After a dismal first outing under the creative direction of Disney, it seems as if the Star Wars franchise is turning a new page. The runaway success of The Mandalorian has brought fans back into the fold after the vast majority rejected the failed sequel trilogy, and it seems as if the harsh lesson was one learned.
Several Disney+ TV shows are now in the works, including one dedicated especially to Ahsoka Tano, who recently made a reappearance in The Mandalorian as a Force guide for bratty young Baby Yoda. As the show preps for launch, one can't help but wonder what important Star Wars characters are going to make a reappearance. Here are ten that definitely should.
Trace & Rafa Martez
The delayed final season of The Clone Wars put heavy emphasis on Ahsoka Tano as the main character driving the story arc. While the Clone Wars raged on, Ahsoka tried forging her own path, which brought her into the bowels of Coruscant's notorious 1313 district. This led her into the lives of Trace & Rafa Martez, two sisters who got involved in some illegal smuggling led by a Black Sun splinter cell.
Eventually, Ahsoka would take her leave from her new friends, but there's no reason why she couldn't revisit them years later. Surely, they would have a story or two to tell as they tried to escape to a better life.
Rotta The Hutt
Audiences were first introduced to Jabba the Hutt's infant son Rotta in the feature-length Clone Wars debut movie which paved the way for the eventual animated TV series. There, Ahsoka and Anakin were tasked with rescuing the young Hutt from Count Dooku and the Separatist forces who were trying to ruin the Jedi's relationship with the Outer Rim territories.
Rotta would be all grown up by the fall of the Empire, and it would be intriguing to see just what kind of path the character took. Would he become a vile gangster like his villainous late father, or would he pursue a more benevolent lifestyle that shunned the ways of the Hutts?
Plo Koon
As an alien, it would be easy to bring Plo Koon back into the Star Wars universe as a character on the Ahsoka series. Yes, the character was killed during Order 66 when his Jedi starfighter was shot down by his own squadron, but that doesn't mean the character doesn't have a story to tell.
Plo Koon's reappearance could come via flashbacks to Ahsoka's young past. It was he who found her and brought her to the Jedi Temple to be trained as a Jedi, and this pivotal period in her life could have been greatly influenced by his presence. Plus, he's too cool of a character to mothball permanently.
Ezra Bridger
A grown-up Ezra could make a grand reappearance after being away for so long. The character was first unveiled as a brash young apprentice in the Star Wars: Rebels animated series where he faced down everyone from Darth Maul to Grand Admiral Thrawn. His story arc focused primarily on his growth as a Jedi Padawan, and his determination to drive the Empire off of his homeworld of Lothal.
The Empire's fall could bring Bridger out of the shadows and into a more Jedi-friendly galaxy, especially with Luke Skywalker in the midst of rebuilding the Jedi Order. For such an important Rebel voice to simply drop away seems like a waste of good material.
Lux Bonteri
Ahsoka had a natural friend in young Lux Boneri, the son of Onderon Separatist senator Mina Bonteri during the Clone Wars. Following the Onderonian Civil War, Bonteri also became a senator representing his homeworld within the Republic. He eventually joined Saw Gerrera's factional resistance force, which later splintered off and became the official Rebellion.
Bonteri was no friend of the Empire, despite later marrying an Imperial and fathering a child who died while he was on a mission. His friendship with Ahsoka began on opposite sides of the Clone Wars, and it would be interesting to see it reignite following the fall of the Empire.
Captain Rex
This Clone Wars soldier was one of the few to disable the inhibitor chip implanted by Darth Sidious to command total obedience to Order 66. Without it, he'd have turned on his Jedi comrades the same as all the others. Rex escaped perpetual slavery as a disposable clone and made a name for himself in the battles yet to come.
When the Empire rose to become a galactic totalitarian threat, Rex fought alongside Rebel forces when they were just in their infancy. He made it all the way to the Battle of Endor, where he participated in the destruction of the second Death Star and the liberation of the galaxy. Now's the time for him to make a final comeback, played by Boba Fett actor Temuera Morrison, no less.
Bendu
The mysterious creature known as Bendu was a prominent figure in the latter half of Star Wars: Rebels. This entity represented the exact center of the Force between the light and dark sides. As such, Bendu held no affinity for one or the other and sought harmony above all else.
In many ways, Ahsoka Tano followed a similar path. She was neither Jedi nor Sith and was not above wielding elements from both sides in careful balance. The two met off-screen where Bendu spoke about Ahsoka's upcoming duel with Darth Vader, which paves the way for them to meet again in a TV episode.
Anakin Skywalker
The connection between Anakin and Ahsoka was powerful for many reasons. He was the Master who instructed her not just in the ways of the Force, but the art of war, as well. While the latter might have had a negative impact on how Ahsoka turned out, it may also have saved her life when Darth Sidious enacted Order 66.
Whatever the case, Hayden Christensen could make a return as Anakin's force ghost to guide Ahsoka during her post-Empire life. After all, the actor is set to make a return in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and he could just as easily cross over.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
It's no secret that Grand Admiral Thrawn is going to make a live-action appearance in the near future. One does not simply drop his name at the end of an episode and expect nothing to come of it. Therefore, this one can largely be written in as a guaranteed given.
The only question is, who would play the character? Few Star Wars alumni are so iconic and utterly cool as Thrawn is, and he deserves the AAA actor rollout for his first appearance. Side note: it's hard to imagine that a character first introduced in a Legends novel written by Timothy Zahn would prove to be so popular nearly thirty years later.
Barriss Offee
Of all the characters who need to make a comeback, Barriss Offee might be the most crucial. Many fans might have forgotten her name, but her actions are what led Ahsoka Tano to abandon the Jedi Order and forge a path for herself as a grey Jedi with no commitment to light or dark sides.
Barriss grew disillusioned with the Jedi Order's behavior during the Clone Wars, feeling that they had betrayed the Jedi code by becoming soldiers instead of peacemakers. She orchestrated the bombing of the Jedi Temple and was prepared to allow Ahoksa to take the fall for her crimes. Under duress, she confessed at the last minute, but Ahsoka was so soured by the ordeal that she rejected an invitation to rejoin the Jedi Order.