The Star Wars universe has always been vast. While whole stories can focus almost exclusively on Tatooine, there are countless planets that roving characters, like the Mandalorian, can hop to on bounty hunter missions. But is that enough space for a massive sci-fi franchise? As Star Wars moves to a TV-focused model, we’re seeing far more adventures than we could absorb over a handful of movies.
Does this new scope require a raise of the worldbuilding stakes? A new rumor suggests Ahsoka will bring the action to a playing field entirely unlike any we’ve seen in Star Wars so far.
Star Wars leaker MakingStarWars suggests the upcoming Ahsoka will reveal Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger spent time after their disappearance in Rebels in a place called the “New Beyond” or “New Space,” which the report defines as “a completely new and unexplored area of the Star Wars universe” that “views and uses the Force differently.”
If this rumor is true, it would change the Star Wars universe as we know it. The borders of the galaxy far, far away have never been well-defined, allowing for an endless number of planets and moons to serve as backdrops to its stories. But no matter what kind of planet a writer can think up, it still has to follow the broad rules of Star Wars. By introducing what sounds like an entirely new galaxy, the rules can be rewritten.
There are a few other possibilities here too. Thrawn’s homeworld in the now non-canonical Legends timeline was dubbed the “Unknown Regions,” so that could be what this “New Space” refers to. It could also be a reference to the World Between Worlds, the astral plane standing apart from space and time that was introduced in Rebels that’s long been rumored to play a role in Ahsoka. Could this “alternate galaxy” actually refer to an old plot device?
If there’s any series that could expand the Star Wars galaxy beyond the map we know, Ahsoka is it. Her journey, from The Clone Wars to Rebels to The Mandalorian, has always veered towards the more cosmic side of the Force. She’s seen time change, met the ethereal inhabitants of Mortis, and ultimately left the Jedi Order.
Whatever this “New Space” is, and whatever Thrawn is doing there, it could become the basis of a new phase in Star Wars, much like how the Marvel Universe is now exploring the multiverse. The TV era of Star Wars needs to keep evolving to stay fresh, and if this rumor is true, an entirely new realm could be ripe for exploration.
Like our own universe, the Star Wars universe is ever-expanding. That just might be more literal than we first thought.
Ahsoka will premiere on Disney+ March 1, 2023.
