Ahsoka: What is the World Between Worlds?

This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episode 4 and Star Wars Rebels season 4.

During her duel with Baylon Skoll, Ahsoka is knocked off a cliff, tumbling into the turbulent water below. We find her again in the last moments of the episode, unexpectedly waking up in a strange void. For Star Wars Rebels fans, this location is hauntingly familiar and a truly exciting turn of events. The void that Ahsoka has found herself in appears to be the World Between Worlds, a plane that exists within the Force serving as a meeting place between many points in time and space. The World Between Worlds breaks down the barriers between the living and the dead, making it the perfect place for Ahsoka to encounter Anakin Skywalker’s spirit in some form, as we saw at the end of the episode.

During the series finale arc of Rebels, Ezra found a way to enter the World Between Worlds through a Jedi temple on Lothal. Within, he found the starry void, echoing with the voices of Jedi and important figures in Star Wars history, including Yoda, Princess Leia, and Qui-Gon Jinn. The echoes also included the voices of Ahsoka and Ezra’s master Kanan, both of whom were feared dead. As he wandered around, he came across several portals, doorways to the past and places across the galaxy.

Through one of these portals, Ezra saw Ahsoka during a battle with Darth Vader, a duel from two years before that had led to her disappearance and presumed death. Desperately, Ezra reaches through and pulls Ahsoka into the World Between Worlds, saving her from a dark fate. Ezra also hoped to save Kanan, but his master had sacrificed himself to save the lives of Ezra’s family, the Ghost crew. To pull Kanan out of that moment would kill all the people Kanan died to save. Ahsoka and Ezra must accept that neither of them are capable of saving their masters. Now, after Ahsoka had given up on ever seeing her master again, she has found her way to one of the only places where she can have a true conversation with Anakin.

At the ending of Ahsoka episode 4, the titular hero has become one of the few, if any, beings to enter the World Between Worlds more than once. From what we have seen of this void, she may now have the chance to see across time and space, possibly allowing her to see the path to the new galaxy. She might receive guidance from Anakin or others from her past. She may even find a way to pull Ezra from danger as he once did for her.

Henry Gilroy, a writer of Rebels, once explained that the World Between Worlds changes based on who arrives there, shifting the echoing voices and portals to match the person better. While we don’t know how Ahsoka will experience the World Between Worlds this time, the next episode will surely bring many emotional moments. This could be the chance to bring some of the best scenes or lines from The Clone Wars or Rebels into live action for the first time, as portal visions or echoes. It may show Ahsoka the path forward towards a better future and a wiser version of herself. Time will tell the scale of the World Between Worlds’ impact on the series.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Star Wars wouldn’t exist.