Lightsabers are Star Wars’ most iconic element, but we haven’t seen many in recent years. The Mandalorian featured the Darksaber, a blade Din Djarin found unwieldy. Ahsoka and Luke used their lightsabers, but only in cameos.
But with Ahsoka gearing up for her own spinoff, it looks like lightsabers — and a droid who makes them — will finally be taking center stage in the Mando-verse. TotalFilm released an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming Star Wars series Ahsoka, and while it may look like an unremarkable image of Rosario Dawson standing around, there’s something interesting happening behind her.
Behind the hologram of Rebels returnee Hera Syndulla, there’s an ancient droid known as Huyang. Huyang is integral to the history of the lightsabers. Traditionally, he helped younglings create their first lightsabers for over 20,000 years. The Clone Wars featured a story that followed Ahsoka as she led a group of younglings through the Gathering ritual, where they collected Kyber crystals from the planet of Ilum before turning them into their first sabers, so Huyang and Ahsoka worked together often.
While we knew Huyang would appear in Ahsoka, he could have easily been relegated to a cameo role. However, this image suggests Huyang will be a series regular, joining Rebels scamp Chopper on the droid roster.
Considering we saw a lightsaber modification in a previous sneak peek image, it’s clear there’s plenty for Huyang to do. And, if his role is more prominent than we first thought, he could even make a new lightsaber for Ezra, who Ahsoka is trying to track down as the series opens.
Huyang is one of the most fascinating droids in Star Wars, with literal millennia of lore to share. Hopefully, we’ll have time to learn more about him, and time for him to finally add more lightsabers to the Mando-verse.
Ahsoka premieres August 23 on Disney+.
