The first episode of the Star Wars spinoff series Ahsoka paid tribute to the late Northern Irish actor Ray Stevenson.
The actor, who starred as the villainous Baylan Skoll in the series, died in May aged 58. A cause of death has yet to be disclosed.
At the end of the first episode of Ahsoka, which launched on Disney Plus on Wednesday (23 August), the words “For our friend, Ray” appeared.
Ahsoka follows former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.
Rosario Dawson, who plays the title character, previously remembered Stevenson, as a very spiritual person with whom she had “the most extraordinary conversations”.
Speaking to People prior to the Hollywood actors strike, Dawson described him as “really beautiful and so thoughtful.”
She said Stevenson owned many different crystals and they often had conversations “about the divine feminine”.
“(He was) almost like (a) Nordic kind of man, who was very heavy-handed and then just like the most gentle, brilliant, loving divine feminine spirit,” she said.
“You just had the most extraordinary conversations with him about his family and philosophies.
“I’ve had so many people who I know are friends with him. We were so blessed to have him working with us. He made all of us better.”
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In addition to Dawson and Stevenson, Ahsoka stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ivanna Sakhno and Doctor Who star David Tennant.
The series was written by Dave Filoni, who executive produces alongside Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson, and Carrie Beck.
Stevenson was well known for films including Thor and Punisher, though also starred in multiple television shows including as soldier Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO series Rome from 2005-2007.
He starred as Porthos in the 2011 film The Three Musketeers – alongside Luke Evans, Matthew Macfadyen and Milla Jovovich – and was in Divergent with Kate Winslet and Zoe Kravitz in 2014.
More recently, he appeared as the villainous Governor Scott Buxton in the 2022 Oscar-winning Bollywood film RRR.
Additional reporting from agencies
