Everything to know about the Ahsoka cast

After five years, the characters of Star Wars: Rebels are making the hyperspace jump from animation to reality. Ahsoka, the new Disney+ series premiering on Aug. 23, 2023, is a live-action Star Wars adventure starring Rosario Dawson as fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano, a Jedi warrior who discovers an old enemy has returned to threaten the galaxy.

Set after the fall of the Galactic Empire in Return of the Jedi (1983), the show brings Clone Wars veteran Ahsoka together with the crew from the animated series Star Wars Rebels, which ran for four seasons on Disney XD from 2014 to 2018. Rebels ended with Padawan hero Ezra Bridger disappearing into hyperspace with the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn — and his friends vowing to bring him home. Now, this live-action sequel will see Ahsoka, Sabine, Hera, and Chopper keep their promise to search for their long-lost friend.

Showrunner Dave Filoni has been guiding the journey of these characters for 15 years, beginning with the Clone Wars film in 2008, the series of the same name, and Rebels, among other franchise ventures. In 2019, the showrunner made his foray into live-action media as an executive producer of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, and now, he's ready to continue the story of Rebels in Ahsoka.

While the new show promises to satisfy Rebels fans, star Rosario Dawson is confident that it will also intrigue viewers who are meeting the character for the first time.

"I think whether you've seen the previous animations or have only seen these episodes, she's still quite mysterious at this stage and point in her life," Dawson told EW at the 2022 Star Wars Celebration. "That's what I think is the most exciting part of Ahsoka having her own series here, that you get to better understand her in this part of her journey."

Here's everything to know about the Ahsoka cast and their characters.

Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano)

Rosario Dawson stars as title character Ahsoka Tano, a veteran Jedi warrior and former apprentice to the legendary Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Ashley Eckstein was Ahsoka's original voice performer in The Clone Wars and Rebels, but Dawson later claimed the role in live-action mediums, first appearing in a 2020 episode of The Mandalorian. In 2022, Dawson returned as Ahsoka in an episode of The Book of Boba Fett, teasing her epic search for Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Director Larry Clark discovered Dawson when she was 15, casting her in his controversial 1995 indie drama Kids. The actress went on to star in high-profile films such as Josie and the Pussycats (2001), Men in Black II (2002), Rent (2005), Sin City (2005), Clerks II (2006), Unstoppable (2010), and The LEGO Batman Movie (2017).

Dawson was also a fixture in Marvel's many Netflix series, playing show-hopping night nurse Claire Temple in Daredevil (2015–2016), Jessica Jones (2015), Luke Cage (2016–2018), Iron Fist (2017–2018), and The Defenders (2017). In 2022, Dawson returned to her Clerks role, playing Becky in the series' third film. She can also be seen this summer starring in Disney's hair-raising ensemble comedy Haunted Mansion.

Long before she helmed the first female-led Star Wars show, Dawson was a fan of The Clone Wars. Then in 2017, she retweeted fan art of her as Ahsoka, which put her on Filoni's radar. Soon after, her dream became a reality when she was cast in The Mandalorian. "I was literally doing jumping jacks," Dawson told EW in June about being dressed up in character. "I remember seeing Jon and Dave's faces, like, 'Ooh, did we make the right decision? She's a little bit… hyped fangirl.'"

But showrunner Filoni has no regrets about casting Dawson to play Ahsoka in the flesh. "I was very fortunate," he said on a recent episode of EW's Star Wars podcast Dagobah Dispatch. "The whole thing kind of came together for me with Rosario when we talked with her, and when she put on the costume and became Ahsoka. I was like, you know, this is going to work. It really was as simple as that."

Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Sabine Wren)

Natasha Liu Bordizzo plays Mandalorian warrior, graffiti artist, and former bounty hunter Sabine Wren. Bordizzo is new to the Star Wars franchise, stepping into the shoes of Tiya Sircar, who played Sabine in Rebels.

Born in Sydney, Australia, Bordizzo started her career as a model before transitioning into acting. She made her debut as Snow Vase in the 2016 Netflix sequel Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. While the movie wasn't a hit with critics, Bordizzo was clearly a standout star.

The actress moved to Los Angeles in 2016, where she landed a supporting role in the hit musical The Greatest Showman (2017), followed by a featured part in the ensemble teen mystery drama The Society (2019). She later costarred in the animated comedy Wish Dragon (2021), appeared in the mystery-thriller The Voyeurs (2021), and played a friendly vampire in the comedy-horror film Day Shift (2022).

Bordizzo told EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast that she dedicated herself to learning all about her character's journey in Rebels. "I watched it all with the intention of capturing the essence of the character and having almost this free storage bank of memories to go from," she said. "It was awesome as an actor to have that. But then live-action is so different. So I absorbed it all, and then forgot it all at the same time — somewhere in the balance of that."

Fans learned from the Ahsoka trailer that Sabine spent her time since the events of Rebels training under Ahsoka to become a Jedi. However, Ahsoka admitted that she "walked away" before completing Sabine's training, so viewers could expect to see a difficult reunion between the Master and her former Padawan.

"Sabine's been through a lot and she's still a stubborn cookie," Bordizzo said. "But I think that you find her at the end of Rebels, she was a huge part of the liberation of Lothal and many regard her as this hero, but she so does not feel that way about herself. She's only thinking about the obligation she has towards her friend. She's got that mission in mind, not her hero status. And she has got a huge journey to go on with Ahsoka, so we find her at the start of that."

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Hera Syndulla)

Mary Elizabeth Winstead plays green-skinned Twi'lek pilot Hera Syndulla, who's become a general in the New Republic since viewers last saw her. In Ahsoka, Winstead is playing a role originated by Vanessa Marshall in the animated series.

Winstead began her acting career on the NBC daytime soap Passions in 1999. She then made a name for herself in horror films, appearing in Final Destination 3 (2006), Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), and 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016). In 2010, Winstead notably played the ultimate manic pixie dream girl, Ramona Flowers, in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World alongside Michael Cera. She later costarred in the Die Hard films Live Free or Die Hard (2007) and A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) as McClane's daughter Lucy.

More recently, Winstead starred opposite Ewan McGregor on the third season of Fargo (2017), and further endeared herself to science fiction and comics fans with roles in Gemini Man (2019) with Will Smith and 2020's Birds of Prey with Margot Robbie.

In May 2023, Winstead spoke on EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast about what it was like stepping into the role of Hera for Ahsoka. "Having a character who's already existed and has such a rich history on something like Rebels, as an actor, it's incredible," she said. "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."

In Rebels, Hera was both a captain of her crew and a nurturing parent figure, supporting both Ezra and Sabine as they grew to full maturity. By the time that Ahsoka begins, the green-skinned pilot has also become a legend: a hero of the Rebellion and a leader in the New Republic. "Seeing those things combined is very unusual," Winstead reflected, "and something that I really wanted to play on screen, because that's such an aspirational thing, I think, as a woman — or just a person — to be able to be all of those things in one."

Meanwhile, in our own galaxy, Winstead has another tie to the Star Wars universe: In April 2022, she married Ewan McGregor, also known as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the self-titled Disney+ series. Winstead and McGregor met on the set of Fargo in late 2016, and the couple has one son, born in June 2021.

Winstead reports that her husband was thrilled to have her join the Star Wars family as well. "He was just so happy and excited for me," Winstead told EW. "He really was. He's just like, 'There's just nothing else like being embraced by this community and being a part of it. It's just such a special thing.'"

Lars Mikkelsen (Grand Admiral Thrawn)

Lars Mikkelsen plays the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn, bringing the storied character to live-action media for the first time. Mikkelsen voiced the character in Rebels' last two seasons, setting devious traps for the Ghost crew. In the 2018 series finale, Thrawn was dragged into hyperspace along with Jedi apprentice Ezra Bridger, and Mikkelsen figured that he was through playing the character. (Nope!)

Mikkelsen is a Danish actor who caught the eye of American audiences in the first season of the 2007 police procedural drama The Killing. Since then, he's played recurring roles on television series such as Sherlock (2014), House of Cards (2015–2018), and The Witcher (2019–present). Mickkelsen is also known for his turns in films like Headhunter (2009), The Day Will Come (2016), and the Danish TV series Forbrydelsen and Herrens Vejel (2017) — the latter of which won him an International Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor.

Grand Admiral Thrawn was created in 1991 by novelist Timothy Zahn in Heir to the Empire, the start of a hugely successful trilogy that's considered the starting point for the Star Wars Expanded Universe of books, comics, and video games. In better days, the blue-skinned, red-eyed Thrawn was a high-ranking military leader in the Galactic Empire, known for his keen intelligence and tactical cunning. Now, with the Empire in scattered remnants, he may be even more dangerous.

Speaking to the Dagobah Dispatch podcast, Mikkelsen revealed that he was surprised to be cast in the live-action series, but he had "no doubts" about joining the ensemble. "[Thrawn's] a top strategist," Mikkelsen said. "He's always seven paces ahead of anybody else. And ruthless, of course. But only when it's needed, actually. I think he thrives also with the creativity of the surroundings. I mean, he's not using people in a bad way. He's using their creativity to reach his goals."

Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader)

Given that the latest Ahsoka teaser trailer features Hayden Christensen's voice, all signs point to the actor returning as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Ahsoka takes place after Vader's death in Return of the Jedi, and it remains to be seen whether Anakin will appear in flashbacks, as a Force ghost, or in some other capacity.

Christensen is very familiar to the Star Wars audience, having played Anakin — the young Jedi who becomes the dreaded Darth Vader — in the prequel trilogy's Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). After a brief voice cameo in 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, Christensen returned to the character once again as the main antagonist in the 2022 Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Before he played the angst-ridden Anakin, Christensen had an early role as a troubled teenager in the 2001 drama Life as a House, which earned him both Golden Globe and SAG nominations. His other work includes turns in Shattered Glass (2003), Awake (2007), and Jumper (2008).

Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger)

Eman Esfandi plays Ezra Bridger, an orphaned teen who survived as a con artist and thief before joining the crew of the Ghost and becoming a Jedi apprentice. Ezra — previously voiced in animated form by Taylor Gray — is Esfandi's chance to break big with an important role in the new Disney+ series.

Born in Laredo, Texas, Esfandi is a relative newcomer to both acting and singing. He released his first rap EP under the name DragonWulf during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. His two latest EPs, La Vie En Vert and La Sagrada Familia, were released in May 2023.

Esfandi launched his acting career with a small role in 2021's King Richard followed by the A24 drama The Inspection (2022). In 2018, he directed two short films, Pepito and 120.

The actor credits his role in Ahsoka to manifesting his desires through his music. "I dropped A DragonWulf Summer, and it's very flex rap and extravagant," he told the Laredo Morning Times in May 2023. "And that's when I booked Star Wars. It doesn't get more obvious that these concepts work. You live in the end, adopt the feeling of your wish fulfilled and stay true to that."

Ray Stevenson (Baylan Skoll)

The late Ray Stevenson plays the fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll, a survivor of the Great Jedi Purge who renounced the Light Side of the Force and became one of Grand Admiral Thrawn's allies. Stevenson came to the project as a veteran of the Star Wars universe, having voiced Commander Gar Saxon in several episodes of The Clone Wars and Rebels, although he returns in Ahsoka in a different role.

Stevenson was an Irish actor known to American audiences as Frank Castle in 2008's Punisher: War Zone, Titus Pullo in the HBO series Rome (2005–2007), and as Volstagg in three of the MCU's Thor movies from 2011 to 2017. His additional film work included The Three Musketeers (2011), Kill the Irishman (2011), the Divergent franchise, and RRR (2022).

Sadly, Stevenson died in May 2023. A month prior, the actor gushed to EW about how much he adored working on Ahsoka, which will now feature him in a posthumous role: "...what I'm overwhelmed with overall is a humility of greatness from the top all the way down through every department — the hours put in, the quality of work — and you can't wait to get back to set and see what's going to be revealed that day."

Ivanna Sakhno (Shin Hati)

Ivanna Sakhno plays Shin Hati, Baylan Skoll's apprentice wielding the Dark Side of the Force.

Born in Ukraine, Sakhno first appeared on Ukranian television before moving to the U.S. at age 15 to pursue an acting career. You may recognize her from the robots-fighting-monsters film Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) or the action comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018). Additionally, Sakhno has appeared in the TV series High Fidelity (2020) and The Reunion (2022).

Sakhno told the Dagobah Dispatch podcast that she sees her character as more than just a villain: "I hope that despite her darkness of a character, we're able to also expand our understanding of that darkness within someone, and the reason behind it. I really care so much about her, and I feel like it's my job to take care of her and protect her."

David Tennant (Huyang)

David Tennant returns to voice Huyang, an ancient droid who crafts lightsabers, after having appeared in two episodes of The Clone Wars in 2012, netting him a Daytime Emmy in 2013 for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program. For Ahsoka, Tennant took the unusual step of recording all of the droid's dialogue in advance so that his fellow actors could respond to his voice on set.

Tennant is best known to fans as the Tenth Doctor in the long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who, in which he starred from 2005 to 2010. In a surprise twist, Tennant will be returning as the Fourteenth Doctor in the show's upcoming 60th anniversary specials.

Among his numerous acclaimed works are Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), the BBC television movie Hamlet (2009), the British crime drama Broadchurch (2013–2017), the Marvel series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), and the Amazon Prime fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present).

Genevieve O'Reilly (Mon Mothma)

Genevieve O'Reilly returns to the Star Wars universe as the revolutionary leader and Galactic Senator Mon Mothma, a long-running background character originally played in a very brief cameo by Caroline Blakiston in Return of the Jedi (1983) who has recently become much more prominent in the franchise.

O'Reilly is an Irish actress who was raised in Adelaide, Australia. She was first cast as a young Mon Mothma for the 2005 prequel Revenge of the Sith, although most of her scenes were cut from the film. After Kath Soucie voiced the character in four episodes of The Clone Wars, O'Reilly reprised the role in Rogue One (2016), Rebels (2017), and as a central player in the Disney+ series Andor (2022). Now, she'll return as Mon Mothma in Ahsoka.

Her other projects include the British romantic drama Forget Me Not (2010), the spy thriller Survivor (2015), the indie mystery film The Dry (2020), and playing Princess Diana in the TLC docudrama Diana: Last Days of a Princess (2007). 

Diana Lee Inosanto (Morgan Elsbeth)

Diana Lee Inosanto reprises the role of sinister magistrate Morgan Elsbeth, who first appeared opposite Ahsoka as a follower of Grand Admiral Thrawn in season 2 of The Mandalorian.

In addition to her acting roles, Inosanto is also a stuntwoman, a martial artist, and a director. She did stunts for the 2015 film Spy and the Alita: Battle Angel (2019), among others. Her film The Sensei was released in 2008.

Wes Chatham (Captain Enoch)

Wes Chatham reportedly will play Captain Enoch, Grand Admiral Thrawn's right-hand man.

While new to the Star Wars franchise, Chatham is familiar to genre fans from his role as Amos Burton in the science fiction series The Expanse (2015–2022). He also appeared in the films In the Valley of Elah (2007), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I and Part II (2014–2015), and Tenet (2020).

Related content:

• Ahsoka awakens: Rosario Dawson's journey from 'hyped fangirl' to lightsaber-wielding warrior

• See Sabine, Thrawn, and an adorable Loth-cat in new Ahsoka photos

• Rosario Dawson explains how Ashley Eckstein's heart lives in Ahsoka