Ray Stevenson sadly passed away back in May, long after production had wrapped on what would be his final project, Ahsoka. Fans wondered if the Disney+ Star Wars series would pay tribute to the late actor, and sure enough, the first episode concludes with a pre-credits title card:
"For Our Friend, Ray."
Ahsoka wasn't the actor's first trip to the Galaxy Far, Far Away, as he previously voiced Gar Saxon in Star Wars: Rebels and The Clone Wars animated shows.
Stevenson plays the villainous Baylan Skoll in The Mandalorian spin-off, and certainly makes an impact in the premiere, "Master and Apprentice." In the opening moments, Baylan and his ally Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakkno) pose as Jedi before wiping out the crew of a Republic transport in order to rescue Morgan Elspeth (Diana Lee Inosanto).
We later find out that Skoll was indeed a former Jedi who disappeared after the Order 66 purge, and is now working as a mercenary for hire. Elspeth has enlisted Baylan and his apprentice to track down a star-map that will ultimately lead to the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who we last saw in the series final of Star Wars Rebels.
Though Skoll is clearly going to serve as antagonist (at least in these first few episodes), he does appear to be conflicted about being tasked with taking down Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), since there are so few Jedi left in the galaxy.
Have you watched the first two episodes of Ahsoka? If so, what did you think?
Set after the fall of the Empire, Ahsoka follows the former Jedi knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.
The series stars Rosario Dawson in the title role, with Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth, Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati, Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll, David Tennant as Huyang, Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn, with Eman Esfandi appearing as Ezra Bridger.
Kevin Kiner was announced as the series' composer.
Ahoska is written by executive producer Dave Filoni, alongside executive producers Favreau, Kennedy, Wilson, and Beck. Gilchrist is co-executive producer. The series’ directors include Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Vasant Patel and Rick Famuyiwa.