Star Wars: Ahsoka Teaser Trailer Breakdown

The first trailer for the upcoming Ahsoka series dropped during Lucasfilm's Studio Showcase panel, and boy does it look incredible. They also announced that the series is slated to debut in August. Nothing more specific than that yet, but we'll be sure to update you with any new details from the Ahsoka panel tomorrow.



Okay, let's unpack this trailer.



We begin with a series of shots of Ahsoka appearing to explore some Jedi (?) temple ruins. This is the same location where we saw Ahsoka during the Disney Plus 2023 preview back in December.



Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



The next shot shows Ahsoka locating an entrance into the temple. No Force key necessary here. We see her use her lightsabers to cut a hole, dropping her down into the temple below. This brief action is a fun callback to her famous spin maneuver that saved her life during Order 66.



Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



We jump over to Sabine, who appears to be meditating. Several years after the events of Rebels, Sabine is older, her hair is longer, and based on this image, I expect we'll see a greater sense of maturity as she grapples with heavier burdens.



Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



I was very excited to see this live-action loth-cat in the trailer. There were plenty of shots that seem to be on Lothal, so I expect we'll get an in-depth look at the planet. While the loth-cats feel like a small detail, they ended up being a consistent theme in Rebels, representative of the ferociousness of the Lothal people and the Empire's repeated underestimation of them.



Loth-cat in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



Back at the Jedi temple, Ahsoka is under attack from some type of droids which appear to be the same ones we saw protecting Morgan Elsbeth in The Mandalorian Chapter 13 (the episode in which Ahsoka made her live-action debut). I have no doubt that, while this will make for an excellent fight scene, Ahsoka will quickly dispatch these foes. Rosario Dawson has spoken repeatedly about how hard she works in training to make the fight choreography come to life, and how much she enjoys filming those scenes. I can't wait to see more.



Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



Outside of the brief snapshot we got of Hera at Star Wars Celebration 2022, we have seen almost no images of her. Well, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is now confirmed as Hera Syndulla. We had to see an action shot of one of our favorite ace pilots, and they delivered. In the brief clip, it appears that Hera and Chopper are taking fire while attempting to escape.



Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



And finally, the real star of the show. The galaxy's sassiest droid has finally made his live-action debut (if we don't count his quick background cameo in 2016's Rogue One). True to form, we see him shaking his robotic fists at the attackers as they attempt to get away. In many ways a foil to the Internet's latest droid obsession, B2EMO, every Chopper moment is going to be a contrasted attitude-fueled treasure.



Chopper in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



We see a brief glimpse of Ray Stevenson's character, Baylan, before quickly jumping into this longer clip of Baylan's acolyte or assassin of some sort, played by Ivanna Sakhno. There are plenty of rumors swirling around the nature and backstory of these two characters, but based on this trailer alone, their (now confirmed) orange sabers demonstrate that they are dark side Force users with a nefarious role to play in the show.



Ivanna Sakhno in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



Next, we jump over to a serious reunion between Ahsoka and Sabine. We hear Ahsoka say, 'things have changed.' These changes don't appear to be positive given Ahsoka's demeanor. I imagine Ahsoka is delivering negative news on the rise of Thrawn or an impediment in the search for Ezra. Fans can shake their head at another shining example of no railings in Star Wars.



(L-R) Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



It's unclear whose fleet this is, but since we jump over to Mon Mothma and her New Republic cohort next, I assume these are New Republic ships.



Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



The rebel Queen herself. Mon Mothma, played by Genevieve O'Reilly, is presented here along some type of New Republic leadership council. After Return of the Jedi and the fall of the Empire, Mothma was elected Chancellor of the New Republic Senate. Ahsoka is not her story, but I would love to see a small glimpse of Mon Mothma's life in the New Republic, and have the show provide some solid continuity with Andor. Also note Senator Xiono, standing directly to the right of Mothma -- he's the father of Kazuda Xiono from Star Wars Resistance. It's only fitting for Filoni to tie in more animation characters in a show born from animation.



Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



It's happened. Thrawn in live-action. The actor playing Thrawn has now been officially confirmed to be Lars Mikkelsen, who voiced the character in animation. This brief glimpse already has the hype train rolling. There is also a line from Ahsoka in the trailer about the fear that Thrawn could become the 'heir to the Empire', a direct nod to Timothy Zahn's Legends novels. I have no doubt that the Thrawn we see in Ahsoka will skew more evil, as in the original Thrawn novels and in Rebels, and less the reasonable Chiss hero we saw in the recent Thrawn novels. Either way, I am thrilled to delve into one of the most nuanced and interesting villains in Star Wars canon.



Thrawn in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



Here we see Morgan Elsbeth inside a luxurious-looking ship (?) staffed with droids, which appears to be the same location Thrawn is on. They're clearly gearing up for something. We last saw Elsbeth attempting to hide the location of her employer, Thrawn, but she was defeated by Ahsoka in a duel. Diana Lee Inosanto's martial arts skills means we'll likely see her fighting again.



Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



We hop back over to Ray Stevenson's character, newly identified as Baylan, seen here igniting an orange lightsaber. It's clear that Baylan is a dark side Force user. We don't know yet if he's working with Thrawn, but that's a strong possibility. Perhaps the most interesting detail of this shot is that it appears to take place in the 'World Between Worlds', first seen in Rebels. This place opens up a myriad of narrative possibilities in terms of where we could go or who we could see. I wouldn't at all be surprised if they use the World Between Worlds to bring in Yoda, maybe just the voice, but that's whimsical speculation.



Baylan (Ray Stevenson) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



Hera looks fantastic, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's depth of roles in her career perfectly lends itself to the character. Her dry, take-no-crap attitude hardly needs to be adjusted for Hera at all. Although I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering: will we see Jacen Syndulla? Slim chances, but you never know!



Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



This striking shot of Ivanna Sakhno shows her shooting at a Jedi T-6 shuttle, most likely Ahsoka's, as we see her arrive in a similar ship at the end of Rebels. This whole sequence feels very Ventress to me. There are rumors swirling around about who Sakhno's character could be dating back to 2021, but based on the information we received today, she's clearly a dark side Force user who is in league with Ray Stevenson's Baylan; most likely some type of acolyte-and-master relationship.



Ivanna Sakhno as unconfirmed Sith character in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



Another first time glimpse of a major character in live-action! Here we have Sabine solemnly looking at a hologram recording of Ezra. It's small and blurry, but identifiably Ezra nonetheless. Eman Esfandi confirmed the glimpse over on Twitter.



Ezra (Eman Esfandi) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



Next, we cut to another fight scene with Ahsoka and what appears to be an Inquisitor-looking enemy that includes an awesome use of Force-pushing. We're not on the Jedi temple ruin planet anymore. This location looks to be some type of shipyard, with engines in various stages of construction or demolition in the background. The Inquisitor (?) here is unknown, but Ahsoka has beaten several by this point, so I'm not too concerned. However, the next shot seems to show her fleeing, but it's unclear whether that takes place on the same planet.



Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



And finally, we end the trailer with Huyang, droid professor and master lightsaber smith, first featured in The Clone Wars and voiced by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Broadchurch). We hear him say 'perhaps it is time to begin again.' I think it's likely he's offering Ahsoka counsel here. Perhaps we will see Huyang meet up with Luke. While Huyang was previously shown to be in the series, it's still a relief to see him officially in the trailer. Another beloved 'glup shitto' lives.



Huyang in Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.



This trailer delivered on all fronts, and I find myself even more excited about Ahsoka than I was previously. I'll be tucking myself in tonight dreaming of Sith Masters and Grand Admirals.



We'll update this breakdown with any new details that may emerge from tomorrow's Ahsoka panel. It will premier in August on Disney Plus. In the meantime, dive into the wealth of news we got today from Star Wars Celebration, all covered right here on Star Wars News Net.



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