Star Wars Ahsoka Show Casts Live-Action Ezra Bridger

Ahead of the franchise’s D23 panel, the new Star Wars show Ahsoka has expanded its cast with the addition of Red 11‘s Eman Esfandi as a live-action Ezra Bridger. Bridger previously made his franchise debut with Star Wars Rebels, in which he went from being an orphaned street urchin and con artist to learning the ways of the Jedi and joining the Rebel Alliance to take down the Sith. The 2014 animated show ended with Ezra seemingly sacrificing himself in order to defeat the evil Grand Admiral Thrawn, with the two left floating in space in a Force air pocket he created.

Ahsoka is expected to act as a sequel to both Star Wars Rebels, in which she played a recurring role, as well as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which Rosario Dawson made her live-action debut as the former Jedi Padawan. Though plot details are being kept under wraps, the live-action series is expected to follow Ahsoka as she ventures through the galaxy in search of Grand Admiral Thrawn, whom she believes to still be alive. With the Star Wars: Rebels villain seemingly set to make his return, it appears another animated character will be making their live-action debut.

With the series already expected to include multiple other animated characters making their live-action debuts, The Hollywood Reporter has brought word that the new Star Wars show Ahsoka has officially cast its live-action Ezra Bridger. The Rebels character will be played by Eman Esfandi, best known for his work in Robert Rodriguez’s Red 11 and the gay military drama The Inspection, which recently debuted to very positive reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Ahsoka Ezra casting comes just a day before the franchise’s D23 panel.

Given the Ahsoka show is already slated to include Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren in her live-action debut and footage shown during the Star Wars Celebration this past May confirmed Hera Syndulla and Chopper are expected to be included, it may not come as much of a surprise to learn that Ezra will be making his live-action debut in the show. That prior footage, which has not been released to the public, was also said to include a mural of Ezra, honoring his seeming sacrifice at the end of Star Wars Rebels to defeat Thrawn. With Ezra now confirmed to be returning for Ahsoka, and Dawson’s live-action version of the character having mentioned Thrawn in her The Mandalorian season 2 episode, one can hope the Star Wars Rebels characters will all reunite to face the Empire.

Now that Eman Esfandi is set at a live-action Ezra Bridger for Ahsoka, it will be interesting to see if he will get to reunite with Robert Rodriguez on an episode of the show. The duo previously worked together on Red 11, the sci-fi horror movie loosely inspired by the filmmaker’s own experiences described in his Rebel Without a Crew book, while Rodriguez has become a key figure in the small-screen Star Wars world, helming an episode of The Mandalorian and directing and producing multiple The Book of Boba Fett episodes. Only time will tell if the two will collaborate once again when Ahsoka hits Disney+ sometime next year.

Source: THR