Did Star Wars Quietly Reveal Ahsoka Tano's Death? An Investigation
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This post contains spoilers for Marvel's "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" #5.
More than five years after the movie first hit theaters, Marvel Comics has finally finished its comic book adaptation of director J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker." With the publication of the fifth and final issue in the series, those who have been interested to see how the final entry in the sequel trilogy would translate from screen to page can finally satisfy that curiosity. In fact, those who read issue #5 will notice one key addition to the film's climactic battle, one that may well add some crucial information about Ahsoka Tano.
Written by Jody Hauser with artwork by Will Sliney, the final pages of "The Rise of Skywalker" issue #5 sees Rey facing off against her estranged grandfather Palpatine alongside Kylo Ren, much as they did in the movie. However, Rey's big "I am all the Jedi" moment features one key change, with a host of Jedi Force ghosts from every era of the franchise surrounding her as she takes care of Palpatine once and for all. In the back left corner of the image, one such hooded Jedi looks rather familiar.
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER comic shows Rey visited by a number of Force ghosts, including Ahsoka Tano. This seemingly confirms that, by the time of the sequel trilogy, Ahsoka has died and become one with the Force. pic.twitter.com/iciDXavr1O
— Star Wars Holocron (@sw_holocron) June 12, 2025
Indeed, it does appear that one of these Jedi, at first glance anyway, is none other than Anakin Skywalker's former apprentice Ahsoka Tano. This is extremely important because, up to this point in the official "Star Wars" canon timeline, Ahsoka's death has not been established. Ahoska made it out of "The Clone Wars" alive and went on to live through the events of the original trilogy, appearing in "Star Wars Rebels" and the live-action "Ahsoka" TV show.
If that figure is indeed Ahsoka, the implication is that she dies at either some point during the events of the sequel trilogy or just before it. That would be, it's safe to say, a huge deal. As such, it's worth questioning if that is indeed Ahsoka and, if it's not, who might it be?
Would Star Wars really kill Ahsoka Tano off screen like this?
These comics generally try to stay faithful to what was put on screen, though they do often add little details. The "Last Jedi" comic gave us Admiral Ackbar's final words, for example. But would Disney and Lucasfilm really let a bombshell this big drop so slyly in the pages of a comic? That's the big question fans are left with while looking at this image.
One explanation could be that the hooded figure in question isn't actually Ahsoka. After all, there are other members of her alien species, the Togruta, out there amongst the stars. An obvious answer might be Shaak Ti, another Togruta character who could easily be mistaken for Ahsoka if seen from a distance with her face partially obstructed (like it is here). A Jedi Master who appeared in both the prequel trilogy and "The Clone Wars," her presence at this gathering of Jedi would make sense.
As of this writing, nobody at Lucasfilm or anyone involved with the comic has spoken up about the identity of this character. That said, it's truly hard to believe that Dave Filoni, who's currently serving as Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm and helped create Ahsoka Tano alongside George Lucas, would let someone else establish the character's death in the "Star Wars" canon like this. Granted, we still don't know precisely when Ahsoka dies or how, but it still feels like something Filoni would want to have a hand in.
Who knows? With "Ahsoka" season 2 currently in the works for a 2026 premiere, we could learn a lot more about the character's ultimate fate when it arrives. If that cloaked Jedi helping Rey in this comic is, in fact, the fan-favorite Ahsoka, one imagines her death will be explored in greater detail at another time. Unfortunately, for the time being and with the information available, we're left with more questions than answers.
You can pre-order the "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" comic collected edition from Amazon.