The Star Wars franchise is enlisting talent from the Spider-Man universe for the upcoming Ahsoka Tano series. Peter Ramsey, one of the directors of Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, has been tapped to helm Ahsoka.
Peter Ramsey co-directed the acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse with fellow filmmakers Bob Persichetti and Rodney Rothman. For his work, Ramsey became the first Black filmmaker to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, which is likely just one of the reasons why the Star Wars team wanted him for the directing gig.
News of Ramsey being brought on to direct Ahsoka was first revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, with the outlet noting that production is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles later this month. At this time, additional directors have not been announced, though Ramsey and any others taking on directorial duties will helm episodes penned by Executive Creative Director at Lucasfilm Dave Filoni. Jon Favreau, who helped launched Disney's Star Wars television library as an executive producer and writer of The Mandalorian, will executive produce Ahsoka with Filoni. Lucasfilm had no comment on the news of Ramsey directing Ahsoka.
Ahsoka plot details are currently unknown, though the conclusion of The Mandalorian episode in which Rosario Dawson made her debut in the titular role seemed to have set up the story for her solo adventure. As fans may recall, the episode in question ended with Ahsoka seemingly heading out to search for the missing Grand Admiral Thrawn, picking up on a plot thread from Star Wars Rebels. Dawson will of course reprise her role as Ahsoka, and she will be joined by newcomers Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ivanna Sakhno and Natasha Liu Bordizzo. Hayden Christensen will also return as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, potentially paving the way for a reunion between Ahsoka and her former Jedi master.
Christensen's return as Darth Vader, however, will first occur in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. While the nature of his role in both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka remains unclear, fans who grew up in the Star Wars prequel era are excited to see Christensen reprise his iconic role.
Ahsoka Tano established her own fanbase after being introduced in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie and animated series. While some initially questioned how Anakin could have had a padawan who was never mentioned in Revenge of the Sith, the Clone Wars writers found a creative solution to that problem and the character endeared herself to fans who are excited she's finally landed a live-action solo series.
Star Wars: Ahsoka is currently in pre-production.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter