Years of waiting and speculation about where Ezra Bridger is finally came to an end with his return in Ahsoka Episode 6, “Far, Far Away.”
Ezra is a young street boy from Lothal who’s left an orphan after his staunchly anti-Empire parents are killed while trying to escape prison. Ezra becomes a member of Hera Syndulla’s Ghost Crew and is taken in as a Jedi Padawan by Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus. Now, Ezra Bridger finally makes his live-action debut, and he’s not played by Taylor Gray, who voiced him in all four seasons of Star Wars Rebels.
In Ahsoka, Ezra Bridger is played by Eman Esfandi. Fans always expected that Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn would be found together as they disappeared together at the end of Rebels Season 4 when Ezra summoned purrgils to take Thrawn’s ship away from the galaxy. Ezra was also on board the ship, and now we finally know what happened to them both.
Esfandi made an appearance as Ezra in Ahsoka Episode 1, but it was as a hologram. In Episode 6, not only does Thrawn get his grand welcome in live-action, but it marks the return of Ezra as well. Ezra is shown living with snail creatures called Noti on Peridea, the ancient homeworld of the Nightsisters of Dathomir. Ezra’s ability to connect with other creatures hasn’t changed at all. As for Esfandi, he looks exactly like animated Ezra Bridger and even sounds like him. He has all of Ezra’s mannerisms down, as well as his happy and optimistic demeanor. Everything from his smile to his facial features looks just like the animated version of the beloved character.
Esfandi isn’t a big name yet, but that’s about to change after today. His previous work includes roles in The Inspection, King Richard, and Austin Weird. After his debut in Episode 6, he’s likely to be a part of the remaining two episodes of the series and beyond if he survives the season finale, though it seems very unlikely that he won’t. Ezra seems impatient to return home to his galaxy and friends, but that won’t be too easy based on how Episode 6 ended.
What does the future hold for Ezra, and how will he react when he finds out the price the rest of the galaxy will pay for the choice Sabine made in order to see him again? The final episodes are hopefully going to answer these and many other questions, including how Ezra evaded Thrawn all these years, but for now, we’ll just enjoy his heartwarming reunion with a fellow Rebel and friend.
Ahsoka Episode 6 is streaming now on Disney+.