WhenRay Stevenson died,Ahsokaseason two almost died with it.
Along the way, the topic of Stevensons passing came up and Filoni got visibly emotional.
He was just the greatest person and such a great spirit on the show.
Ray Stevenson is gone, but not forgotten.Lucasfilm
And he did not disappoint in any way.
Ray was the most beautiful person on screen and off, he was wonderful to all of us.
However big of a loss you think it is, its bigger.
Rory McCann as Baylan Skoll in Ahsoka Season 2 – io9/Lucasfilm
It was a challenge for me even to consider continuing [Ahsoka] for a while, he continued.
I had Ray in my head and Im grateful for all the conversations with him about Baylan.
So I understood what to do, it just took a while to get there.
But Im very confident now that Ray would be happy with the direction that weve chosen.
But according to Filoni, the reason for Baylan existing is more than just as a bad guy.
The character was meant to be important, Filoni said.
Hes meant to be the parallel to Ahsoka in every way.
And that parallel is something that must continue.
And aspreviously reported, they found their man in Scottish actor Rory McCann.
So Rory will be taking over the role.
[Rory] takes it very seriously.
I know this sole focus is not letting Ray down and not letting you guys down.
Youll love them, and we love him and I love what hes taking on.
Its a big deal, so the force is with him.
Ahsokaseason two starts shooting by the end of April.
No word on a release date, but we have to imagine sometime in late 2026.
Want more io9 news?
News from the future, delivered to your present.
