We’re about to see Ahsoka Tano make her live-action debut in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, likely this Friday. If you’re not familiar with the character (if that’s possible at this point), Ahsoka Tano began as Anakin Skywalker’s padawan in the animated feature film Star Wars: The Clone Wars. From there she grew from annoying sidekick to one of the most beloved characters in the franchise. Fans are both excited, and wary, to see if her live-action portrayal captures the character we love so much. Her pending appearance in The Mandalorian got us thinking, though. Who are some of the best crossover Star Wars characters to bridge the divide between media platforms? Here are our top three.
Best crossover Star Wars characters, Number 3: Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn first appeared in Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire in the early nineties. From the original Thrawn trilogy alone he instantly became a fan-favorite Star Wars character. So much so, in fact, that decades later he became one of the more prominent crossover Star Wars characters. Thrawn featured heavily as the villain of the later seasons of Star Wars Rebels. Even now, the mythos surrounding the cunning, intellectual and ruthless Imperial strategist continues to grow. After a first, new trilogy chronicling Thrawn’s rise to power in the Empire, Zahn is in the midst of another, Thrawn: Ascendancy, that explores the character’s rise through the Chiss ranks. Fans just cannot get enough of Thrawn, and there are still hopes of a live action appearance.
Number 2: Obi-Wan Kenobi
Sir. Alex Guinness introduced us to the aged and sage Jedi Master in 1977’s original Star Wars. Beloved in his own right, Guinness’ Kenobi gave way to Ewan McGregor’s younger iteration in the Star Wars prequels. For many fans, old and new alike, McGregor’s Kenobi is the true embodiment of the character. However, one cannot discount James Arnold Taylor’s portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Clone Wars.
Throughout the series we got to see Kenobi’s true character on display. Taylor perfectly displayed Kenobi’s inner conflicts, both over Anakin’s teetering towards the dark side and Obi-Wan’s relationship with Satine Kryze. I’d almost say it’s difficult to fully understand and appreciate Obi-Wan Kenobi without recognizing him as one of the best crossover Star Wars characters of the franchise.
