Star Wars Changes Ahsoka Tano’s Role In The Galaxy

Ahsoka Tano is getting a new role in Star Wars, and it could make her one of the most important people in the galaxy far, far away. Ahsoka has long been one of the most beloved and best characters in Star Wars, and she’s long been important to the franchise. Ever since she became the main character of the only animated Star Wars movie and its show, The Clone Wars, Ahsoka has been one of the most prominent faces of Star Wars for years.

While she didn’t appear in the sequel trilogy, save for a vocal cameo in The Rise of Skywalker, Ahsoka has also proven instrumental in Disney’s tenure over Star Wars. She had a prominent role in Rebels, made a big cameo in The Mandalorian, and eventually got her own self-titled standalone show, Ahsoka. Now, however, Ahsoka is about to become even more important than she’s ever been before.

Ahsoka season 2 is set to premiere on Disney+ in early 2027, and it will have something of a real-world role change in store for Ahsoka. After the ending of Ahsoka season 1, we know that she’ll have to face off against Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati again as they search Peridea for something related to the Mortis gods. Ahsoka will also have to eventually stop Grand Admiral Thrawn’s reemergence in the main galaxy. In-universe, a lot is riding on Ahsoka’s shoulders, and she has just as much responsibility in the real world as well.

Ahsoka Season 2 Has Become The Most Important Star Wars Show In Years

Ahsoka season 2 is currently the only upcoming live-action Star Wars show that has been confirmed by Disney and Lucasfilm, which makes it incredibly important. For the past seven years, Star Wars has been all-in on television. Starting with The Mandalorian in 2019, the franchise has put out seven live-action shows in total, but it’s now slowing down. The last live-action Star Wars show was Andor season 2 in 2025, and there won’t be any in 2026.

Disney and Lucasfilm are clearly shifting their focus from shows to movies like The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter. While animated shows like Maul – Shadow Lord season 2 and The Ninth Jedi are still in development, it’s very clear that the franchise is banking on theatrically-released movies instead of streaming shows now. The slate of upcoming Star Wars movies compared to upcoming Star Wars shows alone proves that.

Simply by virtue of being the last one left standing, Ahsoka has become a stand-in for live-action Star Wars shows as a whole. If it does well with critics and audiences, it might be enough to convince Disney and Lucasfilm to commission another live-action series. If it does poorly, it might be enough to convince the companies that the switch to theatrical movies was justified. The fate of live-action Star Wars shows rests squarely on the shoulders of Ahsoka the character and Ahsoka the show.

Ahsoka Season 2 May Not Be Enough To Resurrect Live-Action Star Wars Shows

While the fate of live-action Star Wars television does depend on Ahsoka, the show may not even be able to resurrect it. Even if Ahsoka is great and draws in record subscribers to Disney+, it may not be enough to get Disney and Lucasfilm to change course. At the very least, Ahsoka probably won’t be able to get live-action Star Wars television back to the height of its popularity, when there were two seasons being released every year from 2022 to 2025.

Star Wars‘ shift from live-action TV back to films is happening for a reason. The shows were notoriously expensive to produce, and thanks to shifts in the streaming landscape as a whole that made them less profitable, they weren’t making nearly enough money. The Acolyte, for example, cost nearly $30 million per episode to make, which would have required a massive number of Disney+ subscribers to justify its costs.

Theatrically-released movies are much easier to turn a profit on. They rake in hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, and then they also drive up Disney+ subscriptions months later when they make their streaming debut. The Mandalorian and Grogu, for example, cost nearly $65 million less than The Acolyte, and even with its middling box office returns, it still grossed over $315 million so far before even touching Disney+’s subscriber count. Shows like Andor cost more, earn less, and simply aren’t a feasible long-term financial strategy anymore.

Ahsoka season 2 alone simply can’t overcome that financial incentive supporting the shift to movies, no matter how amazing it may end up being. Star Wars, regardless of what Ahsoka does, is moving back to movies. However, Ahsoka season 2 could still convince Disney and Lucasfilm that there’s money to be made by making more live-action shows. There would definitely be a reduced slate of shows, maybe one every few years, and the budgets would have to be significantly lower, but Ahsoka may not be the end of live-action Star Wars shows entirely.

Release Date

August 22, 2023

Network

Disney+

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