It’s important.
In a recent interview with Japanese outlet Sora News, Abrams did the standard press junket interview, you know, promoting one of the biggest franchise films ever made and all that. Normal, routine stuff, until the interviewer asked Abrams who his favourite Star Wars character was.
“Han Solo,” is Abrams’s not terribly surprising answer. Then he threw the question back: who’s the interviewer’s favourite? The interviewer responds: Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice and prominent non-Jedi Force user in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.
To which Abrams replied, “Hmmm, Ahsoka, huh? Well then you’ll probably want to watch closely during The Rise of Skywalker.”
What? Like, for real? Considering how much has already been revealed about The Rise of Skywalker in marketing up until this point, there’s considerable reason to believe that Abrams may be telling the truth. And if he is, that means that Ahsoka might indeed make a small, likely background appearance as the Skywalker saga rockets to its final conclusions.
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If so, that would be an interesting choice, and would make a gesture that, so far, at least, the Skywalker Saga films have not been all that interested in making. While Rogue One and Solo have referenced substantially the animated side of the Star Wars universe, it’s always felt sequested from the mainline series. Ahsoka was never mentioned in Revenge of the Sith because she was created after that film was written; her appearance in even a minor role or throwaway ensemble shot would suggest an interest in more closely harmonizing those disparate parts of the universe. Which would be neat.
It’d also let us know more information about what Ahsoka has been up to since Return of the Jedi (how long do togruta live, anyway?), giving probably the only hint we’re going to get until Dave Filoni decides to do something else with her.Â