Part of the thrill of watching Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni's "Mandoverse" Star Wars universe expand beyond Din Djarin and Grogu has been the integration of characters from the animated series, and beyond. Of course, the most notable addition has been that of Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano, the Jedi who abandoned the faith in the wake of Order 66, having previously been the Padawan to the fallen Anakin Skywalker.
However, with Ahsoka now getting her own self-titled series, that offers a chance for other animated characters to take the leap into live action alongside her, and one of the more notable additions to the series is one Sabine Wren, who will be played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo.
Sabine is another Mandalorian warrior - the non-culty type who actually takes their helmet off to eat soup - who likes to decorate her armour with an artistic, spray-painted flourish. But the extended footage previewing Ahsoka at Star Wars Celebration teased something fans did not expect - the Mandalorian warrior wielding... a green lightsaber? Speaking to Empire Magazine for their latest issue, Bordizzo revealed keeping the lightsaber training a secret was one of the toughest parts of the gig so far, given what that could mean narratively for the series as a whole.
What Did Natasha Liu Bordizzo Have to Say About Sabine's Lightsaber?
"I'm just really glad that's out there. It's been really hard talking about my fight-training without talking about the fact that it's 'saber-training, which is literally all I've been doing for so long. The Mandalorian [physicality] is very Western, and then the 'saber style is very samurai-influenced. Trying to embody those two things - sometimes one right after the other - in the choregraphy was super interesting, because they're such different modes of being. I really had fun with the journey of trying to master both."
However, that does leave us as the eager audience with the question of just whose lightsaber she happens to be swinging? Speculation would suggest the green bladed saber belongs to a certain lost Jedi in the shape of Ezra Bridger, whose presence was alluded to via a hologram in the trailer for Ahsoka.
"What can I tease?" Bordizzo ponders. "It's just part of her journey. Not just the 'saber itself, but what comes with that, and what that means, and what mindset it takes to wield that weapon."
The first trailer for Ahsoka was released at Star Wars Celebration last month, and showcased the exciting action fans can expect when the series premieres on Disney+ in August 2023. Check out the teaser trailer for Ahsoka down below.