Star Wars Theory: Ahsoka Leads Mandalorian & Baby Yoda To Luke Skywalker
Ahsoka Tano is about to be introduced in The Mandalorian season 2, but might she lead Mando and Baby Yoda to another Jedi in Luke Skywalker?
Ahsoka Tano is set to encounter Mando and Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian season 2, but she could lead the pair to a different Star Wars Jedi: Luke Skywalker. The Mandalorian season 2 has been centered around Din Djarin's attempts to reunite Baby Yoda with his own kind, although all he knows about the Jedi is that they're an ancient order of sorcerers. So far, he's stuck to tracking down other Mandalorians for information, but that's going to change with the introduction of Ahsoka.
First introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars as Anakin Skywalker's Padawan, Ahsoka became a key figure in both The Clone Wars and its follow-up animated series, Star Wars Rebels. Now she's going to make the leap to live-action, with Rosario Dawson playing the character in The Mandalorian season 2. Her arrival in the Star Wars show has already been set up, with Bo-Katan Kryze, an old acquaintance of Ahsoka's, telling Mando that he'll find her in the city of Calodan on the forest moon of Corvus.
Mando may now be pinning all of his hopes on Ahsoka, since he's the only confirmed Jedi that he's aware of. However, while she will be able to help him, she may not be what he expects. Luckily for him, though, there is another - and Ahsoka could lead him and Baby Yoda to Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian season 2, even if she herself isn't aware she's doing so (h/t u/TheMediocreCritic on Reddit).
It's expected that Ahsoka Tano will will be introduced in The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5, which is reportedly titled "The Jedi." Given the episode is written and directed by Dave Filoni (showrunner of both The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels), then it makes sense this is where Ahsoka would debut, given his strong connection to the character. The title, too, is logical, since Ahsoka is the Jedi that Mando is searching for. However, there is one potential sticking point, which is that Ahsoka left the Jedi Order at the end of The Clone Wars season 5. Having been trialled for an attack on the Jedi Temple, one that she didn't commit, Ahsoka felt betrayed by the Order and no longer wished to be a part of it, and has since forged her own path, shown in The Clone Wars season 7 and Rebels, which ended with her on a quest of her own to find Ezra Bridger.
Ahsoka is still extremely strong in the Force, and she obviously knows a lot about the Jedi Order, but if Mando is hoping that she is Baby Yoda's own kind and that finding her will equal reuniting him with the Jedi, then that's not quite accurate. Because she isn't a Jedi, then it's unlikely Ahsoka will train Baby Yoda or assume too much responsibility for him. She can help Mando (and the Child) understand more about the Force, but it's more likely she will help Din continue his quest, taking him to find a real Jedi instead, given deeper meaning to the title.
While Ahsoka isn't a Jedi, she has encountered several of them during her time, though many were killed in Order 66. Survivors of that are few and far between, and ones Ahsoka knows the location of are even more scarce. When The Mandalorian is set in the Star Wars timeline, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker are all long-since dead, and it remains to be seen whether Ahsoka and Sabine were successful in finding Ezra. But it's also unclear what Ahsoka knows at this stage. From her time in Rebels, she knows that Anakin is Darth Vader, so she wouldn't take Mando and Baby Yoda to him either way. Obi-Wan was killed on the Death Star so, while he had lived in secret on Tatooine, it's more likely word of his death would spread. That leaves Yoda, who lived and died hidden away on Dagobah.
The Clone Wars showed that Ahsoka had a good relationship with Yoda prior to leaving the Jedi Order, as, like most others, she'd frequently turn to him for advice. Star Wars Rebels went further, though, with the episode "Shroud of Darkness" briefly re-connecting the pair after Ezra communicated with him in the Jedi Temple on Lothal. Yoda appeared and waved to Ahsoka from Dagobah, which not only showed their bond still existed, but may have clued Ahsoka in to where he was. It's even possible that Ahsoka and Yoda communicated after that, or that she might have visited him, because so much of what happened to her between Star Wars Rebels and The Mandalorian is unknown. Putting those pieces together with the fact that Baby Yoda is of the same species as Yoda - something Ahsoka would definitely recognize immediately - then taking him and Mando to Yoda would be the obvious thing for her to do.
The problem with Ahsoka taking Mando and Baby Yoda to Dagobah to find Yoda, of course, is that by this point the Jedi Grand Master has long since passed away, although it's reasonable to assume that Ahsoka does not know this, since she's been on her own mission and Yoda lived in exile. While he is still capable of making his presence felt as a Force Ghost, it's unlikely they'll find him if and when they turn up on the planet, but that doesn't mean it won't be occupied. It's not exactly clear where Luke Skywalker is during The Mandalorian, but there's enough known to make it plausible that he would pay a visit to Dagobah.
Luke trained Leia shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi, but he didn't start training Ben Solo until 15ABY. Since The Mandalorian season 2 takes place in 9ABY, then it's in the middle of a gap that does have flexibility for this kind of story. What is known is that during this time, Luke was searching for any and all artifacts associated with the Jedi and the Sith, as he looked to accumulate as many objects and as much knowledge as possible. With that, then, it would fit for him to visit Dagobah. This is where Luke trained under Yoda, so he knows there's a possibility of some texts or other Jedi-related findings there, and the planet itself is a vergence in the Force, strong in the dark side, so he could go to study and learn from that.
Ahsoka meeting Luke Skywalker could potentially be an emotional addition to both of their stories. For Luke, he would get to meet another person who truly knew what his father was like, and learn more about Anakin Skywalker the person and Jedi, rather than just Darth Vader. For Ahsoka, she could learn of her old Master's redemption, and get to meet his son. There would, though, be bigger questions over what happens were this to happen. Since Baby Yoda isn't part of Luke's new Jedi Order, then he obviously doesn't take the Child in, at least not for long. It's even possible he and Ahsoka won't entirely see eye-to-eye: while he will come to realize the Jedi's mistakes, as Ahsoka has, he isn't at that point yet. Baby Yoda's journey will continue with Mando in The Mandalorian season 2 and beyond, since they're the heart of the show, so it makes sense that they're not going to be parted, but Luke could still pass on some wisdom to help develop Baby Yoda's Force powers.
The idea of Luke Skywalker appearing in The Mandalorian, either as a surprise reveal in "The Jedi", later in season 2, or even further down the line in season 3 is certainly an exciting one, but it's also an idea that Disney may well be wary of, for a couple of reasons. In terms of the show itself, then having Luke involved, even briefly, would radically alter things. In the grand scheme of what Star Wars is in a very broad sense, then the likes of Ahsoka Tano and Boba Fett aren't major characters to general audiences in the way, say, Darth Vader is. Luke, on the other hand, is the face of Star Wars and, alongside Vader, it's most well-known and recognizable character. Bringing him in would invariably shift the focus away from Mando and Baby Yoda, overshadowing everything else.
With that, there's also the issue of how Luke's appearance could even be pulled off. One option would be to digitally de-age Mark Hamill, allowing him to reprise the role, or there's the possibility of re-casting it entirely. Neither would be without controversy or challenges, and Disney may not want to take the risk. They did include a younger Luke in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but that was alongside a true appearance from him as well; if Hamill is up for returning, then it could be easier, but if not then it might be better left alone. It wouldn't break canon to have Luke interact with Baby Yoda - if it's only brief, then there'd be no need to mention him in the sequel trilogy whatsoever - but in terms of casting and overshadowing, The Mandalorian may decide the cons outweigh the pros, even if the theory itself is somewhat alluring.