In the Disney era of Star Wars, there have been a handful of instances where characters introduced in the animated realm have been depicted live-action, including Saw Gerra popping up in Rogue One and The Mandalorian Season 2 bringing in Ahsoka Tano and Bo Katan. Speaking of Ahsoka, Rosario Dawson’s take on the older version of Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice has her own Disney+ show coming up, and for a long time it’s been rumored that Ezra Bridger, one of the main characters from Star Wars Rebels, will show up. Now we know that this is indeed happening, as Ahsoka’s Ezra has been cast.
Initially reported by Cinelinx and confirmed by THR, Eman Esfandi has been tapped to play the live-action Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka. He succeeds Taylor Gray, who voiced Ezra in for the entirety of Star Wars Rebels. Esfandi appeared in the Robert Rodriguez-helmed horror Red 11 and had a small role in the Will Smith-led King Richard. He’s also starring in the upcoming movie The Inspection, which has been getting positive early reviews following its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.
At the start of Star Wars Rebels, the orphaned Ezra Bridger was living on Lothal conning people and doing whatever it took to survive, but his life changed when he met the crew of The Ghost, i.e. Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Zen Orrelios and Chopper. Over the show’s four-season run, Ezra evolved into a hero and trained in the ways of the Jedi under Kanan. When we last saw Ezra in Rebels’ final episode, he had been taken with Grand Admiral Thrawn, the main antagonist of Rebels’ latter two seasons, to parts unknown by the lightspeed-capable Purrgil. In the series finale’s epilogue, Sabine and Ahsoka Tano embarked on a journey to find Ezra following the destruction of the second Death Star.
It was hinted that a live-action Ezra Bridger was on the way in The Mandalorian Season 2 episode “The Jedi,” where we met Rosario Dawson’s older Ahsoka Tano. After defeating Elsbeth, ruler of the city of Calodan, Ahsoka demanded to know the location of her opponent’s master, Grand Admiral Thrawn. After all, if she can locate him, then the odds increase significantly of her finding Ezra Bridger. Now that Eman Esfandi has been tapped to play Ezra in Ahsoka, we know he’ll finally be found, although obviously it’ll be a while until we learn the specifics of his reemergence.
Ezra Bridger is the fourth established Star Wars character to be unveiled for Ahsoka, as Natasha Liu Bordizzo will be playing Sabine Wren and Hayden Christensen will reprise Anakin Skywalker following his return as Darth Vader in Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s unclear if we’ll see Anakin through Clone Wars-era flashbacks or if he’s visiting Ahsoka Tano as a Force Ghost post-Return of the Jedi. Ashoka’s cast also includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Invanna Sakhno and Ray Stevenson, with the latter reportedly playing an antagonistic admiral. Hera Syndulla and Chopper are also both allegedly appearing in Ahsoka, but there’s been no word on who will play the former.
Ahsoka will premiere to Disney+ subscribers sometime in 2023, but Star Wars fans can look forward to the premiere of Andor Season 1 later this month. As always, CinemaBlend will keep you up to date on all the biggest developments concerning the Star Wars franchise.
