The first season of Star Wars: Ahsoka introduced us to Baylan Skoll, an ex-Jedi knight now working as a mercenary. He's not a pure-hearted Jedi who believes in truth and justice, nor is he a black-hearted Sith who loves chaos. He's somewhere in between, a new idea for Star Wars; who ever heard of an orange lightsaber?
In the first season, Baylan Skoll was played by Ray Stevenson, who brought a ton of magnetism to the role. Unfortunately, Stevenson passed in 2023. Rather than cut the character, Ahsoka recast him with Rory McCann, who Game of Thrones fans will remember as Sandor "the Hound" Clegane. Filming on the second season is underway as we speak.
“I think it’s the right decision to carry on his storyline, not just cut it off,” McCann told ComicBook in a recent interview. “We’ve done it before with other things. I hope the fans embrace it and I’ll do my best. I’m just starting now, so I’m just trying to be in the right zone for doing it. It’s pretty bloody exciting. I mean, I remember being a kid with my dad, going to the first one probably in the late ’70s and ’80s. Now I’m training with a lightsaber at night, so it’s pretty exciting.”
It's true that recasts are common enough; Game of Thrones had several throughout its eight-season run. Sometimes actors leave between seasons or aren't available, and you have to get someone new to replace them. The situation with Stevenson is an especially sad case, but the principle still applies.
I think McCann is a cool choice. He hasn't had many high-profile roles since the end of Game of Thrones, although his cache was such that he probably could have had he wanted to. I'm guessing the Ahsoka producers approached him about playing Baylan Skoll, and I doubt he would have agreed to it if he didn't think he could bring something interesting to the role. Baylan is a mysterious character who knows how to handle himself in a fight, but he isn't as gruff and cynical as the Hound. It'll be interesting to see McCann play a character like that.
McCann also comes pre-loaded with lots of sword-fighting experience, although wielding a lightsaber is a bit different from swinging a two-handed greatsword. “Thrones has really helped with that. Same kind of moves, same blocking,” McCann said. “Doesn’t have the same sexy sound though. Oh, my God … Lightsabers are lighter, but having said that, the Thrones swords were stunt swords and you’ve got to pretend that they’re three times heavier than they are. But it’s all pretend, really. It’s all very exciting.”
We don't know when exactly the second season of Ahsoka will debut on Disney+, but if it's filming right now, a 2026 release date seems likely.
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