Ahsoka’ is on Disney+ and why should you care?

Ahsoka Tano flies a flying quesadilla through an unstable galaxy. As a member of the Togruta species, he is a native of the planet Shili and Negative Colony of Togruta located on the planet Cyrus. (A very easy mistake to make.) Togruta can be blue, purple, white, yellow, or red, according to Wookiepedia, a product of a semi-sensitive human species on planet Earth. Ahsoka is spray tan in color although slightly lighter. Togruta loyalty and montralsThis animal, which Wookiepedia describes as “cone-like horns” sticking out of its temples, seems to humans to go over the heads of small octopuses, and Togrutas don’t like it at all.

How many of these did you already know?

It may be important to follow the new “Star Wars: Ahsoka” series on Disney+ to the darkest reaches of the “Star Wars” world. To put it fluently, George Lucas: “Ahsoka” takes place on the outer edge of the galaxy. What if you come to “Star Wars” every ten years? “Ahsoka” is about an adjacent figure to Skywalker that never appeared in the movies, but has become one of the most engaging characters in an ever-thickening universe thanks to animated shows, novels, and other Disney+ “Star Wars” franchises.

If anything I’ve said so far has already turned you off, I understand.

Like Marvel, DC, and Harry Potter, “Star Wars” has exhausted many people who don’t really care to delve into the details of their own world, and many who do. For every C3PO you know like your own grandmother, there’s always an Aldi-branded C1-10P. That’s why it’s hard to admit: “Ahsoka” is worth considering. The first two episodes may be too distracted and stagnant, but the heart is sure and the promises are often exciting. Rosario Dawson, who plays Ahsoka, has the restraint typical of male Mandalorians and Han Solos and their crew, pilot Hera (a green Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and graffiti artist/demolitionist Sabine (a star-demolition expert). It goes through conflict after conflict with the ability to be. With the return of Natasha Liu Bordizzo) bring fire.

These first episodes also go through the trouble that the first episodes of almost every series have to endure: The band is formed. Apart from that, Ahsoka is reuniting the group. And the band has a history. If you’ve watched the animated shows “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels” you shouldn’t have a problem. If not, a bit of background: Ahsoka was a dashing padawan (aka her protector) of the dashing Anakin Skywalker who one day crashes into a space fryer and emerges as Darth Vader. Ahsoka watched Anakin lose faith in the Jedi, and the Jedi’s reaction to the struggling Anakin partially shattered Ahsoka’s trust in the Jedi. He was a Jedi but still a Dylan-like Jedi: he set out on his own, helped form a movement, but remained a powerful mystery. In “Rebels,” also written by “Ahsoka” co-creator Dave “The Man Who Be Lucas” Filoni, Ahsoka’s paths cross with a nascent group of Imperial agitators, including Sabine and Hera. A young Jedi named Ezra Bridger was the soul of the team. But when that series ended in 2018, Ezra disappeared and his threats, Admiral Thrawn, disappeared with him.

If that sounds like a lot to know, it is.

“Ahsoka” references much of the past in setting out the series’ new mission: Find Ezra and with him Thrawn, aka The Man Who Could Be the New, Enhanced Darth Vader. In terms of timeline, this all takes place in “Return of the Jedi” just after the fall of the Empire (making it contemporary with “The Mandalorian”). But despite their former leaders being accused of subverting democracy, some of those who truly believe in the Empire still exist in the galaxy. (Seriously.) It’s a power vacuum universe; it’s an enigma that recent “Star Wars” movies (“The Force Awakens”, “The Last Jedi”, etc.) have overcome to some extent.

The promise of “Ahsoka” is a partial remake with even sharper heroes and more evocative villains. Thrawn, played by Danish actor Lars Mikkelsen, who is not in the first two episodes but is blue, sweet and evil, will bring a different flavor to the villain “Star Wars”, who relies more on intelligence than armor and brawn. Character (first introduced in Star Wars novels 32 years ago) Lombard native Timothy Zahn) He wants to re-establish the empire without the arrogance and arrogance that blunts him. Ahsoka likewise recognizes the need for a smarter Jedi order that does not shy away from the necessary shades of gray. After the spectacular “Andor” series that aired on Disney+ last year smashed the possibilities of live-action “Star Wars” (the series was nominated for eight Emmy awards), there is a demand for new tones for new tones with startling fury turned to genocide and systemic repression. emerges from a very old franchise.

“Ahsoka” seems eager to take a chance on revival. It’s a serious and almost entirely female-led situation in front of and (somehow) behind the camera. This reflects a fandom that has approached gender equality in recent years and has given new energy to the “Star Wars” ecosystem. But “Ahsoka” and the larger “Star Wars” biosphere still try to balance the breeze, like “The Mandalorian”, “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” all co-created by Filoni and Jon Favreau. Decades of legacy plus the recklessness of 1977. wants to be fun And thoughtful. Sometimes that means the characters sigh too much. Other times it results in a great sequence where Rosario Dawson is dropped into Ray Harryhausen-like special effects battles.

Sometimes I wonder if the people who created “Star Wars” today were the loneliest people around, whether they were both loved and hated by generations who could no longer decide what they wanted. So far “Ahsoka” has us wondering where “Star Wars” is now. Do we still love? Do we need it? Do we want more people to come and fill in the blanks in old stories? Or will you write new stories? Looking to amplify new sounds? I guess my answer is yes, yes, yes, but still: Yes, we should all take a break. Also from Batman, Indiana Jones and Vin Diesel. That’s the lesson we learned from our “Barbie” post, and we’ve also learned from “Star Wars” for a long time: Lack makes the heart grow.

Also montrals.

cborrelli@chicagotribune.com