The first trailer for Ahsoka was released during Star Wars Celebration last month (see below), and the footage confirmed that The Mandalorian spin-off will see several fan-favorite characters from the Star Wars Rebels animated series make their live-action debut.
Among them is Hera Syndulla, the heroic Twi'lek resistance leader turned general, and captain of The Ghost.
While speaking to EW about her first trip to the Galaxy Far, Far Away, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Birds of Prey, Fargo) explained why being able to use Rebels' take on the character as a reference point was so beneficial.
"Having a character who's already existed and has such a rich history on something like Rebels, as an actor, it's incredible. Because sometimes we're tasked with creating our own backstories or trying to flesh out a character that doesn't really have that much on the page. And so to play a character that has season after season of storylines and complex histories with everyone in their life and relationships and experiences was really something I've never experienced quite like that."
Ahsoka is set quite a while after the events of the Rebels series finale (we're not sure how long, exactly), and it sounds like Hera's reputation as a fearless leader has grown to the point that she's now considered something of a "legend."
"I see Hera as an incredibly strong but complicated person," Winstead adds. "She is very maternal, but also she's this leader of this crew. And as we see, she continues and becomes a general. And so she's leading quite a lot of people and she's become something of a legend in her own right."
Hera and the late Jedi Kanan Jarrus had a son, Jacen, but if the Force-sensitive lad (who would now be significantly older) is set to appear in Ahsoka, we're going to have to wait until the show premieres on August 31 to find out!
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, 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.