Ahsoka may have only aired one season so far, but it is the next chapter in a long Star Wars legacy that dates all the way back to 2014 with the premiere of Star Wars: Rebels. The animated spinoff set in the lead up to the original trilogy introduced Jedi-in-training Ezra Bridger, Mandalorian teen Sabine Wren, plus Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, and spunky droid Chopper. It also, crucially, reintroduced Ahsoka Tano, setting her up for her appearance in The Mandalorian and, eventually, her own spinoff.
But the big overlap between these shows isn’t completely seamless. In fact, one of the most controversial choices in Ahsoka came as a surprise to one of the writers of Rebels.
During an appearance on the Pod of Rebellion podcast, Rebels writer and co-executive producer Henry Gilroy discussed Ahsoka’s divisive choice to portray Sabine as capable of cultivating Force powers despite not being especially Force-sensitive like other Jedi younglings. According to Gilroy, this was something the writers of Rebels flirted with during the storyline where Sabine was shown doing some Jedi training in order to wield the Darksaber.
“It was absolutely not the plan… we really felt that not only did it step on Ezra’s story…it was a weak retread. We already did this,” he said, referring to Ezra’s own Jedi training arc. In fact, it not only repeated Ezra’s story, but it also undermined Sabine’s own arc as a Mandalorian. “The idea of Sabine training as a Jedi when she is already this fantastic warrior of her own type, we felt like, 'This is overkill,'" he said.
Gilroy wasn’t involved with Ahsoka in any way: Dave Filoni is the showrunner and sole writer for the series. So he found out about this controversial choice the same way as the rest of the Star Wars fandom. “I was shocked. What I love about the story with the Darksaber is that you don't have to be a Jedi to have Jedi ideals,” Gilroy said. “I think that's what's really the more important thing ... rather than Force pushing Ezra one hundred feet when [you've] never used the Force before.”
Some have considered Ahsoka to be an informal Rebels Season 5, but that doesn’t mean that everything featured in the series is exactly what its predecessor was aiming for. But, unless 2014 happens all over again, Star Wars canon reigns supreme. Sabine, for better or for worse, is both a Mandalorian warrior and a Jedi in training.
