Eman Esfandi, star of Ahsoka, took the shot on his own. Fans believed Ezra Bridger from Star Wars Rebels would appear in live-action after Ahsoka Tano’s debut in The Mandalorian.
A spinoff series for Ahsoka was announced in December 2020, led by Dave Filoni. Fans speculated that more animated characters would follow.
Consequently, the part of the long-lost Jedi, Ezra, became highly sought after in the community, and six months in advance of the casting call, Esfandi gave his delegates a detailed explanation of how things would proceed.
“I emailed my agent and manager six months prior to my audition and was like, ‘Hey when they cast for Ezra Bridger, I’m going to play him. So use these pictures,’” Esfandi tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Esfandi and his team quickly decoded a cryptic audition for a Star Wars character named “Riz” and realized it was for Ezra. Cast based on his self-tape alone, Esfandi fulfilled his prophecy from six months earlier.
At the end of Star Wars Rebels, Ezra sacrifices everything to trap Thrawn in another galaxy, missing out on all events of the original Star Wars trilogy. On Ahsoka, Sabine brings Ezra up to speed on everything that happened during his absence, also updating Esfandi himself.
“I wasn’t a Star Wars person before the show. I just didn’t grow up on it. But after we shot the show, I inhaled all of it for six months,” Esfandi admits. “So, when Sabine was filling Ezra in, I also didn’t know much about it. Once I got to know everything, it just made that scene twice as funny. I was like, ‘Oh my God, that was how they filled Ezra in? That’s hilarious.’”
In Ahsoka’s season one finale, Sabine and Ezra switch places. Sabine is now stranded in another galaxy with Ahsoka, while Ezra is reunited with Hera Syndulla. Ezra is unaware that Sabine’s deal with the enemy has brought Thrawn back to their galaxy.
Reportedly, season two is on the horizon and Dave Filoni’s upcoming movie will conclude the Disney+ Star Wars storyline.