The Rise of Skywalkerfinally hit theaters over the weekend and it brought with it much to discuss. Love it or hate it, that is hard to deny. As with any movie in a major franchise such as this, there were plenty of reveals, big moments and, in this case, character deaths to digest. Though, some were a bit more obvious than others. There is one major death that was seemingly confirmed in the movie, but in a roundabout way that may have eluded some.
Warning: majorspoilersahead forStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Read on at your own risk. During the movie’s climax, Rey has an encounter with many Jedi of the past, their voices anyway, before she manages to defeat Palpatine. Amongst these voices Rey hears is that ofAhsoka Tano, voiced by Ashley Eckstein, the same actress who plays the character inThe Clone WarsandRebels. It’s a small moment, but one that finally acknowledges the fan-favorite character in the movies, which is no small thing. But the way in which she was acknowledged seems to have also signified that Ahsoka is dead.
The otherJedi voices Rey hearsduring this sequence all come from dead Jedi. Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, Mace Windu and Kanan Jarrus all can be heard speaking to Rey, and every single one of them is dead. Granted, Samuel L. Jackson has repeatedly expressed his theory that Mace Windu survived his encounter with Palpatine inRevenge of the Sith, but nothing in canon supports that. As such, we must also presume that Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice is also dead, as difficult as that may be for certain lovers of the franchise to accept.
When last we saw Ahsoka was in theRebelsseries finale. We see that the Jedi survived through the events ofReturn of the Jediand, after the Empire fell, she went off with Sabine to search for Ezra in theunknown regions. A number of years passed betweenReturn of the JediandThe Rise of Skywalkerand a lot could have happened. Undoubtedly, there is an Ahsoka Tano story to tell in there somewhere. Especially if she truly did die. Was she killed? Or was Ahsoka one of the rare Jedi that lived out her years and died in peace? A question for another time, perhaps.
Ahsoka, when she was first introduced inThe Clone Warsanimated movie, was wildly unpopular. The shift of her character from relatively obscure, unliked newbie to becoming one of the most popular and beloved characters in all the franchise is truly remarkable. In that way, it’s great that she finally got recognition in the world of live-action alongside her fellow Jedi. On the other hand, it’s a shame that recognition also brings with it sad news. Then again, Ahsoka died before and came back, so who knows? #AhsokaLives.Walt DisneyPictureshasStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerin theaters now.
