The first season of Ahsoka came to an end back in 2023 with plenty of questions still unanswered for Star Wars fans with a Disney+ subscription. Now, with the 2025 TV schedule getting underway, we have an answer to the mystery of whether or not the late Ray Stevenson would be recast to continue Baylan Skoll’s journey in Season 2. Game of Thrones alum Rory McCann has reportedly been cast as Baylan Skoll for when Ahsoka returns, and I can’t wait to see what he brings to the role.
Ray Stevenson was considered by many fans to be a highlight of Ahsoka‘s first season, which was a testament to his skill but tragic in light of the actor passing away at the age of just 58, just months before the Disney+ Star Wars show premiered in 2023. Ahsoka ended Season 1 on a cliffhanger for Baylan Skoll and the mysterious Mortis statues, raising the issue of whether Stevenson would be recast to continue what seemed like an important story or the story would be scrapped. EP Dave Filoni wouldn’t commit either way when asked; now, we have Rory McCann coming on board to step into Stevenson’s shoes.
News of Rory McCann’s casting first broke courtesy of The Insneider, which THR went on to confirm afterwards. Assuming the rest of the Season 1 main players return, the Game of Thrones star joins Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ivanna Sakhno, David Tennant, Eman Esfandi, and Lars Mikkelsen. It seems likely that he’d share most screentime with Dawson, Bordizzo and/or Sakhno, given that those three as well as Baylan Skoll stayed behind on Peridea while Ezra and Thrawn returned to the main galaxy.
Recent credits for McCann include voicing Megatron for Transformers: Earthspark, General Tegular in Gladiator 2, Ragnar in The Damned, The Buyer in Knuckles, and Armstrong in Jackdaw, to just name a handful of his post-Thrones gigs.
And while I wouldn’t have predicted that the actor famed for playing The Hound on Game of Thrones as the replacement for Ray Stevenson in Ahsoka, I’m excited to see what Rory McCann brings to the character. The Star Wars series is arguably the biggest project he’s landed since finishing Thrones, and he clearly can fit right into the fantasy genre. What is Star Wars if not a space opera combining fantasy with science fiction?
At the time of writing, McCann has not yet publicly commented on news that he’ll be playing Baylan Skoll for Ahsoka Season 2. Considering that Dave Filoni‘s The Mandalorian & Grogu film is expected to tie the various Disney+ live-action Star Wars shows together, playing Ray Stevenson’s original character for Ahsoka could lead to a role on the big screen for McCann.
Unfortunately, no premiere date has yet been announced for the second season of Ahsoka. Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is the most recent Star Wars release on Disney+ among the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows, with Andor Season 2 to follow with a premiere on April 22, 2025. With The Mandalorian & Grogu slated for May 2026, it remains to be seen when Star Wars will schedule Ahsoka Season 2. I’m hoping for a late 2025 or early 2026 arrival, but only time will tell.
For now, fans can always revisit the first season of Ahsoka streaming on Disney+. Or, if news of Rory McCann’s casting puts you in the mood for some Game of Thrones action, you can find all eight seasons of that series streaming with a Max subscription.