Ahsoka Concept Art Solves a Strange Mandalorian Mystery
What have you been up to, Ahsoka?
Ahsoka is finally getting her own live-action series, but it’s far from her first foray into the medium. From The Mandalorian to The Book of Boba Fett, the “Mando-verse” is full of Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano. However, there’s a big chunk of Ahsoka’s timeline that’s still unknown to fans. After the events of Rebels, we don’t know what she got up to until Din Djarin and Grogu seek her out in The Mandalorian Season 2.
A new glimpse at concept art shows a possible explanation for what kept Ahsoka busy — and an answer to a mystery about her Mandalorian appearance.
Star Wars concept artist Matt Allsopp posted some of his art for Ahsoka on Twitter, showing what looks like a Jedi temple on a mysterious planet. This art would later become the scene of Ahsoka defending herself that we see in the Ahsoka trailer.
It’s the first time we’ve seen this concept art in high quality, and there’s a lot to be gleaned from it. The ruins look similar to those seen in The Mandalorian Season 2, where Grogu sends out a beacon from what’s left of the temple on Tython. However, the temple in this art is far more intact.
Why would Ahsoka come to this temple? In The Mandalorian, Ahsoka tells Din to “Go to the planet Tython. There you will find the ancient ruins of a temple that has a strong connection to the Force. Place Grogu on the seeing stone at the top of the mountain.” They’re very specific instructions, which implies she’s had experience in the matter. Presumably, she’s done some serious research into the finer points of temples and seeing stones.
It’s possible the temple in the concept art was where Ahsoka first tried to put a call out for Jedi aid, but she was unsuccessful because she wasn’t on Tython, the fabled home of the first Jedi. In canon, Darth Vader was sent to Tython to look for rebels, and he came face to face with a Jedi confessional. It’s a location with a profound connection to the Force.
As an ex-Jedi, Ahsoka’s relationship with the Jedi, and her potential decision to continue the legacy the Order left with her, will almost certainly take center stage in her new show. Whether she’s on Tython or in a different Jedi temple, this scene teased by Allsopp’s concept art seems poised to highlight her conflicted feelings about the community that raised her.
This wouldn’t answer every question about what Ahsoka was up to in-between Rebels and The Mandalorian, but it would at least give us a start on filling in her timeline. She clearly has experience with Jedi temples; who knows how long she bounced around the galaxy, researching the people that raised her? If she’s going to remake the Jedi with her own ideas, she needs to understand what worked about the old Order... and what didn’t.