The Big Picture
- Dave Filoni continues to expand the “Mandoverse” with more stories and shows, potentially leading to a grand finale feature film directed by Filoni himself.
- There is a strong likelihood of a second season of Ahsoka, although it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet. However, delays caused by ongoing strikes may affect the timeline.
- The season finale of Ahsoka received mixed reviews, with criticisms towards the show’s writing and lack of diversity in the writer’s room. Future seasons may benefit from a more diverse range of voices.
Last night saw the conclusion to Ahsoka Season 1, but now it seems that the series may have more gas left in the tank, rather than as a limited series, as Dave Filoni continues to build stories around his favorite characters from the animated canon of Star Wars. Filoni’s worldbuilding began with The Mandalorian, and has extended outwards in a large, sprawling and, admittedly, messy narrative which has now spanned at least three different shows including the aforementioned duo alongside The Book of Boba Fett.
We know that Filoni has grand plans for his “Mandoverse” story, which has been tied together through the various shows in which he, along with the likes of Jon Favreau and Rick Fawuyiwa have been working on for a number of years now, with the grand finale intended to be a feature film, directed by Filoni himself, and the conclusion to Ahsoka was open-ended, if not a definitive cliffhanger, with Rosario Dawson‘s titular character stranded in another galaxy alongside Natasha Liu Bordizzo‘s Sabine Wren.
Interestingly, it appears that the second season of Ahsoka might arrive before the movie. According to a report from Deadline, there’s a strong likelihood of a second season happening, although it hasn’t been officially confirmed. Currently, there are no obvious indications that Ahsoka will be returning in televisual form, so we may need to be patient and wait a bit longer to see if it actually happens. The report notes that plans and development for a second season are in the works, but that the double-edged sword of the ending WGA strike and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike have caused delays, regardless of intentions.
A Mixed Bag for ‘Ahsoka’
In her review of the season finale, Collider’s Maggie Lovitt praised the show’s excitement, but was critical of what she felt was a weakness in the show’s writing, with the entire series penned by Filoni.
Ahsoka certainly had its moments of excitement, but they were often wedged between overwrought nostalgia and an ignorance toward what made Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars work. The cast and the directors—including Episode 8’s Rick Famuyiwa—salvaged the series’ weak scripts, providing depth where there was only the shallow imprints of good storytelling. Hopefully, future seasons benefit from a more diverse range of voices in the writer’s room, not just behind the camera.
The first season of Ahsoka is currently streaming on Disney+. Next up in the Disney+ live-action Star Wars series universe is Skeleton Crew, Season 2 of Andor, and the debut of The Acolyte.
