Here’s Why ‘Ahsoka’ Is Basically ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ Season 5

The upcoming ‘Ahsoka’ series is picking up some steam, especially because fans of ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ and ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ have been following Ahsoka Tano’s story for a long time already. Of course, ‘Ahsoka’ is also set to see the return of some of the most beloved characters from the ‘Rebels’ franchise, especially with Grand Admiral Thrawn serving as the series’ primary antagonist. So, why is it that ‘Ahsoka’ is often called ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ season 5?

‘Ahsoka’ is ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ season 5 in spirit because Dave Filoni, the creator of both of these storylines, said that ‘Ahsoka’ is the continuation story of ‘Rebels.’ Of course, ‘Ahsoka’ is also set to see the reunion of the characters from ‘Rebels’ and the return of Thrawn.

It might be true that ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ ended with a good conclusion, but there were still stories left open by the ending. This included Ezra Bridger’s fate. Of course, we also know that Ahsoka Tano’s story is not yet over, especially when we know that she will die somewhere down the line before the events of the sequel trilogy. Now, let’s look at why ‘Ahsoka’ is ‘Rebels’ season 5.

Series creator Dave Filoni said so

While George Lucas may be responsible for the birth of the entire Star Wars series and the rise of this fictional storyline to massive proportions as a pop culture phenomenon, many people love Dave Filoni’s work within the greater Lucasfilm franchise. After what was regarded as a disappointing work on the 2008 ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ movie, Filoni followed that up with a masterpiece when he brought the Clone Wars to life in the seven seasons of ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars.’ 

In that regard, many people have been saying that Filoni is the best thing to ever happen to Star Wars since George Lucas. He followed up ‘Clone Wars’ with a massive success of a series in the form of ‘Star Wars: Rebels,’ which is set a few years before the events of ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.’

Of course, Filoni’s work had been limited to the animated world before he was brought in to help develop the Mandalorian-era shows.

Nevertheless, Filoni was finally given a big break in the world of live-action storylines when he was tasked to develop the ‘Ahsoka’ series, which takes place in the same timeline as ‘The Mandalorian.’ This is where it gets interesting because much of the storyline of ‘Ahsoka’ can be traced back to the events of ‘Rebels,’ which ended nicely but with a minor cliffhanger.

In ‘Rebels,’ Ahsoka Tano played a secondary role to the likes of Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Zeb, and Chopper. However, she became an important character in the continuity of ‘Rebels’ because of her connection to Darth Vader, who appeared as one of the main antagonists of season 2. Ahsoka’s story in ‘Rebels’ ended when Ezra rescued her from Vader through the World Between Worlds as she decided to go on a spiritual journey during the entire time that Luke Skywalker and the other Rebels were fighting the Empire in the original Star Wars movies.

The ending scene of ‘Rebels’ allowed us to see the main characters celebrating the defeat of the Empire years after Ezra defeated Grand Admiral Thrawn and disappeared into space with him. However, Ahsoka returned in season 2 of ‘The Mandalorian,’ wherein she befriended Din Djarin during the time that she was finding clues related to Grand Admiral Thrawn.

In that regard, Ahsoka’s story is not yet over, as she is trying to find the last great remnant of the Empire in the form of Thrawn, who is currently the greatest threat to the New Republic. Of course, there’s also the fact that she and her allies are also still searching for Ezra, who is still out there in the galaxy.

Because of the overall premise of the ‘Ahsoka’ series, which is set to see Thrawn returning as the main villain of the storyline, Dave Filoni said that this series is basically the continuation of ‘Star Wars: Rebels.’ It acts as the live-action version of ‘Rebels’ and is also its fifth season because it still focuses on the same story established back in the events of the animated series.

‘Ahsoka’ is the reunion of the ‘Rebels’ characters

Of course, the biggest reason why ‘Ahsoka’ is basically ‘Rebels’ season 5 is the fact that this serves as the reunion of all of the characters from the ‘Rebels,’ except for Kanan Jarrus, who died a heroic death back in the events of the animated series. We already know that Thrawn will return as the greatest threat to the galaxy during that era. But we also know that our favorite Rebels will return as live-action characters.

We already saw Zeb back in the events of ‘The Mandalorian’ season 3. But we also know that Hera, Sabine, and Chopper will be in the series. Of course, the big mystery is Ezra’s whereabouts, as he will likely appear during the latter portion of the storyline.

In that regard, Ahsoka, who used the codename “Fulcrum” back in ‘Rebels,’ is set to reunite with the friends and allies she met years ago. And with Ahsoka Tano and the Spectres leading the way as the main characters of ‘Ahsoka,’ the series seems more like a continuation of the ‘Rebels’ storyline instead of acting as a standalone series that focuses on the titular character.

We also know that ‘Ahsoka’ will likely tie up loose ends never addressed when the ‘Rebels’ series ended. The storylines of Ahsoka, Ezra, and Thrawn come to mind. As such, the series will also conclude some of the subplots we saw during the events of ‘Rebels.’

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