The most exciting thing about the Ahsoka premiere, at least in this writer’s opinion, is that the series already makes it clear that journeying to another galaxy will be a definitive part of the plot line.
There have been many speculations online about what that galaxy is, including other galaxies already mentioned in the ongoing Star Wars saga.
However, it occurred to me that there is another possibility, and it’s certainly something that the show’s creator, Dave Filoni, would think of and sneakily try to put in the show without it being obvious at first. What if this storyline brings Star Wars to our galaxy? As a Star Wars fan, I dare say that if this is Filoni’s idea, it could be one of the best twists of any Star Wars series.
How is this possible? Well, Star Wars takes place in a different galaxy, referred to by some characters as the Skyriver Galaxy. In the premiere of Ahsoka, we learn that the villains have built a massive hyperdrive machine referred to as the Eye of Sion that can help them travel to distant galaxies. Of course, they are headed to one very specific galaxy, which could theoretically turn out to be our very own Milky Way.
During the premiere, or more accurately, episode 2 of the series (the premiere included the first two episodes), we see the map that shows the path to the other galaxy.
This happens when Bruce Lee’s goddaughter, Diana Lee Inosanto — who plays Morgan Elsbeth — shows the map to force-wielder Baylan Skoll, played by the late, great Ray Stevenson.
When Elsbeth explains the digital map and shows the distant galaxy, it could’ve been the first time in Star Wars history that a character could have said, “That’s a galaxy far, far away.” The missed opportunity will gnaw at my funny bone.
Instead, Elsbeth explains that it’s where Grand Admiral Thrawn is. This makes sense to anyone who watched the finale to Star Wars Rebels when Thrawn and Ezra Bridger were sent blasting off to Never-Never Land, sans Peter Pan (who would actually make a good Padawan). The point is they ended up in a very distant place.
Bridger was one of the Rebels, Ahsoka and Sabine Wren‘s friend, so they now try to find him. Thrawn, the master militant strategist who looks like he joined the Blue Man Group, is arguably the most cunning villain in Star Wars who hasn’t yet appeared in any of the films.
Elsbeth believes Thrawn is out there in that other galaxy. Why?
Well, after she points out that galaxy, Baylan Skoll says, “Pathway to Peridea?”
Elsbeth acknowledges that some people call it that, though it’s uncertain if such a name is wide knowledge. Skoll adds, “The children at the Jedi Temple call it that. Comes from old stories, fairy tales.”
Elsbeth responds, “Tales which are based on truths.”
Are those tales about our galaxy and, more specifically, our solar system? Are Jedi Knights and former Jedi (Baylan Skoll) about to land on Pluto and fight over whether or not it’s really a planet?
Elsbeth didn’t mention any of that, but the scene did have humor, though entirely unintended, when Elsbeth said, “Thrawn calls to me across time and space.”
That seems a little too powerful to be believable, doesn’t it? I get that Jedi and force-wielding warriors have intense powers and magical abilities, but I partly expected Skoll to laugh and say, “Are you just making that up? C’mon, Elsa! Let it go!”
Nonetheless, the episode ends with the Eye of Sion complete and the hyperdrive powering up and getting more hyper. It appears that Skoll is onboard despite a hologram interaction (hey, the ship thing is large) as well as his apparent apprentice, Shin Hati — which, if slightly mispronounced, sounds like what you would call someone with a really nice lower leg area. “That’s a shin hottie right there.”
Ukrainian actress Ivanna Sakhno plays Shin Hati, and I can see her being the best new character introduced in this series, though it’s unclear if she has nice-looking shins.
What if they actually do blast to Earth? Technically, it wouldn’t be the first try in Star Wars if you consider the non-canon fun comic book story of Han Solo finding his way to Earth and bumping into Indiana Jones — Harrison Ford would be proud.
Surely, Filoni could hide that it’s really our galaxy because they wouldn’t name it the same. They already seem to be calling it Peridia. I personally like that name better than the Milky Way. This would keep it a sort of secret throughout the series until he is ready to reveal it. If you think about it, we can have a whole adventure in this galaxy and on Earth with no one realizing it until the very end, sort of like in a Planet of the Apes-style finish. Filoni can tip us off in the last scene with something we know is from the Earth. What would it be, though?
Well, first of all, Star Wars takes place “a long time ago,” but we have no idea just how long ago. It could be years ago, decades ago, centuries ago, millennia ago, millennia Falcon ago! We just don’t know. However, it would be a little bit challenging to place it in modern times. It would be easier to put it during a time when humans didn’t exist or at a time when they did, but the audience wouldn’t necessarily know it’s Earth.
Well, here’s one way to do it. The characters of this show find a new world and land in a desert area. They realize there is a civilization with those who sort of look like they’re styled after the Pykes, a species in Star Wars whose look somewhat mimics Ancient Egyptians. You probably see where I’m going with this now. Fast forward to them having their whole adventure, and in the final scene of the last episode, Ahsoka blasts off, and, in the background, you see the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza.
Of course, this will make the “aliens built the pyramids” theorists go crazy but I could see it working, especially considering pyramid structures are seen throughout Star Wars.
One of the dumbest things about Star Wars is that every planet is based on one natural terrain. Thus, Earth would certainly confuse our Star Wars characters. I can imagine Ahsoka flying towards Earth, saying, “Look, a big forest, it’s Endor! Oh no, it’s not. It’s a big ocean, it must be Kamino! Oh no, wait. It’s a desert planet. Must be Tatooine. No, I’m confused. What is this place that houses every planet in our galaxy?!”
Something tells me that such a scene will never make it into an episode.
So, will one of the “Stars” in “Star Wars” be the Milky Way? We must all watch Ahsoka to find out, but even if it ends up not being the case, it will be intriguing to see what this new galaxy they discover is and if it potentially changes anything about the Star Wars saga moving forward.