Whilst “Star Wars” animated works have done a lot of lore expansion of the franchise, there are plenty of people and even fans of the franchise who haven’t bothered with any of the animated shows.
To date, that hasn’t really been an issue, as Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni and others have smartly been able to incorporate elements and characters from animated shows like “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels” into live-action works like “The Mandalorian” in a natural way that doesn’t require previous knowledge of the animated shows.
In fact, it has been smooth enough that the only real jarring moment for those not up on the animated lore was Darth Maul’s surprise re-appearance in “Solo: A Star Wars Story”.
Will that change with Filoni’s “Star Wars: Ahsoka”? Here’s a series built to seemingly serve as a direct sequel to “Star Wars: Rebels” and will bring back many of that show’s characters in live-action form.
Does that mean those unfamiliar with the past decade-and-a-half of “Star Wars” animated storytelling will get lost? Lucasfilm head of development Carrie Beck tells EW:
“That’s been the challenge of the series, but Dave [Filoni] was very thoughtful about crafting the narrative in a way that could invite people in. The show tells them everything they need to know along the way.”
Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who takes on the role of General Hera Syndulla, says all that backstory was also a challenge for the actors:
“After five seasons of watching Rebels, those characters are real already. It becomes a different challenge of stepping into some shoes that have already been filled one way and bringing them into literally a different dimension.”
Rosario Dawson, who plays Ahsoka Tano herself, is more concerned about fan reaction and tells the outlet she “really, really hope the fans love it” because it not only honors the legacy of the character, but “we get to do more”.
“Ahsoka” begins streaming on August 23rd on the Disney+ service.