Earlier today, there was a report from /Film that shared some big news. According to sources from the outlet, fan-favorite character Ahsoka Tano would be joining The Mandalorian in its second season. Not only that, but the great Rosario Dawson would be joining as the character. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that Dawson is joining the series. I’ve loved in pretty much everything I’ve seen and I know she has some enthusiasm for the character. Add in the fact that she looks just like the character and you have a recipe for success. The fact that she’s joining is great. I just don’t like one thing: the fact that Ahsoka is joining at all.

RELATED – Rosario Dawson Cast As Ahsoka In The Mandalorian Season 2

The Last Jedi Almost Changed Things

When Star Wars: The Last Jedi hit theaters a couple of years ago, I was elated. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed The Force Awakens, but it was such a rehash of the original film that I worried the franchise would spend its time at Disney running in place. Why do something that takes risks when you can just use non-stop fan service instead? 

With The Last Jedi, they showed their willingness to take risks and expand the universe outside of its safe zone. I could even see it all leading to expanding the universe as a whole, allowing us to finally escape the same family of characters we’ve known for decades. Sadly, while I loved this, a lot of Star Wars fans did not. 

Reverting Back To Safe

What followed that? Well, we got the safe Solo: A Star Wars Story. While it wasn’t bad, it definitely didn’t take any risks and it ultimately ruined a character we all love. But then we got The Mandalorian. A lot of fans really seem to enjoy this show, but I was lukewarm on it. Why? While it had a refreshing tone to it, at its core, it felt little more than a kid playing with his action figures.

It was a safe and predictable story with Fauxba Fett, Baby Fauxda, and IG-Faux-Leven, among other comparable characters. The story itself consisted of safe, tried-and-true Western tropes. While it was fun at first, after a few episodes in, I felt like there wasn’t much else it was trying to say or add to the franchise.

And then there was The Rise of Skywalker. That movie felt like an insulting checklist of fan service to me and undid what came before it in many ways.

Between those two projects, the message seemed clear: fans wanted fan service, and Disney was happy to give them just that. 

The Mandalorian Season 2

While we don’t know know the story for the series yet, but Ahsoka Tano is disappointing for one reason: it limits the scope of the galaxy. I was disappointed with how The Rise of Skywalker brought things back to a select few groups of people and was disappointed with The Mandalorian in how it essentially took clones of beloved characters. My only hope here is that they would keep things isolated and continue to at least tell its own story separate from pre-existing Star Wars characters.

This news regarding Ahsoka Tano proves that there’s no such luck. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind the character at all, but am sad about what it means for future Star Wars properties. I have a hard time believing there will actually be a time where a space story can stand on its own merits in the Star Wars universe. In some ways, it will need to connect — be it in character races, timelines, or specific characters.

To me, that is disappointing.

So, What Do You Want, Fanboy?

You may be asking yourself what I want. First of all, I want more of the creature above — I don’t think I can state enough how much more alien milking we need in this series.

You may also be asking why I bother watching Star Wars at all. Why bother with this franchise if I don’t like its tropes? Growing up, it wasn’t the fact that there was Jedi, Sand People, or Jawas that I loved. It was the unique feeling it gave me compared to any other movie. What piqued my interest was its novelty and its ability to be weird while also being comfortable.

This simply isn’t something that can be replicated to me by repeating those same things. I need something new from the franchise. I need it to take risks and do unexpected things. Now, having said that, I fully acknowledge that this may simply not be the direction they are going. This is a tried-and-true franchise, and they’re going to do what works. At the end of the day, it may not be for me anymore, and that’s okay. 

Having said that, that doesn’t mean I can’t at least express my disappointment when the franchise takes yet another turn for the safe. But how do you feel about this? Are you as sad as I am to see more familiar faces in the upcoming Star Wars projects? Are you happy to see Ahsoka joining The Mandalorian? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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