Spoilers ahead for the first six episodes of The Book of Boba Fett and full series of Star Wars Rebels.
The Book of Boba Fett delivered a cameo-filled penultimate episode that brought in The Mandalorian’s Din Djarin and Grogu (a.k.a. Baby Yoda), The Clone Wars’ Ahsoka Tano and Cad Bane, and of course none other than Luke Skywalker himself. The episode wasn’t full of happy reunions, however, as Luke gave Grogu a difficult choice in the midst their training: either accept Mando’s gift of beskar chainmail and forsake the ways of the Jedi, or accept Yoda’s lightsaber and let go of his attachment to Mando. Making the choice could be a problem for Grogu, but there’s another Jedi out there who could potentially be a solution: Star Wars Rebels’ Ezra Bridger.
Although Ezra hasn’t appeared in live-action yet after Rebels spent four animated season on his origin story as an unconventional Jedi Padawan in the pre-original trilogy era, the return of Ahsoka and casting of Sabine seem likely to lead to his arrival in some form or other. If Ezra does return at some point after his sacrifice at the end of Rebels, then he could show Grogu a third choice that allows him to hold onto his attachments while still pursuing a life as a Jedi. Here are some reasons why.
Ezra Had Strong Attachments
Ezra formed strong bonds over the four seasons of Star Wars Rebels, going from an orphan on the streets of Lothal to a Jedi-in-training with a surrogate family around him on The Ghost, and his Jedi teacher was more of a father than a master. Ezra certainly had his fears about losing them, and got dangerously close to the dark side with more than a little help from Maul, but he ultimately used his abilities with the Force to save his loved ones and sacrifice himself into the unknown in the series finale.
He was a powerful (if young) Jedi who also had strong attachments, and he didn’t go past the point of no return to the dark side out of his fear. In fact, his attachments are what helped pull him back. Assuming he didn’t turn to the dark side and has been wreaking havoc in the galaxy far, far away ever since jumping away with Thrawn, he could be the foil to Luke to show that there’s more than one way to be a Jedi. If Ezra could become a Jedi with his attachments, then perhaps he could help Grogu to do the same.
Kanan Jarrus Was Ezra's Teacher
Kanan Jarrus – a.k.a. Caleb Dume, in his Clone Wars days and as he appeared in his Bad Batch cameo – was an unconventional Jedi who came into his abilities long after Order 66 and after forsaking the ways he was taught as a Padawan for a very long time. As a result, he fell in love (even though the romance with Hera was mostly off-screen) and was a father and brother figure to the others in their found family. Hera was even pregnant by the end, although it’s up for debate whether or not he actually knew.
Admittedly, Kanan did die, so he didn’t have a perfect system, but he did what Anakin couldn’t when it came to balancing family, attachment, and emotions with the Jedi code. Ezra had Kanan as a teacher and an example. Potentially passing on Kanan’s legacy could bring Ezra’s Rebels story full circle and also help guide Grogu on a path that doesn’t involve saying goodbye to Mando forever (or being at Luke’s school when Kylo Ren attacks).
Grogu Is Remembering, Not Learning
Grogu still may not be the most talkative little guy in the galaxy far, far away, but The Book of Boba Fett showed that he can still access his memories from his time at the Jedi Temple before Order 66. When he started making fast progress in his training, Luke admitted that it was “more like he’s remembering” than actually learning from Luke. So, Grogu doesn’t necessarily need to be trained in the practical arts of being a Jedi.
Plus, if we’re going to go into technicalities, Ezra actually had more time training under a Jedi Knight than Luke did thanks to spending nearly all of his time in Kanan’s company for years. Even if Ezra, like Ahsoka, turns up but has no interest in teaching, his perspective could still be more valuable to both Grogu and Mando than Luke Skywalker's.
And if this seems like blasphemy when it comes to Star Wars, it’s worth remembering from the sequel trilogy that Luke’s approach that’s just beginning at The Book of Boba Fett’s point in the timeline isn’t going to work in the long run, so it’s possible that a different approach like one that Ezra might have would be more effective in a post-Empire galaxy.
The Ahsoka Series Could Bring Ezra Back
All of the speculation about Ezra appearing and offering another version of the Jedi life might not count for much if not for Star Wars seemingly putting the pieces in place to bring him into live action. Rebels ended with Ahsoka and Sabine Wren heading out on a mission to find Ezra after he disappeared with Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Rosario Dawson’s Mandalorian debut revealed that Ahsoka was searching for Thrawn years later.
Throw in the fact that Natasha Liu Bordizzo has been cast to play Sabine in live-action, and it certainly seems like Star Wars is poised to revisit the mystery of what happened to Ezra Bridger, via the Ahsoka series.
The Book of Boba Fett proved that the Star Wars TV shows can tie very closely together, as two episodes have arguably felt more like Mandalorian episodes than anything else. Could Ahsoka bring back Ezra, and could he then present Grogu with a look at a Jedi who doesn’t live by Luke’s doomed code, and solve the problem presented by Luke asking Grogu to choose?
Grogu of course didn’t appear in the sequel trilogy, so it could make sense if his time as Luke’s student was brief and he chooses Mando’s chainmail over Yoda’s lightsaber. For now, we can only wait and hope for more clues from the Star Wars TV shows. The Book of Boba Fett will release its finale on February 9 on Disney+, and then fans will be stuck without any new content for some time.
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor are expected to be the next two live-action shows ready to debut, with Ahsoka at some point down the line. You can always revisit the full run of Star Wars Rebels with a Disney+ subscription, as well as all the other Star Wars action you could want.
