Some new details have been revealed for a couple of recently announced Star Wars projects, namely Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic. The details were revealed by Jon Favreau, executive producer and writer of The Mandalorian, who has become an increasingly large part of the franchise. While much remains mysterious, Favreau has at least confirmed the rough timeline for the shows.
Jon Favreau recently made an appearance on Good Morning America to discuss, among other things, The Mandalorian season 2 finale. He also confirmed The Book of Boba Fett series and talked a bit about the ever-expanding Star Wars universe on Disney+. Without revealing too much, he had this to say about Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic.
“I’m working with my partner Dave Filoni, who is this fantastic producing partner, writer, who I met when I did a voice on The Clone Wars. We met up at the Skywalker Ranch. We’ve been working together on [The Mandalorian]. He’s doing Ahsoka, which he’s writing right now. Then we also have Rangers of the New Republic. All of them take place in the similar timeline here that is right after Return of the Jedi.”
Admittedly, that doesn’t give us much but it’s something. Both Ahsoka, which will bring back Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, and Rangers of the New Republic, will take place shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi. The Mandalorian takes place roughly 5 years after the events of that movie as well. This makes sense, as Lucasfilm had previously said that Rangers of the New Republic “will intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event.”
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy initially revealed these projects, and many more, during Disney’s investor day presentation. The idea, it seems, is that these shows will build to a crossover event of some sort. Perhaps not unlike what the Netflix Marvel shows did with The Defenders. Plot details for both shows remain firmly under wraps for the time being. Though with that Thrawn name-drop in The Mandalorian season 2 by Ahsoka, it is probably safe to assume the blue villain will make an appearance. Perhaps, and this is pure speculation, Thrawn will end up being the main villain of this crossover event, whenever that takes place.
The not-surprising confirmation that Dave Filoni is writing the Ahsoka show should comfort longtime fans. Filoni was the chief creative behind The Clone Wars alongside George Lucas, where the character made her debut. She is, in many ways, Filoni’s baby. Rangers of the New Republic, meanwhile, has no confirmed characters. But Gina Carano’s Cara Dune seems like a safe bet. There is no word yet on a possible premiere date for either of these shows. What we know for sure right now is that The Book of Boba Fett will arrive in December 2021. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details are made available. You can check out the full interview clip from the Good Morning America YouTube channel.
