Following fan screening events in New York City, Orlando, Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Francisco, invited media are giving their initial social reactions to Ahsoka, the newest Star Wars series coming to Disney+ on August 23rd. How does it compare to The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Andor? Let’s find out.
(Lucasfilm)
We’ll start with our own Star Wars aficionado, who says it’s “Everything a Star Wars fan could want out of a live-action TV series” and also praises it as being one of the most cinematic Star Wars series to date. However, he is concerned that viewers who haven’t seen Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars Rebels may have a harder time getting into it.
Another of our team members, Benji Breitbart, suggests that the series may be a little too slow-paced to keep streaming audiences engaged.
Both of those thoughts are also expressed by Laura Sirikul, whose work can be read at The Nerds of Color, IGN, Nerdist, Entertainment Weekly, and more.
Meghan O’Keefe of Decider echoes Mike’s concerns about the point of entry, pointing out that the lore could turn off fans of more grounded shows like Andor.
Sheraz Farooqi of The Hollywood Reporter sings the praise of Rosario Dawson in the title role.
Similarly, Gissane Sophia of CBR gives credit to Natasha Liu Bordizzo's live-action portrayal of Sabine Wren, a character who originated on Star Wars Rebels.
And love is also thrown towards Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll by Adam Blevins from Agents of Fandom.
Erik Davis of Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes credits Dave Filoni’s writing on the premiere episode and also points out the strength of the fight sequences.
Germain Lussier of Gizmodo and io9 felt there were enough flat moments to cause concern, but he has faith that the show will please overall.
A lot of posts talk about the score by Kevin Kiner as being one of the show’s biggest strengths. Liam Crawley of Comic Book found it to be one of the show’s few redeeming qualities.
With words like “Cinematic” being used to describe the series, it’s no wonder that Steven Weintraub of Collider wishes he could see the entire series on the big screen. And he found that prior knowledge of Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars Rebels was necessary to access the series.
But if you can’t see Ahsoka on the big screen, Disney+ will have to do. And if you have some free time and haven’t seen it yet, you might want to check out Star Wars Rebels. The first two episodes of Ahsoka begin streaming on Wednesday, August 23rd, with weekly episode releases on subsequent Wednesdays. Listen to more of Mike and Benji’s thoughts in our live show following the screenings.