The following contains significant spoilers for Star Wars; The Rise of Skywalker**. You probably don't want to read this if you haven't seen it.**
There are a multitude of opinions regarding Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but if there is one particular moment in the film that is getting a lot of praise from a lot of places, it comes during the film's climactic battle, and it involves a much loved character from Star Wars' popular animated series, The Clone Wars. The moment is perhaps somewhat bittersweet due to its context, but The Clone Wars' Dave Filoni has now dropped a hint things might not be all they seem.
Near the end of her battle with the Emperor, Rey reaches out with the Force and makes contact with Jedi from the past. We get a number of audio-only cameos from the likes of Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, and more. One of those voices featured, is that of Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rebels.
Ahsoka has a level of popularity perhaps on par with anybody from the big screen, so hearing her voice on that big screen was a huge moment for many. However, the fact that we heard Ahsoka's voice alongside a number of other Jedi who are confirmed to be dead, would seem to indicate that Ahsoka herself might have become one with the Force by the time the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker have come along.
Although, a little Christmas present from Dave Filoni on Twitter seems to tease the idea that maybe Ahsoka isn't gone after all.
Ahsoka Tano's official story ends, as far as we've learned, in the final episode of Star War: Rebels, which takes the story to the days following Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and the Battle of Endor. What happens to Ahsoka after that, we don't know. Several decade have passed by this point, so the idea that she has died is far from crazy, besides, where the hell has she been this whole trilogy if she's alive?
However, Dave Filoni compares Ahsoka's situation to that of Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. Of course, it should be pointed out that in that story, Gandalf, in fact, did die, he simply came back to life after dying, and in a slightly new form. So if we take Filoni's comparison to its logical conclusion, it's not that Ahsoka isn't dead in The Rise of Skywalker, it's simply that it doesn't mean she's going to stay that way.
We'll see Ahsoka Tano again very soon, as we're getting one final season of The Clone Wars on Disney+ next year, but that will only fill in a gap in her story. It's unlikely to give us any idea where the character is ultimately headed. Having said that, considering just how popular Ahsoka seems to be, it's unlikely this will be the last we hear of her. Perhaps, this little tease is a hint of something yet to come for the character.
