‘Ahsoka’ Is Packed With Star Wars Lore, But Here’s How New Fans Can Have Fun, Too

There's a new Jedi in town, and she may just be the coolest Jedi of them all. Ahsoka Tano is coming to live action in the new Disney+ series Ahsoka, played by Rosario Dawson. She's got blue-and-white striped tentacle things on her head, orange skin, and a wiki page the length of a novel, though she may be a bit of a stranger to more casual Star Wars fans. She appeared in one episode of The Mandalorian and one episode of The Book of Boba Fett, but the hardcore Ahsoka girlies fell in love with her thanks to the animated shows Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. The new show, written entirely by Rebels EP and general Star Wars expert/mastermind Dave Filoni, essentially picks up where those shows left off and has little concern for new fans who may be tuning in without context. 

That may turn some people off, but it doesn't have to. No one said every show has to be for every person, but it would also suck if Star Wars' first female-focused show flops just because its lore runs too deep. So we've put together this quick guide to help every kind of Star Wars fan get ready for Ahsoka.

Here's everything you need to know to have a good time, no matter how much backstory you've got. 

Who is Ahsoka? 

Ahsoka Tano is a Jedi who once trained under Anakin Skywalker, right up until he abandoned her to become Darth Vader. That abandonment still stings. When it comes to Jedi, Ahsoka is among the coolest. The show makes that clear from the moment we meet her and see even her most basic lightsaber skills. 

What's with the tentacles? 

They're actually called lekku. Ahsoka is a Togruta female, from the planet Shili, and one of the main characteristics of a Togruta is their lekku, along with horns on top of their heads called montrals. Women typically have longer lekku than men. 

Who are all the other women?

This show, in many ways, is for and about the women. Ahsoka reunites with her rebellious former apprentice, Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a Twi'lek pilot. And on the Dark Side, we've got Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) and Dark Force apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno).  

Everywhere you look, there's years of history that have resulted in some seriously icy tension between these ladies, and there are also frequent references to witches. Star Wars witches!

There are witches?!

Yes, and there are spooky magic mystical things happening in the galaxy, thanks to the magic of the Force. Ahsoka's not just for the girls, but for the girls who love Star Wars and Halloween and casting spells on the baddies of the universe.

Who else is important? 

The late Ray Stevenson plays Baylan Skoll, a former Jedi who is now a mercenary. He is Shin Hati's mentor. David Tennant provides the voice of the droid Huyang, who is thousands of years old and builds lightsabers. Tennant voiced the character in The Clone Wars as well. 

What's happening in the show? 

All you really need to know going into it is that a really evil blue guy named Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) had previously been defeated, sent into hyperspace by Rebels character Ezra (Eman Esfandi). Some imperialists want Thrawn back, while Ahsoka and her pals want to rescue Ezra, who's been missing ever since. There's a map that everyone's trying to get access to. 

When does Ahsoka take place? 

It's about a decade after A New Hope, which took place just a few years after Rebels and 20 years after The Clone Wars. Ahsoka is in her 40s. Time in the Star Wars universe is measured based on the infamous Battle of Yavin, which is when the Death Star was destroyed in A New Hope, so years are either BBY (before the Battle of Yavin) or ABY (after the battle). Here's where every major show/movie falls in the Star Wars timeline: 

32 BBY: Episode I: The Phantom Menace 
22 BBY: Episode II: Attack of the Clones
22-19 BBY: Star Wars: The Clone Wars 
19 BBY: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
19 BBY: Star Wars: The Bad Batch 
13-10 BBY: Solo: A Star Wars Story 
9 BBY: Obi-Wan Kenobi 
5-0 BBY: Andor 
5-0 BBY: Star Wars Rebels 
0 BBY: Rogue One 
0: Episode IV: A New Hope 
3 ABY: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
4 ABY: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 
9 ABY: The Mandalorian
9 ABY: The Book of Boba Fett 
9 ABY: Ahsoka
34-35 ABY: Star Wars: Resistance 
34 ABY: The Force Awakens 
34 ABY: The Last Jedi
35 ABY: The Rise of Skywalker 

Ahsoka makes her debut with two episodes on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. ET.