Star Wars: Ahsoka is coming to Disney+ on August 23, 2023, and this is the second installment in this series of prep notes. If you haven’t watched the animated Star Wars shows or just want a pre-show appetizer, these prep notes offer a quick glance at the Star Wars characters and lore behind Ahsoka. I kicked off the series in last week’s installment covering Ahsoka and Rex reaching back to Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Now I move into Star Wars: Rebels territory starting with Hera, Chopper, and the ship known as the Ghost.
Hera Syndulla is a master pilot and the “space mom” to the small rebel cell featured in Rebels. Hera also has connections to Clone Wars, being the daughter of Ryloth freedom fighter Cham Syndulla, a recurring Clone Wars character. Thanks to her upbringing and her deep sense of empathy toward others, Hera carries a strong desire to help others and fight against oppression. Throughout Rebels, Hera keeps her crew connected and focused while supporting them emotionally. She also rises to become an esteemed strategist and leader among the rebels, training numerous rebel pilots.
Star Wars stories outside of Rebels have extended the canon lore for Hera. Star Wars: The Bad Batch shows Hera in early adolescence with a passion for flight and a longing to be a pilot. The novel Star Wars: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller tells another pre-Rebels story of how Hera met Kanan Jarrus, planting the seeds of what would become the Ghost crew featured in Rebels. (I’ll cover Kanan more in an upcoming installment of the prep notes.) Star Wars: Forces of Destiny stories included Hera interacting with other female characters in Star Wars.
Chopper (C1-10P) is Hera’s astromech droid that she adopted as a child after rescuing him from the wreckage of a Y-wing. Rebels fans know that Chopper is the epitome of a rebellious spirit, often striking out solo to suit his own desires or to pull a prank on someone. Chopper is incredibly loyal to Hera, though, and has shown his willingness to sacrifice himself for the safety of his friends, both organic and droid. It’s tempting to gush more about Chopper here since he’s my favorite Star Wars droid, but I’ll save that for another time!
The Ghost is a Corellian freighter owned by Hera Syndulla and modified to be fast and stealthy. Its name comes from its ability to disguise its transponder code and mimic other ships. Thanks to both the transponder and Hera’s masterful piloting, the Ghost becomes a notorious rebel ship in the eyes of the Empire. The Ghost also has a small excursion vehicle docked on top of it called the Phantom. The Phantom proves useful when the crew has to split up or if the mission requires a smaller ship. During the course of Rebels, one mission causes the loss of the first Phantom, and the crew adopts another ship to take its place, dubbing it the Phantom II.
Ahsoka will be Hera’s live action debut, portrayed by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. However, Ahsoka is not the first time we’ve seen Chopper or the Ghost in live action. In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Chopper rolls around at the Yavin 4 rebel base. The Ghost is also parked at the base and, later, flies in battle above Scarif. There was even a loudspeaker call on Yavin 4 during Rogue One calling for “General Syndulla.” Also, in Star Wars, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, we see the Ghost‘s iconic diamond shape again, this time in the battle over Exegol. I look forward to seeing the live action Ghost up close during Ahsoka as we ride along with Hera through space!
Come back to Couch Soup next week for my prep notes on Grand Admiral Thrawn, Captain Pellaeon, and Thrawn’s flagship that was once under Pellaeon’s command, the Chimaera.
