The Star Wars Universe’s continuity has been a knotted mess since Disney took over the franchise – and today is no different. The new Star Wars encyclopedia book is out in the UK, and fans have immediately spotted a notation that creates an entirely new continuity problem for Ahsoka Tano’s story. So, once again, we’re left to ask: which version is the true canon?
There was a divide created in Ahsoka’s canonized storyline with the release of the animated anthology series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi in 2022. Ahsoka Tano was the subject of three of those animated shorts, and the last one, “Resolve,” was a story that Star Wars fans felt they already knew. That was because they had: Star Wars animation guru (and Ahsoka Tano creator) Dave Filoni based the story for the animated short on the same story outline he gave to author E.K. Johnston for her 2016 young-adult novel, titled Ahsoka.
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In both the book and the animated short, Ahsoka Tano is hiding out in a farming community on a remote planet, after escaping Order 66. Even though Ahsoka tries to refrain from using her Force powers, she ultimately has to break that rule to save an innocent from a horrible accident. Another member of the community sees an opportunity to collect a bounty from turning in a Jedi and contacts the Empire, who sends in an Inquisitor. Ahsoka has to confront that Inquisitor, defeat and kills him, and must ultimately accept that it is the will of the Force for her to stay in the fight.
Which Inquisitor Did Ahsoka Duel?
The original Ahsoka (2016) novel identified the Inquisitor who comes seeking Ahoska as “Sixth Brother” (formerly Jedi Bill Valen), a gray-skinned alien with cybernetic parts. However, Tales of the Jedi’s character design for the Inquisitor that Ahsoka dueled was not the Sixth Brother as described in the novel and depicted in later comics.
Now, the Star Wars encyclopedia has named the Inquisitor character from Tales of the Jedi as “First Brother,” which now confirms that there is a major question of canon, as Tales of the Jedi’s “Resolve” storyline was supposed to maintain continuity by being an animated adaptation of the novel. If Sixth Brother looked different, it was just artistic license between the book page and the screen.
Now, that plausible deniability is gone.
Why Has Ashoka’s Continuity Been So Confusing?
When the Ahsoka (2016) novel was written, Filoni and his Star Wars animated universe were in a much different place. Even though Star Wars Rebels had brought back Ahsoka Tano as an early Rebel operative, there was a massive gap in her story between when she left the Jedi Order and resurfaced as an adult to help form the Rebellion.
Filoni didn’t have the means to fill in that story at the time; that all changed at the end of the 2010s and 2020s, as Netflix brought back the Clone Wars animated series to finish out Ahsoka’s story arc (liberating Mandalore and defeating Maul, then escaping Order 66). Tales of the Jedi only further expanded Ahsoka’s arc in animated form, detailing the discovery of her Force powers at a young age; the intense training Anakin Skywalker put her through as a padawan that later ensured her survival, and the Inquisitor duel that convinced her to fight against the Empire.
With Ahsoka’s story pretty much being mapped out entirely in animated form, the novel has become a less and less relevant portion of her story, in the eyes of the majority of Star Wars fans (if they even know the book exists). Ahsoka’s live-action debut in The Mandalorian Season 2, followed by her solo series, cemented the line of continuity between her animated and live-action storylines, pushing the novel even further onto the sidelines.
At this point, the Ahsoka (2016) novel is for die-hard fans of the character – and that’s exactly the implication from the new Star Wars encyclopedia locking-in Tales of the Jedi as the official version of the story. Guess this Star Wars debate is over.
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Clone Wars, and Ahsoka are all available to stream on Disney+.