Introduced inThe Mandalorianepisode “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” Rosario Dawson’s live-action version of Ahsoka Tano has quickly become a fan favorite. As many fans suspected, that episode turned out to be a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series, which has since been confirmed for a Disney+ release.Ahsokawill take place inThe MandalorianandThe Book of Boba Fett’s continuity, which has been established by Lucasfilm as a mini MCU-style universe inside the largerStar Warsuniverse. AfterThe Book of Boba Fetttook the franchise crossovers a step too far, it’s worrying thatAhsokacould make the same mistake.
The most egregious thing aboutThe Book of Boba Fettis that it wasn’t really Boba Fett’s show after all. In its last three episodes, it might as well have beenThe Mandalorianseason 3. Above all,Ahsokaneeds to live up to its title. It’s Ahsoka’s show, and it needs to follow her from the beginning of its run to the end. There were far too many detours inThe Book of Boba Fett, including an episode set at Luke Skywalker’s Jedi academy that could’ve been a whole spin-off of its own. By the end, Boba’s storylines felt like an afterthought. Ahsoka deserves the spotlight that Boba didn’t get.
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Ahsokais being spearheaded by Dave Filoni, who co-created the character with George Lucas. Unless the show has an ulterior motive in the larger Mando-verse, Filoni will guide Ahsoka’s limited series with a singular vision.Jon Favreau’s passion for his own originalStar Warscreations, Din Djarin and Grogu, has been a big part of what makesThe Mandalorianso special. Over the years, Filoni has taken great care with how Ahsoka’s story is told, so he certainly won’t phone in this series. He’s been working on a standalone Ahsoka story for a while and the rise of the Mando-verse has finally given him the chance to tell it. Hopefully, this will makeAhsokamore of a passion project than a money-grubbing franchise expansion designed to please shareholders.
Ahsoka Needs More Focus Than The Book Of Boba Fett
The biggest problem withThe Book of Boba Fettwas its lack of focus. For better or worse, the show told Boba’s story exclusively for its first four episodes. And then, all of a sudden, it became a random jumble of disparateStar Warsnarrative threads in its final three episodes.Ahsokaneeds to have more focus than that. It can havestandalone episodic adventures likeThe Mandalorian– those are a lot of fun – but, at the same time, it shouldn’t lose sight of its overarching storylines.
Side quests are a great way to gradually move serialized plotlines along while giving each episode its own identity and self-contained story arc, but they can feel repetitive and inconsequential. The first half ofThe Mandalorian’s second season suffered from this problem. It has some awesome standalone narratives like the standoff with the ice spiders, but the season’s ongoing narrative arc (Mando’s quest toreunite Grogu with the Jedi) initially moved at a snail’s pace. Mando spent the first few episodes doing mission after mission to move the story forward ever so slightly with tiny pieces of information.
IfAhsokais only going to last for one season, then it can’t waste a second. It needs to tell a razor-focused, action-packed, Ahsoka-centricStar Warsstory with a beginning, middle, and end. It’s important to limit the legacy cameos. Live-action versions of characters like Sabine Wren and Grand Admiral Thrawn – not to mentionHayden Christensen’s Anakin Force ghost– are confirmed to appear alongside Ahsoka in her spin-off series. Ezra Bridger and the Mando-verse’s CGI Luke are also rumored to appear. If familiar icons do show up inAhsoka, they need to serve Ahsoka’s story, not distract from it.
The Mandalorian’s backdoor pilot forAhsokateased the search for Thrawn as the overarching narrative for the series. This could tie intoThe Mandalorian’s ongoing Imperial Remnants storyline, revealing Thrawn to be the superior of a now-imprisoned Moff Gideon (and the blue-skinned big bad of the Mando-verse). But above all, the series needs to focus on Ahsoka. It can’t just use its Imperial Remnants ties as an excuse to paper over the plot holes from the sequel trilogy. Some fans are worried that the Grogu cloning storyline inThe Mandalorianis being used to explainPalpatine’s resurrection inThe Rise of Skywalker.Ahsokashould, as the title suggests, tell its story from Ahsoka’s perspective.
Ahsoka Needs To Take An Interest In Its Own Title Character
The Book of Boba Fettwas ultimately a lot more interested in telling Mando’s story than Boba’s. This could be an ominous sign for how Favreau, Filoni, and co. will handleThe Mandalorian’s handful of concurrent spin-offs.The Mandalorianworks best as a straightforwardStar Warsadventure following the intergalactic antics of a masked gunslinger and his infant sidekick. All the other upcomingStar Warsshows need to figure out their own identity and what makes them unique in the way thatThe Mandalorianis, not justvehicles for moreMandalorianepisodes.
Putting crucial Mando plot turns inThe Book of Boba Fettwas both an insult to Boba in his own series and an insult toStar Warsfans who are now required to watch a whole new show just to follow the storylines of an existing show they already like.The Book of Boba Fettcompletely lost the plot halfway through its run.Ahsokaneeds to be its own thing. It can’t just be another extension ofThe Mandalorian. Mando can appear, but heneeds to support Ahsoka’s journey(like she did when she appeared on his show), not steal the spotlight and continue his own.
