What happened to Ezra Bridger in Star Wars is setting the tone for the Ahsoka series, making Star Wars Rebels even more important to the saga.
Summary
- The mystery of what happened to Ezra Bridger is a major plotline that comes from Star Wars Rebels and continues in the upcoming Ahsoka show.
- Ezra Bridger is a significant character in Star Wars Rebels, evolving from a kid trying to survive in Lothal to a Jedi Padawan who helped the Rebel Alliance several times.
- Ahsoka Tano swore to find Ezra Bridger, and the Ahsoka series will explore the search for Ezra and Grand Admiral Thrawn.
The mystery of what happened to Ezra Bridger is setting the narrative for Ahsoka, which shows how important Star Wars Rebels is to the Star Wars universe. While Star Wars has always valued interconnectivity, recent Star Wars properties are diving even further into the saga’s transmedia aspect. For example, several Star Wars animated characters made the jump to live-action in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, a trend that will continue with Star Wars Rebels appearing in Ahsoka.
Eman Esfandi will play Ezra Bridger in the upcoming Ahsoka show, although the extent of Ezra’s role in the series is unknown. Ezra was originally voiced by Taylor Gray in Star Wars Rebels, which premiered in 2013 as Disney’s first Star Wars property. From The Mandalorian season 2 to the Ahsoka show, Ezra Bridger’s whereabouts have become one of Star Wars’ most important storylines. Here is a breakdown of who Ezra Bridger is, what happened to him in Star Wars Rebels, and how his fate is tied to Ahsoka Tano and Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Ezra Bridger Is The Hero - And Jedi Padawan - Of Star Wars Rebels
Ezra Bridger is Star Wars Rebels’ main character, going from an orphan boy trying to survive in Lothal to a Jedi Padawan that helped the galaxy several times. Whereas Star Wars: The Clone Wars featured major characters from the Star Wars movies, such as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Rebels followed a set of original characters. One of those was Ezra Bridger, who was introduced as an ordinary yet talented kid that would steal from the Empire for his own benefit. Ezra eventually ran into what seemed to be a group of bandits who were later revealed to be a rebel cell.
Unlike Ezra, these rebels were stealing from the Empire not only to make some profit but also to help those in need. Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndula, Sabine Wren, Zeb Orrelios, and Chopper were an established crew who did not necessarily need a new member, yet they welcomed Ezra into their family. Ezra’s kind heart, his wiliness to help others, and his skills as a survivor all made him a perfect new addition to the crew of the Ghost. However, Ezra was even more special than he knew. Kanan Jarrus, one of the Jedi who survived Order 66, discovered that Ezra was Force-sensitive.
Star Wars Rebels followed Ezra Bridger for four seasons as he discovered more about his powers and trained in the ways of the Force. Kanan was a Jedi Padawan during Order 66, meaning that he was not ready to train an apprentice. Even still, Kanan made for a fantastic master for Ezra Bridger, who quickly became powerful enough to help the Rebellion by himself. By the end of Star Wars Rebels, Ezra was wise and strong enough to serve as a leader for the rebels. However, Ezra’s story abruptly ended during Star Wars Rebels’ ending, leaving his fate during and after the original trilogy a mystery.
Ezra Bridger's Force Powers Explained
Ezra Bridger was introduced as the classic Star Wars hero. Just like Luke’s story in A New Hope or Anakin’s origin story in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Ezra did not know he was special. Similar to other Force-sensitive Star Wars characters, Ezra’s instincts made him a natural survivor, someone who managed to grow up as an orphan amidst the oppression of the Empire. It was only after Ezra met Kanan that the boy from Lothal understood his powers and begin to train to become a Jedi. Ezra’s training progressed fast, and he was fighting Inquistors with a lightsaber in less than a year.
Ezra Bridger’s Force powers also included a unique ability to bond with animals. While part of any Jedi’s training is to learn how to connect with every living thing around them, Ezra had a natural ability to bond with other living creatures. Despite struggling to connect with some local Lothal animals at the beginning of his training, Ezra eventually used the Force to communicate with and even control animals. One example of this was when Ezra Bridger tapped into the dark side to control a giant Fyrnocks beast. Another important example is when Ezra called Star Wars’ “space whales” for help in the Star Wars Rebels finale.
How Ezra Defeated Grand Admiral Thrawn In Star Wars Rebels' Finale
Ezra Bridger defeated Grand Admiral Thrawn in Rebels’ series finale, bringing the show full circle and solidifying the character as one of Star Wars’ most important heroes. Thrawn is not a Force-sensitive character, which does not make him any less dangerous. In fact, Thrawn was the most dangerous villain Ezra and the Phoenix Squad faced in Star Wars Rebels, even though they ran into the likes of Darth Vader and Darth Maul. Thrawn put not only the crew of the Ghost but the entire Rebel Alliance in danger, not to mention how the Grand Admiral almost destroyed Ezra’s home planet Lothal.
With enough firepower to kill most of Lothal’s population and make the planet an example for other worlds, Grand Admiral Thrawn almost won in Rebels’ finale. However, Ezra Bridger was willing to sacrifice himself to stop the Empire, which is how he defeated Thrawn. Ezra confronted Thrawn and engaged in combat with the Grand Admiral before summoning multiple Purrgil, space whales that can travel through hyperspace. The Purrgil captured the ship Ezra and Thrawn were in and jumped to hyperspace, leaving no track behind. Grand Admiral Thrawn was now missing, and Ezra’s sacrifice represented a major victory for the rebels.
Ahsoka Swore To Find Ezra Bridger Again
Where Ezra Bridger went after Star Wars Rebels’ ending remains a mystery. The only known fact about Ezra’s whereabouts is that he and Thrawn were sent to the same place, as they were both inside the same ship when the Purrgil jumped to hyperspace. As such, finding Grand Admiral Thrawn is the key to finding Ezra Bridger and vice versa. It must be noted, though, that The Mandalorian and the Ahsoka show take place almost 10 years after Star Wars Rebels’ finale. Therefore, Ezra and Thrawn have been missing for a decade at this point of this story and could be in different places entirely already.
Why Ahsoka is looking for Thrawn and Ezra traces back to a promise she made to the Jedi from Lothal in Star Wars Rebels season 4. After Ezra used the World Between Worlds to pull Ahsoka from the past, Anakin’s former Padawan jumped back to her original timeline and promised Ezra she would find him whenever she returned. However, Ahsoka only reappeared in Rebels’ epilogue, set four years after Ezra disappeared. Star Wars Rebels ends with Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren reuniting to go searching for Ezra, a storyline that the Ahsoka series will continue.
Ahsoka was looking for Grand Admiral Thrawn in The Mandalorian season 2, meaning that she still had not found Ezra Bridger. The Ahsoka trailers suggest that the show will have scenes set before and after Rebels’ epilogue, as seen by the different Sabine Wren hairstyles. Sabine and Ezra were close in Rebels – Sabine even has Ezra’s lightsaber now. This is why the Mandalorian rebel is also part of the quest to find Ezra Bridger. More than five years after Star Wars Rebels ended, what happened to Ezra Bridger may finally be answered in Star Wars’ Ahsoka show.
Episodes 1 and 2 of Ahsoka release Wednesday, August 23 on Disney+.
