Nothing’s off the table with Star Wars anymore. From a young Mark Hamill being eerily recreated for fan-pleasing cameos or Hayden Christensen regularly returning as Anakin Skywalker, Lucasfilm is pulling out all the stops with its ongoing Disney Plus expansion of the saga. And yet not everything legacy comeback it plans can occur. While Ahsoka might’ve brought a ton of Star Wars Rebels characters, some played by their original actors, into live-action for the first time, don’t expect one to follow in line with the rest.
Despite being such a key player in the aforementioned animated series, Kanan Jarrus has not so much as been mentioned in Ahsoka‘s first three episodes. While the late Jedi Master could still get a namecheck in episodes four-eight, it’s possible the showrunners are deliberately trying to phase out Kanan from our memories because there’s seemingly no potential for him to appear again, in any medium. Why is that? Just ask Freddie Prinze Jr.
Earlier this year, Prinze spoke to YouTube’s Kristian Harloff and dropped the bombshell that he has no interest in reprising Kanan in any future Star Wars production, following the character’s death in the Rebels finale. Regarding whether he was asked to take part in Kanan’s cameo in The Bad Batch, Prinze explained: “I was asked to, yeah. I didn’t necessarily want to. I feel like every time you hear Kanan’s voice since Rebels ended, it really kind of dilutes his impact.”
Of course, Prinze has already reprised Kanan once, for his vocal cameo in The Rise of Skywalker. However, the I Know What You Did Last Summer actor admitted that he was reluctant to agree to that as well, but he only did it as “a favor”: “I didn’t want to do that either. I was asked as a favor and I feel like all my — all their favors are used up now.” Last but not least, he confirmed there would be no Ahsoka cameo for him as he’s well and truly put the galaxy far, far away behind him:
“No Ahsoka, I’m done with Kanan. I’m too old for that stuff.”
As a man who once declared Scooby-Doo “brilliant American literature,” Prinze clearly takes his franchise roles with unusual but admirable seriousness. Plus, with everyone else and their Loth-cat coming back in Star Wars, it’s almost refreshing to know someone will never return. Not everybody needs to be a Force ghost.
