Who will play Baylan Skoll in future Star Wars shows?

The most tragic thing about the Ahsoka show is that Baylan Skoll’s future looms uncertain — and not at the fault of the creators who brought his character to life.

Actor Ray Stevenson passed away earlier this year, and we saw his final performance this week in the season finale of the show. It was surreal seeing him standing there, clearly contemplating his next moves and reflecting on everything that had brought him to that point. Production had finished on the show before his passing, so while we got to see him one last time, whether or not we’ll see his character again is still actually up in the air.

Many Star Wars fans are against the idea of recasting the role — many are fine with it — and it wouldn’t be an unusual move. Hollywood recasts roles all the time for a variety of reasons. If the future of these Star Wars shows depends on the character’s presence to move forward, it would be a tough choice that would, in many ways, be justified.

Not recasting the role, of course, would ideally mean his character would have to be written out of whichever story he was set to be part of next. Again, not an uncommon workaround in Hollywood — sometimes characters just disappear, or a short explanation is given as to why audiences should expect not to see them again.

If this is the route taken, it would be fair but tragic. Throughout the series, Baylan’s character, backstory, and motives were among the praises viewers had for the show. Clearly he had plans to do some shady stuff, and not getting to see that all play out would be disappointing. But Stevenson’s passing is the actual tragedy here, and if the choice is to honor him by not recasting him, we can live without the character’s story continuing.

Things could go either way, and the rate at which these shows are coming out, the powers that be have time to figure out the best way to handle the situation. It’s possible they already have.

Whatever happens, the hope is that Baylan’s story does continue — even if the screen isn’t the way said story is told. Books and comics have carried on the legacy of many characters offscreen, and chances are something like a novel could dive even deeper into the character than a Disney+ show ever could.

Ray Stevenson’s legacy — both in Star Wars and outside of it — won’t soon be forgotten. This may have been the last time we’ll see him play what is sure to become an iconic role. But that role will, in more ways than one, open up doors for other storytellers to enrich and expand the universe one show, book, or movie at a time.

All episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka Season 1 are streaming now exclusively on Disney+.

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