Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker offers countless fan services and references to the Star Wars canon. This includes recalls to popular characters like Qui-Gon Jinn and Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka first entered the Star Wars canon as Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan in the Clone Wars animation series. She later fought Darth Vader in Star Wars Rebels.
While her friends initially believed that she had died in the confrontation with her former master, the latest episodes of Rebels showed that Ahsoka was alive and well. The last time fans saw her, she began searching for Force user Ezra Bridger in the Rebels’ epilogue.
With the end of the Star Wars Rebels, shortly after the rebel alliance destroyed the second Death Star at the Battle of Endor, fans have long wondered what Ahsoka has been up to since her adventure to find Bridger. The rise of Skywalker reveals Ahsoka’s ultimate fate.
[Ed. Note: This post contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.]
Image: Lucasfilm / Disney about polygon
In the last hour of The Rise of Skywalker, Rey faces Emperor Palpatine. The two fights and Palpatine announced that all Sith are “with him”. Rey reflects back on the statement and says that all Jedi are with her.
For a brief moment the film plunges into Rey’s head and we hear the encouraging words of long dead Jedi heroes. Rey hears the voices of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin, Qui-Gon Jinn, Ahsoka Tano and others. All others are voices of the dead. This scene confirms that Ahsoka Tano died before the last confrontation in The Rise of Skywalker.
Could Ahsoka still be alive?
Ahsoka competes against her old master, now Darth Vader.Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Based on the scene in The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars can assume Ahsoka is dead. We saw Mace Windu, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Qui-Gon and more die on the screen. If Ahsoka were still alive during Skywalker’s ascent, she would be the only living Jedi in the conference call in Rey’s head, which seems unlikely.
It is not inconceivable that Ahsoka is still alive during Skywalker’s ascent, unless it is a violent means – the usual target for Jedi. It was born 36 years before the first Death Star was destroyed, and The Rise of Skywalker takes place 35 years after the event. This means that Ahsoka would be in her early 70s.
Depending on where you look, Ahsoka’s species, the Togruta, have an average lifespan of 82 to 94 years. And some locations claim that powerful Togruta who use violence can live for up to 200 years. Even though Ahsoka is old by Togruta standards in “The Rise of Skywalker”, as a Force user she hasn’t even reached the end of her life.
Dave Filoni, the director of The Clone Wars and executive producer of Rebels, also has new hopes for the character. A few days after the release of The Rose of Skywalker, Filoni tweeted an illustration focused on Ahsoka.
The drawing shows Ahsoka in her cloak standing next to Gandalf the horror of the Lord of the Rings. Gandalf tells Ahsoka: “People thought I was dead too. Look how it turned out .” Gandalf the Gray dies in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and later returns as Gandalf the White in Lord of the Rings: The two towers back. Filoni’s comic suggests that Ahsoka, like Gandalf before her, may still be alive and is waiting to reappear in the Star Wars universe.
This is not a confirmation that Ahsoka is alive – it could simply indicate that Ahsoka’s story is not over. Which raises the question .
Is Ahsoka a Jedi?
Ahsoka moves away from the Jedi order and from her former master. Picture: Lucasfilm Ltd.
At the end of the fifth season of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka leaves the Jedi Order. It roams the galaxy and becomes a great asset in building the rebel alliance. But she’s not up to date on Jedi business. By the end of the second season of Rebels, she wasn’t even aware that Anakin had turned into Darth Vader.
Ahsoka is still a Force user in Rebels and wears two white lightsabers – but that doesn’t mean she’s a traditional Jedi. Some fans would say that she is a gray Jedi, that is, a Jedi who either walks the line of light and dark or operates outside the Jedi order.
Based on Ahsoka’s own language in Star Wars Rebel’s “Shroud of Darkness” episode, she doesn’t even consider herself a Jedi despite her years of training in order. Why is she in Rey’s head at the end of The Rise of Skywalker when Rey says all the Jedi are with her? And more importantly, what has happened to Ahsoka in the last six films?
Ahsoka could return to Star Wars
The last time we see Ahsoka in Rebels is looking for Ezra.Image: Lucasfilm Ltd.
After Ahsoka wants to save Ezra – shortly after the events of Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi – there are no canonical stories that record their actions. The next time we hear from her, she’s a spirit of power in Rey’s head. It’s a long period of time to lose a character – about 30 years.
A lot can happen during this time. The Empire or the First Order could have hunted them. A wampa could have attacked her while speaking to a Tauntaun. This has happened to great Force users. The galaxy is a dangerous place, even for powerful Force users like Ahsoka. But after overcoming so many challenges, it is more than disappointing for fans to learn that her death took place off-screen.
The good news is that Ahsoka can return to Star Wars in many places before The Rise of Skywalker.
During the Mandalorian era, we knew that Ahsoka and Sabine Wren – a Mandalorian herself – were looking for Ezra Bridger. Should the two parties ever meet on the show, we could finally find out what will happen to the rebel crew of Ahsoka, Sabine and Ezra. Ahsoka would surely be able to pass on a lot of knowledge to Baby Yoda.
It is also possible that Ahsoka will appear in Disney Plus’ upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show, although it would be between The Clone Wars and Rebels. But if Ahsoka meets with the former master of her former master, it would not reveal anything about how she will be dead until the time of The Rise of Skywalker.
Even if Ahsoka isn’t featured in Lucasfilm’s current live action list or upcoming cartoon series, she could reappear in another Star Wars adventure. There is still a lot to tell between the original films and the continuation of the trilogy. And Ahsoka would surely offer a unique perspective on the Star Wars universe as it moves from one evil rule to the next.
