Disney reveals official release date for Star Wars: Ahsoka

Disney just released the first teaser trailer for Ahsoka, its next big Star Wars show. This one follows ex-Jedi Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), who is trying to prevent the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) from becoming, as she puts it, “the heir to the Empire.”

That’s a reference to an influential Star Wars novel by Timothy Zahn; Heir to the Empire introduced Thrawn into the Star Wars canon way back in 1992. Now he’s finally making his live-action debut. Watch the trailer below:

That said, we only see him from the back of the head. I guess they want to save that for later.

Lars Mikkelsen “tweaking” his Thrawn voice for Ahsoka

In a fun twist, Thrawn will be played onscreen by the same person who voiced him in the animated series Star Wars Rebels: Lars Mikkelsen, brother to Mads.

Mikkelsen talks about the process with Empire. “I’m not losing the voice, but I am tweaking it into live-action,” he said. “When you do an animated character, there’s a whole melodious approach. When you’re there as a real person, that would be just slightly too much.”

"I love the way he rises through the Empire, and the way he carries himself in that environment to become somebody. And then of course, how can you not like a very clever villain? Thrawn takes the time to understand his opponent’s culture, and what they’re about. It’s lovely to be playing that."

Thrawn is indeed a different kind of villain than many Star Wars fans are used to; he can’t choke you with the Force, but he’s a canny military strategist who may well outthink you.

Andor star Genevieve O’Reilly “very excited” to play Mon Mothma in Star Wars: Ahsoka

Another easter egg in the trailer is that we saw Genevieve O’Reilly for a split second as Mon Mothma, one of the founders of the Rebel resistance. Ahsoka is set after the Empire has fallen in Return of the Jedi, but with Thrawn stirring up trouble again, someone of Mothma’s abilities could be useful.

O’Reilly also played Mon Mothma in the Disney+ show Star Wars: Andor, so it’s fun to see her back for more. “I’m very excited to play a little part in that world as well,” she told IGN. “And obviously, I’m a mad fan of Rosario [Dawson]. It’s wonderful that Disney is interested in this woman and that this woman has value across different stories and through different filmmakers. To work with Dave [Filoni] and John [Favreau] as well as being able to really get under this woman’s skin in Andor, I feel terribly fortunate.”

And of course, we have to talk a bit about Ahsoka herself…

Rosario Dawson is already campaigning for Ahsoka season 2

“I love how confident she is,” Dawson told Empire about her character, who was originally voiced by Ashley Eckstein in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. “She’s not fearless, but she never hesitates. She is so willing, but she does have worries, she does have stress and she’s gone through a lot of anxiety. She’s had some really tough crises and traumas in her life. I really dig how complex she is. Even her moments of just finding her way, and butting heads, and being stubborn, and being wrong; having to deal with the pain of what that is when soldiers are dying under her command.”

"Getting the opportunities to embody her more and more, and collaborating with everyone as things have shifted and developed and progressed… it’s just been amazing. That same sort of excitement that I saw on people’s reaction videos [to her inaugural Mandalorian appearance] is how I keep feeling every day when I look in the mirror and get to do what I get to do… If anything, it’s only ramped up."

Dawson has enjoyed playing Ahsoka so much that she’s already manifesting a second season. “I’m absolutely putting it out into the universe,” she said. “We’re joking about it, but I’m manifesting it because I feel like I helped Dave [Filoni, Star Wars mastermind and Ahsoka Tano’s co-creator] manifest this role. So I’m ready. I’m excited. I’m willing. I got my ice-packs ready to go for Season 2 and beyond! I would not be mad at that.”

Star Wars: Ahsoka Disney+ release date

Finally, Disney revealed the release date for Ahsoka in that new teaser trailer: August 23.

Disney has released several Star Wars series now, some of them successful (The Mandalorian) and some more divisive, like The Book of Boba Fett. The plan is for Ahsoka to interface with The Mandalorian and for everything to climax with a movie to be directed by Dave Filoni.

And that’s in addition to other Star Wars shows on the way like Skeleton Crew and The Acolyte. Will Ahsoka be able to stand out from the pack? We’ll find out this summer.

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