When Ray Stevenson died, Ahsoka season two almost died with it. Dave Filoni, the show’s creator, was at Star Wars Celebration Japan this weekend and did a panel about his Disney+ show. Along the way, the topic of Stevenson’s passing came up and Filoni got visibly emotional. Stevenson played fallen Jedi Master Baylan Skoll, a character that clearly had a huge role to play in the future of the series—however, Filoni revealed it went much deeper than that.
“Season two was obviously a big challenge anyway, but it was a particularly big challenge because of a losing Ray,” Filoni said during the panel. “He was just the greatest person and such a great spirit on the show. I knew Ray from working in voice acting with him, I just always instantly connected with him and thought, ‘When I make live-action, I need this guy to portray a powerful Jedi Knight that have had in mind.’ And he did not disappoint in any way. Ray was the most beautiful person on screen and off, he was wonderful to all of us. However big of a loss you think it is, it’s bigger.”
“It was a challenge for me even to consider continuing [Ahsoka] for a while,” he continued. “But I have a great support group with Jon [Favreau] and Rosario [Dawson] and I found a way. I had Ray in my head and I’m grateful for all the conversations with him about Baylan. So I understood what to do, it just took a while to get there. But I’m very confident now that Ray would be happy with the direction that we’ve chosen.”
Season one ended with Baylan on a personal quest to find deeper meaning in the Force, with Ahsoka and Sabine hot on his tail. But according to Filoni, the reason for Baylan existing is more than just as a bad guy.
“The character was meant to be important,” Filoni said. “He’s meant to be the parallel to Ahsoka in every way. If there’s a light, there’s a dark and Baylan is representing a different journey of a Jedi that’s lost his way. As much as [Ahsoka] represents one that’s kind of walked away from the Order, so did he. And that parallel is something that must continue.”
Knowing he wanted to continue the story to honor Stevenson, Filoni and executive producer Jon Favreau knew there was only one option: recast the character. And as previously reported, they found their man in Scottish actor Rory McCann. “In essence, because Ray performed it so iconically, there is a blueprint for what this character should be,” Filoni said. “And then I talked to Jon and Jon and I decided that we just needed to find the right person that would not just understand the character, but also understand a bit of what Ray brought to it as well. It’s something imperceptible. Something just in the eyes, to be honest, and I think we both felt very fortunate that we met Rory McCann. So Rory will be taking over the role.”
Filoni said that McCann, best known for roles in Game of Thrones and Hot Fuzz, is coming in with one main goal: make the legacy of Ray Stevenson live on. “[Rory] takes it very seriously. He’s a big man with a big heart, and he has such respect for Ray and what he brought to this. I know this sole focus is not letting Ray down and not letting you guys down. You’ll love them, and we love him and I love what he’s taking on. It’s a big deal, so the force is with him.”
Ahsoka season two starts shooting by the end of April. No word on a release date, but we have to imagine sometime in late 2026.
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