Ahsoka season 2 brings back 11 Star Wars characters — but 1 won't return

Right, proper news for Star Wars fans with long memories and short patience — Ahsoka is officially getting a second season, but you might want to get comfortable: it won’t hit Disney+ until early 2027. That’s a nearly four-year gap since the season one finale, which left Ahsoka herself stranded in some distant galaxy and Thrawn, the blue-skinned troublemaker, finally slipping back into the main arena. Whether you call it the Mando-verse or just Dave Filoni running wild with his interconnected Star Wars threads, Ahsoka’s part of a sprawling saga that knits together The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Skeleton Crew, and a fair chunk of Rebels continuity.

Ahsoka Season 2: Who’s Back, Who’s Not, and What’s Going On

There’s a veritable reunion of familiar faces in the pipeline—most of them making the jump from animation to live action, with an awkward recast here and there (thanks, Disney, for being stingy on pay for certain actors). Here’s the confirmed line-up and the one iffy spot.

• Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson — confirmed)
  Obviously. You can’t have Ahsoka without Ahsoka. Dawson’s now turning in her third live-action run as the seasoned Jedi (having popped up in The Mandalorian and Boba Fett before nabbing her own show), after Ashley Eckstein originated the role in all things animated. Expect Ahsoka front and centre again for Season 2.


• Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo — confirmed)
  Once the Mandalorian street artist and gadget whizz from Rebels, Sabine’s now training in the Jedi ways – albeit not brilliantly, judging by the fallout with her old master. She ended Season 1 marooned in another galaxy right alongside Ahsoka. Still, the former student/teacher pair are on speaking terms again, so expect that dynamic to keep driving the plot.


• Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi — confirmed)
  Ezra had been missing since the end of Rebels — five to nine very lonely years for him. Season 1 finally brought him home, which raises the intriguing question: where’s he been during the original trilogy, and what happens now that Return of the Jedi has wrapped up? Will he cross paths with Luke Skywalker? Season 2 is poised for answers, or at least more speculation.


• Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead — confirmed)
  The general and former Phoenix Squad boss (from Rebels) made her return, now serving the New Republic and reuniting with Ezra in the first season’s closing moments. Hera’s son, Jaycen (the only human-Twi’lek hybrid on the roster), might return, but nothing’s officially locked in for his actor, Evan Whitten.


• C1-10P "Chopper" (Dave Filoni — confirmed)
  Never mind the space battles — Chopper’s the real chaos engine, with Dave Filoni still growling his lines through layers of digital droid babble. Having cameo’d in Rogue One and gotten properly visible on Ahsoka, the grumpiest droid in Star Wars will stick by Hera as always.


• Garazeb 'Zeb' Orrelios (Steve Blum — confirmed)
  Zeb missed out on Season 1 but finally cropped up live-action in The Mandalorian and The Mandalorian & Grogu. Footage from Star Wars Celebration confirms Zeb’s in for Season 2, rounding out the full Rebels family reunion.


• Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen — confirmed)
  Christensen’s take on Anakin received a rough ride back in the prequel days, but fans seem to have forgiven him. After limited but memorable appearances in Season 1 — holograms, Force tricks, the works — reports say he’ll be more involved the second time round. That might mean more of Anakin and Ahsoka sharing scenes, something the films never gave us.


• Admiral Ackbar (TBC — confirmed, actor not announced)
  Because it’s not a Star Wars party without someone blurting 'It’s a trap!' Ackbar, mostly background in Ahsoka’s first season, is confirmed to show up properly for Season 2. Don’t panic about his fate — he’s canonically safe for at least another 25 years.


• Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen — confirmed)
  Thrawn’s been built up as the main villain for this whole era. With Mikkelsen reprising the role he voiced in Rebels, and now striding about in blue makeup in the flesh, his return to the main galaxy is the big threat hanging over the story. Expect a lot more Imperial mischief.


• Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno — confirmed)
  Last seen stranded in the other galaxy, lightsaber drawn, sizing up a motley crew of bandits. As Baylan Skoll’s apprentice, she’s got plenty of scope — might stick with being a villain, or let’s be honest, she could be due a redemption arc if Filoni’s feeling sentimental.


• Baylan Skoll (Rory McCann, replacing Ray Stevenson — confirmed)
  Skoll’s not your standard Jedi — a survivor of Order 66, now basically a Force-using mercenary with his eyes on the mysterious Mortis Gods. Ray Stevenson absolutely owned the role in Season 1, but after his passing in 2023, Game of Thrones alum Rory McCann is stepping in. It’ll be interesting to see that transition on screen.


• Great Mother Klothow (Claudia Black — unconfirmed)
  You may remember the Nightsister matriarch, played by Claudia Black in Season 1. Trouble is, she’s told everyone she turned down Disney’s offer to return because it simply wouldn’t cover her costs living in LA while shooting in London. We don't know if they’ll recast, or if Klothow just quietly disappears.

If you’re still keeping a tally, nearly everyone from the Rebels core group is set for another round, with the only major question mark hanging over Klothow's absence or recasting. All of this, of course, threads deeply into the wider universe Filoni’s assembling, which is frankly a logistical headache but a treat for anyone following all the Disney+ series like homework.