How could Ahsoka Tano show up in The Mandalorian season 2?

Production on The Mandalorian season 2 is underway, and we’ve already seen rumors that showrunner/creator Jon Favreau has plans to include “several established characters” from the greater Skywalker Saga.

The season 1 finale may have set this up by bringing in the Darksaber, a weapon featured in animated Star Wars shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels. Even with that, The Mandalorian has stood pretty much on its own, unconnected to the greater world of Star Wars lord. But it looks like that might come to an end?

So who might make an appearance from the Skywalker Saga in The Mandalorian season 2? Well, if fans have their way, it will be Anakin Skywalker’s former Jedi padawan, Ahsoka Tano, a character who appeared on both The Clone Wars and Rebels. Fans are even at the point where they’re suggesting actors for the part. In the front of the line: Rosario Dawson (Sin City, Daredevil).

"How Rosario Dawson would look as Ahsoka Tano! from StarWars"

For the record, Dawson sounds like she’s down for this herself:

Crucially, Dave Filoni — who created The Clone Wars and Rebels — is an executive producer on The Mandalorian, as well as a writer and director. If the Mandalorian team is looking for established Star Wars characters to bring in, it makes sense that Filoni would push for Ahsoka. (Incidentally, the Darksaber was also invented under Filoni’s watch, and that’s already shown up.)

So who is Ahsoka Tano, and why would she be the perfect fit for The Mandalorian season 2? Let’s investigate.

Ahsoka rose to popularity on The Clone Wars. At the age of 15, she was assigned to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker by Jedi Grand Master Yoda, to assist him during the Battle of Christophsis. Voiced by Her Universe creator Ashley Eckstein, Ahsoka was nicknamed “Snips” by Anakin because she was feisty and snippy to her new master.

Ahsoka became a hero of the Clone Wars but left the Jedi Order after she was wrongfully accused of plotting to commit a terrorist act against the Jedi. And even though she was ultimately found innocent, and despite the pleading of her mentor Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka refused to return.

After that, the young Togruta woman faded from Star Wars canon until she reappeared in Star Wars Rebels as the rebel spy, Fulcrum. Ahsoka never finished her Jedi training, but she was still a powerful Force user and adhered to the teachings of the Jedi and the Light Side of the Force. Her unique white-bladed dual lightsabers made her stand out against Emperor Palpatine’s Sith Inquisitors and their leader, Darth Vader, who used to be her mentor Anakin Skywalker.

Ahsoka and Vader fought to the death, and since the Sith Lord walked away from the battle with minor wounds, many thought Ahsoka had perished. However, a young Jedi named Ezra Bridger rescued Ahsoka via a Force-infused extra-dimensional plain called the World Between Worlds, and she was able to assist the Rebellion in their defeat of the Galactic Empire on the planet Lothal.

In the epilogue after the Star Wars Rebels series finale, Ahsoka was shown meeting with the Mandalorian rebel Sabine Wren — the one-time wielder of the legendary Darksaber — as the two departed Lothal in order to find Ezra Bridger, who was considered lost in the unknown reaches of the galaxy.

We’ll see Ahsoka in action again when The Clone Wars returns for a seventh and final season this month. However, that version of her will be the young former padawan of Anakin Skywalker right before he turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

So if Filoni and Favreau want to bring Ahsoka onto The Mandalorian, how would they do it? First, let’s establish the timeline. Ahsoka was 35 after the Battle of Endor, the battle that spelled doom for Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire as a whole. That happened in the newly reset calendar year of 4 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin). The Mandalorian season 1 took place around 9 ABY, meaning Ahsoka was around 40 years of age.

Ahsoka the White from the Star Wars Rebels epilogue. Disney

The way I see it, Favreau and Filoni could pick up with Ahsoka and Sabine Wren on The Mandalorian as they continue to search for Ezra Bridger. And there are good reasons they might cross paths with the Mandalorian we know. Sabine, let’s not forget, is a Mandalorian herself. She once mastered the Darksaber, currently in the possession of Moff Gideon. Obviously, Gideon came by the weapon dishonestly, and Sabine might have reason to seek it out. We know that Gideon is going to be pursuing the Mandalorian to get back Baby Yoda. Might these characters collide at some point?

Speaking of Yoda, Ahsoka actually knew him — that’s the old Yoda from the movies, not Baby Yoda. At the moment, the Mandalorian’s mission is to find Baby Yoda’s people. Ahsoka might be able to help him out with some information.

So Ahsoka could be worked into The Mandalorian without feeling like fan service, although it would make a great many people happy. All that and there’s a great actor all but volunteering for the part. Make it happen, Disney!

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