A brand new Star Wars show comes to Disney+ this week, but unlike many of its predecessors, it’s more of a sequel than an original. Star Wars: Ahsoka debuts on August 23, tomorrow, and though it promises to tell a brand new story, wholly accessible to any Star Wars fan that wants to watch, Ahsoka and her place in the universe is way more dense and complicated than The Mandalorian, Boba Fett, or Cassian Andor’s.
That means you have two options. Watch seven seasons of
Star Wars: The Clone Wars and four seasons of Star Wars Rebels (to begin with) or, check out this article. Here we’ve boiled down Ahsoka’s long, dense, history, which has covered not just those two animated series, but books, Tales of the Jedi prequels and more, down to the crucial bits that, at least at the start, are most important to know for the new show. Is there much, much more than this? Will knowing it all potentially enhance your enjoyment of the show? Yes and yes. But it’s too late for all that. The clock is ticking. Procrastination time is here, and this is your cheat sheet.
The Beginning
Audiences first met Ahsoka Tano, a.k.a Snips, on August 15, 2008 when she debuted in Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie. In that film, Yoda assigned her to be Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice. The relationship was shaky at first but quickly, the two developed a deeper bond, one that only grew in the years that followed, as evidenced by The Clone Wars TV show that took place after the events of the movie.
The Friends
Since a good chunk of Ahsoka’s story took place between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith she, basically, knew everybody of note. Padme (above), Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi of course, but also all the most powerful Jedi like Yoda and Mace Windu, all the most evil people like Palpatine, Dooku, and Maul, plus all the non-film characters like Captain Rex and Bo-Katan Kryze. That got even more true as things went on to the events of Rebels and The Mandalorian. Basically, she’s a character who can link many, many different stories across the Star Wars universe.
The Choice
Ahsoka’s defining moment took place when the Jedi Order accused her of bombing the Jedi temple. She was innocent but the fact she was even accused clashed so hard with her belief in the system, Ahsoka left the Jedi order, and Anakin, behind. This is why, when Star Wars refers to her as a “Jedi” it’s a grey area. She never officially completed any trials beyond being a Padawan, but… you know, still does Jedi things even after leaving the Order.
The Return
During the final season of The Clone Wars, we saw that after leaving the Jedi Order, Ahsoka had been living a lie. Attempting to exist, while also hiding her powers. In this, she was moderately successful because she was still too heroic to do nothing in dire circumstances. So when she ran into Bo-Katan again, Ahsoka once again found herself allying with the Jedi and the Republic (albeit as a citizen) to help them defend Mandalore.
As Ahsoka, Bo-Katan and Rex attempted to defend Mandalore from Maul’s forces (happening at the same time as events in Revenge of the Sith), a few key things happen. One, Maul reveals to her that Anakin has been groomed by Palpatine to become his apprentice, Darth Vader. Two, Palpatine puts Order 66 into effect, killing almost all the Jedi in the process. Ahsoka does make it out safely though, but just barely.
The Rebel
With the Empire now in power, Ahsoka became an undercover aid to the Rebellion nicknamed “Fulcrum.” Fulcrum helped many Rebels during this time, including a group in the Lothal system that found themselves together on a ship called the Ghost. This is, of course, the cast of Star Wars Rebels: Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Sabine Wren, Zeb Orrelios, and Chopper. Ahsoka quickly became friendly with the group, joining them on many adventures.
The Impact
Ahsoka’s role in Star Wars Rebels can’t be overstated. She not only helps the Ghost crew and the Rebellion in general but aids Ezra in his knowledge of the Force, time travels (kinda) and eventually comes face to face with her former master, Darth Vader. Vader and Ahsoka barely make it out of their encounter with each other, and with a few small but pivotal exceptions, Ahsoka disappears. That is, until, the very end of the show.
The Mission
Star Wars Rebels ends with the liberation of Ezra’s planet of Lothal from the evil forces of Grand Admiral Thrawn. However, Ezra and Thrawn disappear at the end of the conflict and years later, after the events of the original Star Wars trilogy, a newly robed Ahsoka returns to Lothal to meet up with Sabine Wren to head off and find their friend Ezra. That’s a big part of this story in Ahsoka.
The Others
Yes, the new show is called “Ahsoka” and most of the stuff you need to know is about Ahsoka. But since the show is going to pick up the story from the end of Rebels, with Ahsoka and Sabine going to find Ezra and Thrawn, there are a few other things to know.
Hera Syndulla is a Twi’lek Rebel leader who flies the Ghost. She was in love with a Jedi named Kanan Jarrus, who trained Ezra Bridger but who eventually perished in their fight with the Rebellion against the Imperial forces on Lothal. Kanan and Hera had a son, named Jacen, conceived before his death.
Sabine Wren is a Mandalorian artist and warrior who swore to her friend Ezra to watch over his home planet of Lothal. Which she has ever since Ezra and Thrawn disappeared.
Grand Admiral Thrawn is a brilliant military strategist—a blue-skinned Chiss, part of a civilization called the Ascendancy that exists beyond the currently-charted regions of Star Wars galaxy (to the perspective of our heroes) in the Unknown Regions. Thrawn is now the apparent heir to the Empire since Palpatine is currently “dead.” He, along with Jedi in training Ezra Bridger, disappeared during the Battle of Lothal before the events of A New Hope.
The Mandalorian
After the death of Darth Vader at the hands of Luke Skywalker, a lone bounty hunter joined the Star Wars galaxy. The Mandalorian, a.k.a Din Djarin, met and swore to protect a young Yoda-looking friend, and eventually realized he needed to meet a Jedi. He ended up finding Ahsoka Tano. It was Ahsoka who revealed the “Baby Yoda” was named Grogu and what Din needed to do to help Grogu find his place with the Force. We also saw that Ahsoka was still looking for Grand Admiral Thrawn, and showed down with Morgan Elsbeth hoping to find him.
This was also the first time Ahsoka was seen in live action, with Rosario Dawson taking over the role from Clone Wars and Rebels voice actress Ashley Eckstein.
The Son
Ahsoka’s motivations in this time after the events of Star Wars Rebels (and Return of the Jedi) are still mostly mysterious, but we do know that at some point, she meets Luke Skywalker. How or when that happened, we don’t know, but we do know that Ahsoka knows not only Luke’s father, Anakin, but his mother, Padmé, his mentors, Obi-Wan and Yoda, and so many more. She can give him a lot of information he doesn’t have, basically changing the course of Star Wars history. If she wants.