Although Ahsoka is spinning out of the events of The Mandalorian Season 2, this upcoming Star Wars show Disney+ subscribers will have access to is equally a continuation of Star Wars Rebels, if not more so. Besides Ahsoka Tano herself having appeared in three out of the animated show’s four seasons, we’ll also see Natasha Liu Bordizzo playing Sabine Wren and Eman Esfandi playing Ezra Bridger. It was also revealed earlier this year that Hera Syndulla will appear in Ahsoka, and we may finally know who will be playing her in live action.
In case you missed out on hearing about the Ahsoka footage that played at Star Wars Celebration in May, Hera was briefly seen alongside her trusty droid Chopper, but because it was her back facing the camera, viewers were left clueless about who will play her. Well, according to Bespin Bulletin, 10 Cloverfield Lane and Birds of Prey star Mary Elizabeth Winstead scored the role. Should this be true, Winstead will be the second actress to play Hera, with Vanessa Marshall having previously voiced her in Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars Forces of Destiny and Star Wars Squadrons, among other projects.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead was revealed to be joining Rosario Dawson in Ahsoka back in January, but no details about her role have been officially shared since then. It’s possible that we won’t know for sure if indeed Winstead is appearing as Hera Syndulla or not until her first episode comes out, but given how well these proverbial puzzle pieces line up together, it seems like a solid bet. Having said that, we still don’t know much we’ll see of Winstead in the series, whether it’s just for one episode or multiple of them.
Hera Syndulla served as the captain of the Ghost in Star Wars Rebels, adventuring alongside Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Chopper, Kanan Jarrus and Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios in the years prior to A New Hope. As we learned in the Rebels series finale’s epilogue, which took place after the Battle of Endor, Hera gave birth to her and Kanan’s son, Jacen Syndulla, sometime after the Jedi’s death in “Jedi Night.” With Ahsoka taking place at the same time as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, i.e. half a decade after Return of the Jedi, maybe we’ll see a bit of Hera being one of New Republic’s top military leaders, but chances are she’ll also be looped in to Ahsoka and Sabine’s search for the missing Ezra.
Along with the aforementioned characters, Ahsoka will also see the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader following his appearances in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and apparently his presence in this show involves the World Between Worlds. Additionally, Ivanna Sakhano and Ray Stevenson have been cast in undisclosed roles, though the latter is said to be playing a villainous admiral. It’s also been rumored that Lars Mikkelsen, who voiced Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels’ latter two seasons, will reprise the role in Ahsoka, just like Kate Sackhoff has done with Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian.
Ahsoka is set to premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2023, so until then, feel free to go through the Star Wars movies in order on the platform, then delve into the franchise’s TV offerings. There’s also plenty of other upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows to look forward to in the new year and beyond.
