Ahsoka’s Natasha Liu Bordizzo on Sabine’s Journey, Franchise Future

Next month’s Star Wars: Ahsoka sees the titular non-Jedi (voiced by Ashley Eckstein in animation and played in live-action by Rosario Dawson) make a return to live-action after previously showing up in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Outside of Ahsoka herself, the big draw of her show is seeing the return of beloved Star Wars Rebels characters such as Sabine Wren (Tiya Sicar/Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Rebels ended with the two women preparing to embark on a journey to find that show’s protagonist, Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray/Eman Esfadi).

While earlier shows have made it clear that Ahsoka’s been searching for Ezra in her own way, that same interiority hasn’t been afforded to Sabine, who hasn’t appeared in any post-Rebels media before now. Speaking to SFX Magazine, Bordizzo was asked about Sabine’s headspace when Ahsoka comes knocking on her door to truly begin their search. She said that in the years since the pair last interacted, they’ve each “been through a lot in the time that has passed, some of which we know about, some of which we don’t. […] Their quests kind of end up overlapping, bringing them back together.” Bordizzo acknowledged that while Sabine has a “deep level of respect” for Ahsoka and sees her as a potential mentor figure, the two will have some “tension, and there’s things they’ve been through that they need to work out.”

Though there’s still much about Ahsoka that we still don’t know, it’s already known that Ahsoka is set to return for Dave Filoni’s theatrical Star Wars movie. Reportedly titled Heir to the Empire, that film is set to bring together all the principal characters of the live-action shows set in the New Republic era for a big Avengers-style story. While she currently doesn’t know if Sabine will make an appearance in that, Bordizzo did admit to the outlet that she feels “part of something bigger” in playing the character. “Ahsoka runs along the same timeline as The Mandalorian season 3, and the shows are all connected. There’s just so many parallels.”

Star Wars: Ahsoka premieres on Disney+ starting on August 23.

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