Originally published November 25, 2023. Updated November 26, 2023.
One of the main highlights of this year’s Star Wars: Ahsoka was the character of Baylan Skoll, played by the late Ray Stevenson (Rome, Thor), who sadly passed away before being able to see the fan reception towards his former Jedi turned mercenary.
Baylan ended the series by ditching his padawan Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) and his Imperial paymasters as he set off on his own mysterious quest on the planet of Peridea, the final shot of the character teasing the Mortis Gods – an embodiment of the Force previously introduced by showrunner Dave Filoni in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Given the set-up, it seems clear that Baylan would have proved integral to Filoni’s future plans, and the newly-appointed Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm has confirmed to Vanity Fair that he is hoping to continue exploring the character’s story, although understandably given the circumstances, there’s been no decisions as to where and how this might happen.
“Obviously, there’s a story there,” said Filoni. “We’re in a wait-and-see pattern at this point. But I’m glad the conversation is about Ray and how great he was…. I used to have mini debates with him and say, ‘Ray, you’re the villain here.’ And he’d be like, ‘I don’t think so.’ I was like, ‘I know you don’t think so, but you are. I love that you’re playing it like you’re not.’ Which is exactly the way Baylan thinks.”
Would you like to see Baylan Skoll’s story continue without the involvement of Ray Stevenson? Let us know your thoughts on our socials @FlickeringMyth…
Star Wars: Ahsoka stars Rosario Dawson as the titular Ahsoka Tano, Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger, Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll, Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn, David Tennant as Huyang, Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth, Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati, Evan Whitten as Jacen Syndulla, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Carson Teva, Wes Chatham as Captain Enoch, and Ariana Greenblatt as young Ahsoka Tano.
Star Wars: Ahsoka is streaming now on Disney+.
