How Hondo Ohnaka can return to Star Wars television

Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduced many fan-favorite characters who have gone on to play significant roles in other Star Wars stories. The Weequay pirate Hondo Ohnaka is a particular fan-favorite. In addition to his presence in The Clone Wars, he played a supporting role in Star Wars Rebels, where he grew to respect Ezra Bridger, and even made the noble choice to help Ezra liberate his homeworld of Lothal.

Outside of Star Wars television, fans fortunate enough to visit Galaxy’s Edge have seen an animatronic Hondo as part of the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run ride. Hondo has also popped up in some comics, short stories, and junior reader novels, but he has yet to make his live-action debut and hasn’t appeared in an animated show since the Rebels series finale in 2018.

Since Hondo is alive during the prequel, original, and sequel trilogy eras, he can potentially appear in most of the upcoming Star Wars television shows. Along with being alive during the time periods of these stories, Hondo has history with some of these shows’ leading characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano. As a pirate, he is also entrenched in the criminal underworld that is a focus for many of these series.

Here is how Hondo could return to Star Wars in 6 different upcoming television series on Disney+.

The Book of Boba Fett

The Book of Boba Fett‘s focus on the criminal underworld is a natural way to incorporate Hondo into the series. Taking over the criminal empire that once belonged to Jabba the Hutt will be no easy feat for Boba. He and Fennec Shand will need all the help that they can get.

As long as the price is right for Hondo, he could become a valuable ally to Boba and Fennec. Hondo’s expressive, over-the-top personality, and his sense of showmanship would also be fun in contrast with Boba and Fennec’s more stoic personalities.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

When the Obi-Wan Kenobi series begins, fans expect to see the Jedi living an isolated and low-profile life on Tatooine as he watches over Luke Skywalker from afar. However, between Darth Vader, the Inquisitors, and other potential threats, Obi-Wan will likely need to leave Tatooine to protect the Skywalker children.

With almost all of the Jedi gone and having lived hidden away from the rest of the galaxy for so long, Obi-Wan will be short on allies. Hondo and Obi-Wan have a lot of history from The Clone Wars and even shared an uneasy friendship of sorts.

It would be delightful to not only see Hondo again, but to see him and Obi-Wan trading banter. Obi-Wan’s options will be limited and the Empire probably wouldn’t expect a Jedi to be traveling with a greedy pirate who lacks discretion, which could prove useful.

The Bad Batch

Since Hondo originated in an animated television series and has only appeared onscreen in animated shows so far, season 2 of The Bad Batch may be the most likely place for him to reappear. Lucasfilm already has the animated model and voice actor for the character and won’t need to worry about adapting him into live-action.

Hondo is most likely to pop up during one of the jobs that the Bad Batch completes for Cid. Hondo could be a rival competitor or an ally for any of these jobs. It would be particularly interesting for him to interact with Omega and to see whether she is suspicious of him or if she’s drawn to him like Ezra is in Rebels.

Ahsoka

Hondo not only has a lot of history with Obi-Wan, but he also has a lot of history with Ahsoka. The Star Wars Rebels ending, Ahsoka’s question about Grand Admiral Thrawn in season 2 of The Mandalorian, and the casting of a live-action Sabine Wren all indicate that the Ahsoka series will deal with the search for Ezra.

This gives even more reason for Hondo to appear given how much he admired and respected Ezra. Ahsoka and Sabine know this and could use Hondo’s help during their search and Hondo has motivation to search for Ezra, a motivation that isn’t even connected to financial gain.

If this comes to pass, it will be intriguing to see how the dynamic between Hondo and Ahsoka has changed. The two characters never crossed paths in Rebels and as far as fans know, they haven’t seen each other since The Clone Wars.

Hondo might not have changed all that much, but Ahsoka has gone through many changes. Ahsoka is no longer the impulsive and overeager Jedi Padawan that Hondo will remember. She is a mature and wise individual and her growth will likely make Hondo proud, even if if he won’t outright admit it.

Andor

Rogue One offered a glimpse into the less noble sides of the Rebellion, especially where Cassian Andor was concerned. Andor will explore some of the morally questionable things Cassian has done in the name of the Rebellion.

Hondo could certainly be involved as he is not shy about engaging in morally questionable pursuits as long as he can profit from them. If Cassian needs the services of a pirate, why not enlist the services of Hondo?

Also, Cassian is a pretty serious character and without K-2SO in the first season, Hondo could help provide some comic relief and banter.

The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian has already brought animated Clone Wars characters into live-action such as Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kryze. There’s no reason that Hondo won’t be next when the show returns for a third season, especially given how prominent the criminal underworld has been in the show.

Hondo is not a bounty hunter, but it’s not a stretch to think that he’s had dealings before with Bounty Hunters’ Guild leader Greef Karga.  Furthermore, Din Djarin and Bo-Katan will need all the help they can get to reclaim Mandalore and there’s always a chance that Hondo will become one of their allies…for the right price.

To watch for Hondo’s next potential appearance, watch The Book of Boba Fett premiere on Disney+ on December 29th.