Ahsoka fans have been left with mixed feelings after the Star Wars spinoff series confirmed a new castmate, with Rory McCann set to replace the late Ray Stevenson in the role of Baylan Skoll.
Stevenson died in May 2023 after suffering a brief illness and was beloved by Ahsoka fans, for his resonant voice, gravitas, and complex portrayal of a conflicted Force-using villain that isn’t a lightning-spewing cackling space wizard. Stevenson was known Punisher: War Zone, Rome, Dexter and Thor, while McCann is known for his roles in Game of Thrones, Hot Fuzz and, more recently, Gladiator II.
Stevenson and McCann were friends, with the former actor’s wife giving her blessing for McCann to inherit the role. McCann has a few months to prepare for the role, with season two of Ahsoka going into production in May. In the meantime, fans have reacted to the recasting in anticipation of McCann’s arrival in the series, with the sentiment seeming largely positive. “Oh, let’s gooo,” one fan quipped on X, with another adding that McCann “stole the show on Game of Thrones” and describing it as “fantastic casting” on the part of production company, Lucasfilm.
“He will do great,” a third declared, while others agreed that McCann is “a solid replacement” for Stevenson and “will do the role justice.” Elsewhere, fans said that while it’ll be “tough shoes to fill,” McCann is “a fantastic actor” who is “made for these types of roles” and whose casting “was the right decision for the story.” Even beyond the simple recasting, fans reacted positively to continue on with the character of Baylan Skoll rather than writing him off, since the former Jedi is “way too interesting” and there has been “too much lore set up” within season one of Ahsoka.
“Rory McCann will fit in the role,” another wrote, “he’s a good actor.” As far as recastings go, Stevenson’s replacement has been received far stirred controversy and rumors.
But for Ahsoka recasting was the only feasible option. Baylan Skoll and his apprentice, Ivanna Sakhno’s Shin Hati, were by some distance the most interesting characters in Ahsoka, though they were frustratingly absent in the season one finale, only appearing in very brief, dialogue-free scenes at the close of the episode.
We should at least be thankful that Disney and Lucasfilm chose not to embrace the dark art of digitally resurrecting Stevenson for a posthumous deepfaked performance. This route must have been discussed given that Star Wars has already used CGI tech to bring back Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher, but in this instance we think it’s a fitting tribute to Stevenson to have his friend take up the lightsaber.
Published: Jan 13, 2025 05:18 am