Most Star Wars fans know Ahsoka from The Clone Wars and the Rebels animated series. The character did appear in live-action in The Mandalorian Season 2 with Rosario Dawson in the role. Dawson is set to play the character for the Disney Plus series as well. While little information is known about what the show will entail, her Mandalorian appearance has fans speculating that Ahsoka is on the hunt for fellow animated character Ezra Bridger, a character who disappeared during the events of Rebels. With Ahsoka likely set after that series, fans are wondering just who Winstead might be playing for the series.
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Like Ahsoka, Bariss Offee also trained to be a Jedi. The two were even friends for a time. That friendship dissolved when Offee began protesting the way the Jedi approached the Clone Wars. She did so by bombing a temple in protest - and framing Ahsoka. Offee was eventually arrested for the crime.
Since then, Offee hasn’t been present in much of the events in-universe, making her story one that writers could easily play around with. Her presence could give Ahsoka her own personal antagonist, giving the series a more focused approach. It was, after all, Offee’s decision to frame Ashsoka that led to the latter leaving the Jedi order completely. When others didn’t believe that she was framed, Ahsoka became disillusioned with the order herself. Whether Offee would actually be on the dark side of the force, or someone more in the middle ground, could make for a compelling foil.
Hera Syndulla comes from the animated side of the Star Wars universe as well, though the character has been more present than Offee. A Twi-lek, Hera can be found in video games as well as a captain of the Ghost. That’s the same ship Ezra Bridger served on during Rebels, making Hera a connection to the character if Ahsoka is actually still on a quest to track him down.
More female captains in the world of Star Wars is always a welcome addition, so that might be reason enough for fans to want Winstead in the role. Hera, however, has also been an ally of Ahsoka in the past, and cares about the wellbeing of her crew (or former crew), so she would be a natural choice in the search for Bridger - if that’s where Ahsoka’s story goes.
Doctor Aphra has become a fan-favorite character in the Star Wars universe thanks to her Marvel comic book series, so it’s only natural that fans are hoping for the character to appear in one of the many live-action installments of Star Wars coming to Disney Plus. Not much has been revealed about the character’s story in the world right after the original movie trilogy, leaving fans to be surprised about her place in the story.
The downside to Winstead potentially playing the character is that writers and artists have always approached Doctor Aphra with East Asian influence. Comic book editor Heather Antos even commented to confirm the character as Asian on her twitter. That’s led to a lot of armchair casting of Agents Of SHIELD’s Chloe Bennet in the role, so casting someone of another ethnicity in the part would certainly raise some eyebrows.
Because Star Wars is such an expansive universe, there are, of course, hundreds of characters that exist in the canon. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more.
Casting Winstead as someone who doesn’t already exist in animation, comics, or the Legends novels means that the writers of the series wouldn’t have to fit the character into their existing background. They also wouldn’t have quite as many fan expectations to deal with. A blank slate that can be used in any area of Star Wars means less restrictions on the writers and the actor. There have already been new characters reportedly created for Ahsoka as well. She could be one of them.
Ahsoka is currently in development for Disney Plus. For other live-action Star Wars content, both The Mandalorian and The Book Of Boba Fett are available to stream on the service.
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