This news has been a long time coming, but Cinelinx - a site with a solid track record when it comes to Star Wars scoops - has revealed who will play the live-action Ezra Bridger.
It briefly looked like Aladdin star Mena Massoud might have nabbed the part. The character, played by Taylor Gray in Star Wars Rebels, is expected to be front and centre in Ahsoka as the title character finally tracks him down following his and Grand Admiral Thrawn's mysterious disappearance at the end of that animated series.
Alas, things clearly didn't work out for Massoud as The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com) confirms that Eman Esfandi (King Richard) has indeed nabbed the part.
We're no expecting the news to be made officially official during Lucasfilm's D23 presentation tomorrow. Esfandi is a relative unknown, but clearly impressed Dave Filoni and has what it takes to do the character he created justice on screen.
It was in The Mandalorian that we first learned Ahsoka Tano is hunting Thrawn, with it then becoming apparent that she hasn't given up on Ezra after he "sacrificed" himself to save his friends from the villainous Imperial.
Talking of Thrawn, there's an update on that front too. Despite previously hearing that Lars Mikkelsen, who voiced the character in Rebels, would not play the live-action version, they're now hearing that he will. We certainly hope that's the case because it's hard to imagine anyone better for the role, especially after Mikkelsen's distinct portrayal of the villain.
D23 is fast approaching and we're expecting to learn more about Ahsoka later today. That may or may not include a trailer, but we certainly expect some casting news for the series at the very least.
The series is expected to premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2023.
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