At the Ahsoka panel during Star Wars Celebration Europe, the identity of Ray Stevenson's lightsaber-wielding antagonist was revealed. Stevenson is playing Baylan Skoll, a Dark Side of the Force user, seen battling Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano in the teaser trailer shown to the audience. He will be master to Ivanna Sakhno's Shin Hati, a new character to the franchise with a loose allegiance to the Night Sisters, the Witches of Dathomir who were featured prominently in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Stevenson spoke with Collider's editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub after the Ahsoka panel on Saturday morning, and his enthusiasm was clear to see when asked about what his favourite episode to film was, before elaborating on what had surprised him most about working with Dave FIloni and Jon Favreau in the Star Wars galaxy. He explained:
"There’s eight episodes to see, and I would say it’s episodes 1 to 8. You cannot separate them, it’s like picking which child is your favourite child. The storylines themselves, it’s second guesses, it’s this, and it’s that, where does it all lead? There’s a lot of cliffhanging surprises and journeys and unexpected events, and Dave just kept it going and kept it coming, it was just a delight to go to work. Exhausting, but a delight."
Ray Stevenson is Full of Admiration for Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau.
Filoni and Favreau have injected the Star Wars saga with new life after the sequel trilogy concluded in 2019, with the television universe they built encompassing what is now known as 'The New Republic' turning into both a creative and critical success, which will lead into a feature film that will be the culmination of the story arcs which began in The Mandalorian.
Filoni has taken on the job of writing the entire series himself—a clear sign of the affection he feels for Ahsoka Tano, his own creation—and the care and craft with which the series has been constructed has won admiration from the cast, with Stevenson among those impressed.
"Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau have this unique ability to facilitate everybody to bring the best of themselves to work. They aren’t expecting genius, but just the best of you. Why do you get up in the morning? To hope you can bring the best of yourself to work, and they do that. It’s a humility of greatness from them, it’s so empowering and humble."
The first trailer for Ahsoka was released during Star Wars Celebration and showcased the exciting action fans can expect when the series premieres on Disney+ in August 2023.