Ahsoka Season 2 Trailer: Hayden Christensen's Anakin Returns To The Star Wars Universe [D23]

“Star Wars” may have only just made its return to the big screen with this year’s “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” but the galaxy far, far away has been thriving on streaming for several years running. Obviously, “The Mandalorian” has done much of the heavy lifting to revitalize the franchise and inspire its own little collection of spin-offs. But “Andor” won over even its biggest skeptics with an acclaimed two-season run that brought a touch of Prestige TV to George Lucas’ silly space opera. Meanwhile, more offbeat examples like “The Acolyte” and “Skeleton Crew” reminded viewers that this sandbox can cater to many different demographics at once.

This one, however, is for the animation fans. “Ahsoka” represents the culmination of new Lucasfilm President and Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni’s work thus far, continuing the story that first began in the cartoon series “The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels.” Watching young Padawan Ahsoka Tano transform from a reckless youngling to a powerful Jedi in her own right was one of the main highlights of “Star Wars” throughout the aughts and well into the 2010s. But when Rosario Dawson stepped up to portray the character in live-action with 2023’s “Ahsoka” Season 1, along with Natasha Liu Bordizzo as “Rebels” veteran Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, and Eman Esfandi as the long-lost Ezra Bridger, Filoni’s animated empire finally stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the rest.

Now, get ready to see Ahsoka, the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), and all the rest like you’ve never seen them before. Season 1 ended with the cliffhanger that saw Thrawn on the verge of his dastardly return to power and our heroes unable to stop him. Lucasfilm has now released the first trailer for Season 2, and, well, check it out for yourself above!

A galaxy far, far away looks like it’s about to get a serious glow-up. With all due respect to Season 1 of “Ahsoka,” the live-action Disney+ series didn’t exactly light a fire under us with its glacial pacing, some seriously stodgy-looking Volume visuals, and action that felt weirdly inert — particularly compared to the nonstop energy of the animated series, “Star Wars Rebels.” But almost three years after its initial debut on streaming, it appears as if Season 2 is about to answer each and every one of those criticisms. And we’re absolutely here for it.

Right away, the new status quo gives “Ahsoka” the juice it so badly needed all along. Following the events of the Season 1 finale, Lars Mikkelsen’s villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn has now been unleashed upon the galaxy at large, and he’s wasting absolutely no time at all in declaring war on the Rebel Alliance. We see our heroes placed firmly on their heels, Thrawn’s forces mounting full-scale attacks on anyone with the misfortune of standing in their way, and more space witches wrecking stuff up. In the midst of it all, Ahsoka is reckoning with visions of war (and memories of her past training with Anakin mixed with present-day encounters with his Force Ghost) while her friends are struggling to regroup and find a way to stem the tide.

It’s all very massive in scope, more action-packed than this series has ever been before, and with enough end-of-the-world stakes to make you forget where exactly this takes place in the “Star Wars” timeline — since we know this can’t possibly end in anything too consequential, given what we see in the noticeably Thrawn-less sequel trilogy. 

No matter! “Ahsoka” Season 2 returns to Disney+ January 20, 2027.