In an article about Marvel’s new animated Disney+ show What If…?, The Hollywood Reporter dropped a little nugget about an upcoming Star Wars show.
When talking about characters who made their debut in animated shows but went on to be beloved enough to then appear in live-action, THR mentioned Rosario Dawson playing Ahsoka Tano and the upcoming Mandalorian spinoff series Star Wars: Ahsoka.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, they have heard from sources that “Lucasfilm is looking for an actress to star opposite Dawson as Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren.”
For those who have watched the animated Star Wars Rebels television series, Sabine Wren is a well-known name. She was one of the six core characters of the show and is a Mandalorian herself, coming from Clan Wren of House Vizsla.
The potential casting call for Sabine for Star Wars: Ahsoka would be a significant detail for the direction of the spinoff show. At the end of the Star Wars Rebels series, Sabine went off with Ahsoka after the events of Return of the Jedi to go and find Ezra Bridger, who had flown off into hyperspace with series antagonist Grand Admiral Thrawn in the series finale.
Does that name sound familiar? Because it should, even if you haven’t watched Rebels.
In Ahsoka’s one-episode appearance in The Mandalorian, she name-dropped Thrawn when asking Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth, “Where is your master? Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?” near the end of the episode.
So, it seems highly likely that if Sabine is being cast for Star Wars: Ahsoka that she and Ahsoka will still be on their quest to find Ezra and Thrawn, as many fans have speculated. Plus, it looks like Thrawn and Ezra have already been cast for some future Star Wars project.
Season 2 of The Mandalorian brought in a slew of other Mandalorians outside of Din Djarin’s own clan, including Boba Fett and Bo-Katan Kryze — who also debuted as an animated character before jumping to live-action. In fact, Bo-Katan played a pretty significant role in Rebels along with Sabine, as Sabine was the one who gave Bo-Katan the Darksaber in the first place with the intent of unifying Mandalore after their civil war during Imperial occupation.
That obviously didn’t work out, however, as the Great Purge left Mandalore devastated, and Moff Gideon ended up in possession of the Darksaber by the time of The Mandalorian. Because of their connection to one another, it’s also possible that Sabine could be brought into live-action to confront Bo-Katan over the failure to repel the Empire and the loss of the Darksaber.
Right now, it’s unclear when exactly Ahsoka will take place in the Star Wars timeline, but it’s likely to be right around the same time as the events at the end of season two of The Mandalorian. If that’s the case, then Ahsoka and Sabine’s quest to find Ezra and Thrawn at the end of Rebels has likely proven fruitless over the last few years. Perhaps Sabine will only appear in flashbacks from Ahsoka’s point of view, but that seems less likely.
Plot details for Ahsoka are unknown at this time, as is a premiere date. But with the casting rumors for Sabine Wren along with the rumors and reports of Thrawn and Ezra being cast, fans can certainly hope for some closure to the ending of Rebels in the upcoming series.