fair bet that Ezra will be right in the thick of the action alongside Thrawn and Ahsoka as the galactic conflict heats up.
It will be interesting to see Massoud's take on Ezra, as this version of the character will be a decade older than we last saw him. The Jedi went on an incredible journey of growth and maturity over the course of Rebels and will undoubtedly be a different man when we see him once again in Ahsoka , so we'll just have to kick back and be patient for at least another year until we can see what mastermind Dave Filoni has up his sleeve.
STAR WARS Writer
