Star Wars Celebration 2023 served up quite a delectable spread this past weekend, and fans of the franchise’s live-action endeavors ate particularly well; with three new feature films confirmed to be in development, including a biblical Jedi epic from James Mangold, a Mandoverse-centric film, and the big screen return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey, the pipeline couldn’t possibly be more fruitful.
Except, of course, for the additional reveal of the trailer for Ahsoka, Dave Filoni’s incoming Disney Plus series starring Rosario Dawson as the eponymous former Jedi padawan. In other words, the story that Rebels die-hards have been waiting for.
It will be hard to top the hype generated by Lars Mikkelsen’s return as Grand Admiral Thrawn, a character he loaned his voice to in animated projects, but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t be remiss to sleep on Ahsoka‘s other incoming foes; especially Shin Hati, a dark force user gunning for the title hero’s head, who made quite the impression during her window of trailer screentime.
In an interview with ComicBook, Ivanna Sakhno (Pacific Rim Uprising) was happy to delve into what we can expect from her attention-grabbing antagonist, and teased how she’ll play a pivotal role in exploring the ever-essential relationship between the light and dark sides of the Force.
“It’s very interesting that you say that nobody sees themselves as a villain. And I think it’s a big part of understanding her being and also understanding the reason behind that darkness within somebody. Dave, I think has done such a brilliant job in this series, expanding our understanding of the spectrum and what comes between the Light and the Dark. But she’s incredibly analytical, quite intense… She’s incredibly skilled in the lightsaber combat. But at the same time, throughout the journey, we slowly begin to see her recreate her history in order to make for a better future. So, that is part of that spectrum.”
Joining Shin in the hunt for Ahsoka will be Mikkelsen’s aforementioned Thrawn, as well as Ray Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll, a survivor of Order 66 and master to Shin. Hayden Christensen is also set to reprise his role as Anakin Skywalker in the series.
Ahsoka is set to premiere on Disney Plus in August.