Ahsoka Tano doesn't appear in any of the nine Star Wars movies other than a brief voice cameo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but her story is intricately tied to the Jedi Order, the Rebellion, and, of course, the Skywalker family.
Although she plays a large role in the Star Wars continuity, Ahsoka Tano is noticeably absent in the original trilogy. While the real-life reason is that she hadn't yet been created by Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, the in-universe reason has yet to be revealed.
Where was Ahsoka during the original Star Wars movies?
During the original Trilogy Ahsoka is trapped on Malachor as far as we know. After Ezra saved her life as she was fighting Vader by pulling her out of the timestream, she is asked to be put back there so they wouldn't screw up the time line.
Ahsoka Tano was introduced to Star Wars fans in the 2008 animated epic, The Clone Wars. In the film, Ahsoka is a 14-year-old Padawan, assigned by Yoda to be Anakin Skywalker's apprentice. At first, Anakin and Ahsoka do not get along.
That all changed in Rebels when Ashoka came face to face with Darth Vader in a lightsaber battle on the planet Malachor V and was forced to come to terms with who she was actually dueling.
Ahsoka is indeed Anakin's Padawan learner – or at least, she was, before she walked away from the Jedi Order (more on that later). In an Ahsoka featurette, Clone Wars creator Dave Filoni talked about developing Ahsoka with George Lucas. "Originally, we didn't know what The Clone Wars would be," Filoni reflected.
After months of speculation, Hayden Christensen finally popped up on Ahsoka, reprising his role as everyone's favorite podracer-turned-Jedi-turned-interstellar-dictator. Christensen's Anakin Skywalker made a surprise return in episodes 4 and 5, reuniting with his former Jedi apprentice Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson).
Legend had it that Yoda—a Jedi who became Grand Master—was trained by N'Kata Del Gormo. A Force-sensitive Hysalrian, N'Kata Del Gormo was trained in the ways of the Force and achieved the rank of Master within the Jedi Order.
Ahsoka could still be alive during the events of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. Though her absence during the events of the movies is surprising, given the grave threat and attempted extinction of the Jedi, Ahsoka has been known to keep to herself.
Ray Stevenson's Baylan Skoll and Ivanna Sakhno's Shin Hati
Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno are both playing Dark Jedi characters who come into conflict with Ahsoka. Stevenson is playing Baylan Skoll, and Sakhno is playing Skoll's apprentice, Shin Hati.
It's also clear that she was alive during Luke Skywalker and his friends' quest to take down Palpatine. Actually, she outlived those events as well since the Disney Plus series takes place some years after Luke defeated the Empire.
Ahsoka Is At Least Five Years After Darth Vader's Death
This means that no matter how much time has passed since Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader is dead, and only Anakin's spirit remains in the Force to guide Ahsoka on her journey.
She was haunted by her decision not to rejoin the Jedi Order and not be there for her master. On top of that, she wasn't there to help Luke redeem Anakin. For her to move forward as a character, she will need to learn that her decision not to rejoin the Jedi Order wouldn't have changed Anakin's fate.
Tales of the Jedi raises an interesting question about Darth Vader's morality and motivations during the rise of the Empire, suggesting he knew of Ahsoka Tano's survival after Order 66 but kept it hidden from the Empire.
Ahsoka is a unique Force-user in the Star Wars franchise - and, consequently, she has distinctive white lightsabers that have rarely been seen elsewhere in the canon.
Ahsoka doesn't make an appearance in any of the live-action Star Wars prequels – she's absent from The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones because they're set too early on the Star Wars timeline, and, while Revenge of the Sith is happening, she's busy elsewhere.
Ben later grew up to train under Luke Skywalker before turning to the dark side and becoming Kylo Ren, the apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke. Kylo Ren's story was then told during the Star Wars sequel trilogy yet he was alive as a young boy during The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.
Yes, Darth Vader is dead in Ahsoka. However, Anakin's appearance isn't an imaginary vision conjured out of Ahsoka's imagination – we believe it was his Force ghost in a version of the World Between Worlds, armed with all of his memories and flaws.
Despite being absent from The Rise of Skywalker, Ezra's experience as a Jedi who resisted the dark side could have been useful in navigating Palpatine's ploys. His exclusion from the Jedi voices scene suggests he may be alive during that time.
In his story, Maul poses as a member of a criminal cartel to kill a Force-sensitive thief for Darth Sidious, and experiences a vision of an alternate life as a peace-keeping Jedi, which he denies, much to Sidious' content. The story takes place shortly before The Phantom Menace.
The Mandalorian reunites with the Armorer and fellow Tribe member Paz Vizsla at their new enclave and recounts his adventures to the Armorer, who explains the Darksaber's history to him and begins training him on properly using the black-bladed lightsaber.
Ahsoka's portrayal of Anakin with a red lightsaber fulfills the promise that Revenge of the Sith couldn't deliver, showcasing the version of Anakin who would become the most powerful being in the galaxy.
She was my friend. Ahsoka and Padmé Amidala. Ahsoka and Padmé greatly respected and admired each other. It was Padmé who taught Ahsoka that politics, as well as other things, aren't as black and white as she once thought.
Anakin Skywalker's birth mystery is solved - his mother, Shmi Skywalker, reveals that there was no father and she can't explain what happened. Qui-Gon Jinn believed that the Force itself created Anakin in Shmi's womb, making him the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force.
