Warning: The article contains spoilers for Ahsoka season one finale.
The very first episode of Ahsoka season 1 ended by remembering the legend that was Ray Stevenson — who starred as the formidable yet strangely super-likable fallen Jedi, Baylan Skoll — passed away on May 21, 2023. Given the short-term status of minor villains in Star Wars, many expected (and fervently hoped) that Stevenson’s arc would come to a satisfactory end with the season one finale, neatly tying up his storyline.
But episode 8 ended with a cliffhanger — with Baylan literally standing on a cliff. His motivations are even murkier than before and he is nowhere near finding what he set out to discover — the grey path between the Dark and Light side of the Force — when he parted ways with Shin. Seeing as sadly the actor is not with us anymore, the two overarching points of the debate have been whether Ahsoka season 2 will recast Baylan or did by some miracle, the Star Wars show was one of those anomalies that shot two seasons back-to-back.
Will we, by any miracle, see Ray Stevenson as Baylan in Ahsoka season 2?
Sadly, no. The first season of Ahsoka wrapped up filming way back in 2022 and while signs of a second season have all the Force with it (though the show was advertised as a miniseries), it was not greenlit in advance, so chances of Stevenson having filmed his scenes in advance are zero.
If Ahsoka does get the nod for the next season, Dave Filoni has a handful of options, which are mentioned below:
- As much as Stevenson breathes life into the character of Baylan, the Dark Jedi is integral to the story going forward. The best route, though heartbreaking to envision, would be to recast the role and probably rope in someone like Kenneth Branagh, Sean Bean, Gerard Butler, Russell Crowe, Graham Norton, or Kristofer Hivju to take the story forward because though Baylan entered Star Wars as a side-antagonist, his arc and now his decisions going forward are going to have a rippling, galaxy-wide impact.
- Weave a story that somehow erases Boylan’s role, keeping him in the background, and channeling his motivations through Shin.
- Go for a CGI-created Ray Stevenson as Baylan. But seeing that many were dreading seeing a computer-generated Leia after the teaser in the last episode, it won’t be a unanimously welcome move.
It goes without saying that Baylan Skoll became the most memorable offering of Ahsoka because Ray Stevenson agreed to hold the orange lightsaber and live the Jedi’s grey-shaded aspirations for the galaxy far, far away. So no matter what path Filoni opts for in the long run, Baylan will always be one of Stevenson’s iconic roles.