Ahsoka has arrived on Disney+ to bring major Star Wars Rebels characters to life in live-action for the first time beyond Zeb’s cameo in The Mandalorian Season 3. The Rosario Dawson-led series premiered with the first two episodes, which not only featured a healthy amount of Sabine (Natashia Liu Bordizzo) and Hera (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), but also a bit of every Rebels fan's favorite murder droid – a.k.a. Chopper – and a brief holo appearance from Ezra (Eman Esfandi). The second of the two episodes featured an almost shot-for-shot recreation of a scene from Rebels, which left me thinking of more moments from the animated show I’d love to see turned into live-action in Ahsoka.
The scene in question featured Sabine wearing her armor again and looking at the mural she’d painted of the Ghost crew, touching the painted Ezra’s face, and walking over to Ahsoka to join her, presumably on the search for Spectre 6. There were changes, such as how Ahsoka arrived and what she was wearing, but it was as close to a recreation as Rebels fans likely could have hoped for. So, with most of the key surviving Rebels characters cast for Ahsoka and Lars Mikkelsen on the way as Thrawn, take a look at some more moments that are fun to imagine in live-action, whether or not they actually happen!
Warning: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD for all four seasons of Star Wars Rebels.
Ahsoka's Duel With Darth Vader
What Happened: Ahsoka wasn’t a main character in Star Wars Rebels, but she certainly was part of one of the series’ – and arguably the franchise’s – most epic lightsaber duels. In the Season 2 finale, her quest alongside Kanan and Ezra had gone horribly wrong, and she had to fight Darth Vader. After a temporary loss, she charged him and struck his mask with one of her lightsabers, confirming that her former master had become Palpatine's apprentice. She stayed behind as the temple collapsed and undoubtedly would have died at Vader's hands if Ezra hadn’t rescued her via the World Between Worlds.
Could It Happen In Live-Action? Rumor has it that the World Between Worlds has a part to play in Ahsoka and Hayden Christensen is part of the Ahsoka cast, which could certainly mean a glimpse of the duel. Also, since Ahsoka was obviously present, she could simply flash back to it. Ezra also witnessed parts of it, and he'll presumably appear in more than just a hologram in the newest Disney+ Star Wars show.
Kanan's Death
What Happened: The death of Kanan Jarrus was arguably the most heartbreaking tragedy of Star Wars Rebels (albeit not entirely unexpected), and his death hung over the rest of the series. Despite the heartbreak, it was also one of the coolest deaths in the Star Wars franchise for me, with him using his Force abilities to hold off an explosion long enough for his Ghost family to get away, with his vision returning long enough to let him see Hera one last time before he died. His death involved some of the most impressive animation of the show as well.
Could It Happen In Live-Action? Well, Sabine, Hera, and Ezra were present for Kanan’s death, so any of them could flash back in Ahsoka, depending on how much of a role Ezra actually has. Ahsoka herself also saw his final moments in the World Between Worlds. That said, the only live-action nods to Kanan at this point are his voice cameo in Rise of Skywalker and his appearance in Sabine’s Ahsoka mural.
Thrawn And Ezra's Disappearance
What Happened: Grand Admiral Thrawn was the main antagonist of the final two seasons of Rebels long before he was first name-dropped on The Mandalorian, and the whole reason everybody has to search for the character in Ahsoka is because the rebels defeated his forces on Lothal. Ezra and Thrawn faced off, with Thrawn saying that what happened next would happen to them both. Ezra agreed, saying to Hera that he has to “see this through to the end,” and he disappeared with Thrawn as the purgill jumped into hyperspace with the remnants of the ship they were on.
Could It Happen In Live-Action? Of all the scenes that I’d like to see adapted into live-action, at least a glimpse of Thrawn’s disappearance with Ezra seems possible. It’s key to why both characters have been missing for years, and Season 3 of The Mandalorian already featured purgill. It will be a bummer if Ezra is indeed the Inquisitor Marrok, though, given how he ended Rebels embracing what he learned from Kanan!
Ezra Embracing The Dark Side
What Happened: Ezra spent some time exploring the dark side of the Force after his encounter with Maul, when a freshly blinded Kanan wasn’t teaching Ezra and the young Jedi was stewing in his own guilt and anger. When a mission went sideways, Ezra used his powers to manipulate a stormtrooper in a walker to fire on his own troops, then to walk off the edge of a platform and fall to his death. It was about as dark as Star Wars Rebels got on Disney XD, complete with a chilling soundtrack and Sabine looking troubled.
Could It Happen In Live-Action? Sabine was present and clearly unnerved by what Ezra was doing, so Ahsoka could use her for a flashback. Plus, if the theory that Ezra is truly Marrok is correct, then it could be relevant for the show to revisit a previous instance of him using the dark side. It also probably wouldn’t be too tricky to recreate or require much context for Ahsoka viewers who didn’t watch Rebels, so this could be a good fit.
Sabine Training With Kanan
What Happened: While Ahsoka showed off Sabine using a lightsaber in live-action for the first time, Rebels fans know that she actually learned to use the weapon from Kanan when she was in possession of the Darksaber, which later went back to Bo-Katan (twice). Training didn’t go well at first, with Kanan losing his temper with his Mandalorian pupil trying to rely on tricks to outfight him. She finally had a breakthrough with the blade when she had an emotional breakthrough of her own, realizing that she was fighting herself more than fighting Kanan.
Could It Happen In Live-Action? Sabine’s first experiences with lightsaber training seem very relevant to Ahsoka, and it would be pretty epic to see her learning with the Darksaber opposite Kanan demonstrating his skills as a blind Jedi in live-action. But this likely depends on whether Ahsoka intends to do more than allude to Kanan, which hopefully happens soon.
A Jacen Reveal
What Happened: In the flashforward at the end of Star Wars Rebels’ series finale, viewers found out what happened to the Ghost crew after liberating Lothal, and there was one particularly huge surprise: Hera’s son with Kanan, named Jacen. While Dave Filoni shared with CinemaBlend that there were pregnancy clues along the way, even voice actress Vanessa Marshall hadn’t known that her character had become a mom until she was at a screening of the episode. I don’t have my heart set on Rebels recreating the exact moment of the Jacen reveal, but I would love to see him sitting in the copilot seat next to his mom.
Could It Happen In Live-Action? It sure could! Hera has already proven to be an important part of Ahsoka, even if Ahsoka herself and Sabine seem to be the main characters. I kept hoping that Hera would at least mention her half-Twi’lek/half-human son in the first two episodes, and I definitely want to know what he looks like in live-action. In the Rebels finale, he basically looked human except for green hair and some green tint to his ears. Of all my choices for this list, a Jacen introduction is the one that I feel most confident about getting. Plus, it would (hopefully) mean Kanan getting a shout out, if only to explain why Hera's biological son looks so human!
Honorable Mentions
As a diehard Rebels fan who can (and has) argued more than once that this show is superior to and more consistent than The Clone Wars, there are even more moments that I'd love to see in live-action but I had to disqualify from the main list just because they probably wouldn't fit into Ahsoka. Take a look:
Obi-Wan's last battle with Maul. While this would be incredible to watch, there's no strong tie to the Ahsoka series for it to fit in unless she witnessed it in the World Between Worlds. Of course, we can always dream that Ewan McGregor filmed a snippet of it while back in Jedi mode for Obi-Wan Kenobi, but I'm not getting my hopes up for this one.
Kanan and Ahsoka vs. Maul. Maul's sudden but inevitable betrayal on Malachor was a game-changer for Rebels with Kanan being struck blind, but it doesn't seem relevant enough to Ahsoka to make the cut. It would need some exposition to make sense to non-Rebels fans, and Ahsoka vs. Vader is more important for her character.
Sabine vs. Gar Saxon. Sabine's Darksaber arc in Rebels Season 3 was pretty incredible, and it culminated with a fight against Gar Saxon on top of a frozen body of water. I'd love to see this in live-action just because it would undoubtedly look awesome, but there's a lot of context to the fight that makes me doubt it could be included in Ahsoka as more than a very brief flashback.
A Ghost family flashback. After getting a glimpse of live-action Zeb in The Mandalorian, Chopper already built, and seeing Mary Elizabeth Winstead in her prosthetics as Hera, there's no reason why a live-action scene of the Ghost family would be impossible. Freddie Prinze Jr. debunked appearing as Kanan in Ahsoka, but Ahsoka didn't cast the Rebels voice actors to play Sabine, Hera, or Ezra, so a version of Kanan is possible! I just don't think a domestic scene with all of the Specres together is particularly likely.
On the whole, Ahsoka has its own story to tell and isn't Star Wars Rebels 2.0, so I'm managing my expectations. Still, what's Star Wars without a little hope? I know I'd love to see these moments make it to live-action, and there's still plenty of time. New episodes of Ahsoka release on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET for fans with a Disney+ subscription.
