THE CLONE WARS: MISTRESS OF THE BLADES!

Personally, AFICIONADO feels that Ahsoka Tano should never have survived her lightsaber duel conflict against Darth Vader, as seen in Star Wars Rebels, and that writer/producer Dave Filoni gave in to fan pressure with the eventual timeline time travel 'get-out clause' that saw her return post EPISODE VI, with that series animated finale. Still, Ahsoka's popularity, as personified by  the ever enthused actor/business woman Ashley Eckstein, continues to radiate like a bright star for her dedicated fan base worldwide.

THE CLONE WARS: AHSOKA'S JUST CAUSE...

Art by Dave Filoni.

Always leading from the front, former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano is reunited with her ever loyal Captain Rex and his troopers, plus loyalist Bo-Katan, as the battle begins to retake war-torn Mandalore from the returned evil of Darth Maul - a surely epic confrontation, set just prior and leading into the events of EPISODE III, that we sadly never got to witness with the cancellation of THE CLONE WARS after five seasons, though it has often been tantalizingly talked about by animation director/producer Dave Filoni, most notably at the UK's 2016 STAR WARS CELEBRATION event honouring the legacy of Ahsoka, where he also revealed the above piece of personal conceptual art.

And there are still lots of important stories left to be told about Ahsoka too, especially between the events of her leaving the Jedi Order and becoming a later key member of the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire. Some of these, including hints about Ahsoka's pre-EPISODE III Mandalore confrontation, are revealed in E.K. Johnston's acclaimed young adult novel: AHSOKA, now fully available in UK large paperback from EGMONT, as of March 9th, 2017.

Check out our original book review here: STAR WARS AFICIONADO WEBSITE: AFICIONADO REVIEW: 'STAR WARS: AHSOKA'

Get it here: Star Wars: Ahsoka: Amazon.co.uk: E K Johnston: 9781405287906: Books

Star Wars: Ahsoka Audiobook Excerpt Read By Ashley Eckstein | Rebels Report

'STAR WARS: AHSOKA' - OUT NOW IN THE UK!

Padawan no more! Ahsoka Tano's post- Jedi life begins in STAR WARS: AHSOKA, out now.

Ahsoka Lives!

Never have two words been more emotionally important, nor more crowd-rousing, to dedicated fans of THE CLONE WARS animated series than with their acknowledged and moved event witnessing of young Padawan Ahsoka Tano, female role model for all ages, departing her once beloved Jedi Order, in front of her shocked master and friend in Anakin Skywalker, which concluded the show's complete fifth season and its official run. What happened to Ahsoka between the time she descended those fateful Jedi Temple steps and eventually boarded the blockade running Ghost freighter nearly twenty years later, revealing herself as a Rebel operative in the fight against the fearsome Empire, can now finally be revealed in the critically acclaimed, STAR WARS history-making, revelation-packed storytelling that is New York Times bestseller hit AHSOKA, by E.K. Johnston, now finally reaching the UK shores via DISNEY BOOKS.

On her own and seeking a new existence on Coruscant. Art images: Dave Filoni, via STARWARS.COM

Everything previously hinted at in three sadly never-completed animated story arcs, online conversations, behind the scenes featurettes, and events described by her co-creator in THE CLONE WARS Supervising Director Dave Filoni to voice actress Ashley Eckstein at the lively Ahsoka's Untold Tales panel from London's CELEBRATION 2016, is finally unified and given substantive form by Johnston, detailing the former Jedi's life-changing, extraordinary evolution in adapting to new challenges with the fallout of the Galactic War, the initiation of the blood-soaked ORDER 66 that would kill so many of her friends, coming to terms with the building darkness around her and garnering a new life whilst hiding in plain sight of her enemies, leading to her ultimate heroine rebirth as part of the Rebel Alliance in Season Two of THE CLONE WARS animated successor, STAR WARS REBELS. All this, and much more (watch out for some subtle ROGUE ONE linkage!), will entertain and illuminate STAR WARS fans and Ahsoka Tano fans everywhere with this officially approved and canon young reader's novel - a must-have for Christmas and beyond, part of a franchise publication cycle that has been in ever-popular ascendance this year, and which will also help to satiate the fans' new wait for Ahsoka's eventual destiny beyond her extraordinary lightsaber confrontation with Darth Vader, on the Sith world of Malachor. Now more than ever to her fan family, Ahsoka still lives!

Leading the charge to take back Mandalore from Darth Maul- the massive event to have taken place before EPISODE III.

Ahsoka’s Untold Tales Panel | Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016 - YouTube

STAR WARS AFICIONADO WEBSITE: CELEBRATION 2016: AHSOKA LIVES!

SWCE 2016: Ahsoka's Untold Tales Panel Liveblog | StarWars.com

I Am No Jedi: Talking Ahsoka with E.K. Johnston | StarWars.com

All the Star Wars Secrets Hidden in the New Novel Ahsoka

Get STAR WARS: AHSOKA here: Star Wars: Ahsoka: Amazon.co.uk: E.K. Johnston: 9781484705667: Books

CELEBRATION 2016: AHSOKA LIVES!

With the shocking discovery of an ancient Sith Temple deep underneath the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Ahsoka Tano is caught in a lethal lightsaber battle against a wall separated Darth Sidious, in this great Dave Filoni image for a THE CLONE WARS episode storyline (probably around Season 8) that never got past the story idea stage. The Ahsoka's Untold Stories panel at CELEBRATION 2016 was an informative and quote emotional event for fans, and especially Ashley Eckstein who was surprised, delighted and moved to tears by what an enthused Dave Filoni revealed about what happened to her character between the timelines of the two animated series, including a life within the underworld of 1313 (and getting a new rogue boyfriend), and, paired with Bo Katan, reunited with Anakin and Obi-Wan to take on the returned threat of Darth Maul, now back on Mandalore for trouble, in an epic story that would lead-in to EPISODE III. With Anakin and Obi-Wan gone to help the Supreme Chancellor, Ahsoka would lead Captain Rex's squad (bearing a nifty new orange patterning in tribute to their new leader) into battle as Order 66 begins...

Ahsoka’s Untold Tales Panel | Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016 - YouTube
SWCE 2016: Ahsoka's Untold Tales Panel Liveblog | StarWars.com
Ashley Eckstein and Dave Filoni Interview | Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016 - YouTube
Dave Filoni Interview | Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016 - YouTube

Coming soon from DISNEY BOOKS: STAR WARS: Ahsoka.

Ahsoka Tano secrets, book cover revealed at Star Wars Celebration

STAR WARS REBELS: 'FULCRUM' REVEALED!

A different time, a different struggle for former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, in STAR WARS REBELS. Image: DISNEY.

Her return to the STAR WARS universe probably one of the behind the scene team's worst kept secrets- hell, co-creator Dave Filoni pretty much said she was coming back at CELEBRATION EUROPE II, before STAR WARS REBELS had even aired! - the revelation of Ahsoka Tano being the shadowy Rebel spy "Fulcrum" was warmly welcomed by THE CLONE WARS fans, giving the late series a welcome bridging with its animated successor. It should be very intriguing to find out what happens next, and just how far integrated Tano will be in future REBELS seasons and with its main group. Does she know that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker, and just how did she escape the galactic purge initiated in Order 66? Importantly, will she and Vader finally, and fan expectantly, clash lightsabers?

Season Two of REBELS looks set to expand the series format greatly, with new worlds, new heroes and new villains promised, whilst having a good time celebrating the adventurous era of the Classic Trilogy to which it's set. Truth be told, the show, despite a fast springing and voracious core fanbase, has not yet made the kind of international ratings impact with general audiences that THE CLONE WARS did in its premiere year, but the upcoming changes and this next, longer episode run, will surely make amends...

▶ Rebels Recon #14: Inside "Fire Across the Galaxy" - YouTube
A Jedi returns in 'Star Wars Rebels' finale
| EW Community | EW.com
Interview: Dave Filoni on Star Wars Rebels, Part 3 | StarWars.com
Sarah Michelle Gellar joins 'Star Wars Rebels' in season 2 | EW.com
(Exclusive) Info on Sarah Michelle Gellars character in Star Wars: Rebels! | Star Wars Time
Star Wars Rebels Co-Creator on Season 1's Big Death and Big Return and Where Season 2 Will Go - IGN
Kanan: The Last Padawan #1 – Exclusive 5-page Preview | StarWars.com

THE CLONE WARS: ALL GROWN UP! THE DESTINY OF AHSOKA TANO

"Snips" no more?! Ahsoka Tano has proved herself in THE CLONE WARS.

No longer the young Padawan, Togrutan Jedi Ahsoka Tano, as voiced by the popular Ashley Eckstein, has certainly grown up and matured in the last five years of THE CLONE WARS, since her original theatrical debut in 2008, conceived by George Lucas and Dave Filoni to give younger STAR WARS fans a character to root for in the animated series whilst, at the same time, giving her master Anakin Skywalker more character depth and interest in the build-up to EPISODE III.

Shrouded in mystery and then unnamed, Ahsoka appeared in the shadows of the first THE CLONE WARS poster, which debuted at the CELEBRATION IV convention in 2007.

Early days for Anakin and Ahsoka in Season One.

Despite her tender, sometimes vulnerable side, and her loyal friendship to the famed Jedi Knight, Ahsoka has fought many battles, too, displaying her instinctive talents and now double lightsaber skills with an often fearless streak of bravery alongside her comrades, or separately, against the likes of General Grievous no less, in the vast galaxy-spanning conflicts between Republic and Separatists.

Taking on the fearsome General Grievous in Season One.

Allied with Chewbacca in Season Three's Wookiee Hunt.

And meeting old friend Lux, now a fugitive, in Season Four's A Friend in Need.

With the upcoming fifth season of THE CLONE WARS, Filoni has promised an intriguing new story arc for Ahsoka which is shrouded in secrecy. When the series eventually, sadly, ends, will she become a fully-fledged Jedi Knight? And, as is her duty, having left her partnership with Anakin, will she get a spin-off, and a Padawan to train and continue the Clone Wars struggle with? Or will the producers be hopefully brave enough to see her confront Anakin Skywalker as Darth Vader after ORDER 66? A clash of lightsabers that can clearly end with only one winner...

An adult Ahsoka, as seen in the Mortis trilogy. But will she survive to reach her destiny?

"Always in motion is the future...", as a famed little green man likes to say!

In the meantime, why not check out AFICIONADO's own original short story featuring the character, The Wilderness of Death, set between Seasons One and Two of THE CLONE WARS, as she and a small group of Clone Troopers find themselves trapped on a ghost planet, here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B80ITjM31EVRMExrWERKbUxEQjA/edit?usp=sharing

Seasons One to Three of THE CLONE WARS are available on DVD and Blu-ray from WARNER BROTHERS HOME ENTERTAINMENT.

AFICIONADO REVIEW: 'STAR WARS: THE ULTIMATE VISUAL GUIDE' REVISED AND EXPANDED 2012 EDITION

A history of light and darkness, of good and evil, is wonderfully revealed in the new updated edition of STAR WARS: THE ULTIMATE VISUAL GUIDE from DORLING KINDERSLEY.

STAR WARS: THE ULTIMATE VISUAL GUIDE

(UPDATED AND EXPANDED 2012 EDITION)


By Ryder Windham


Published by DORLING KINDERSLEY BOOKS



Reviewed by Scott Weller


Just in time for Classic and Prequel Trilogy Celebrations (the original STAR WARS 35th Anniversary and EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES 10th), as well as the now landmark 5th Year set down by the triumphant hit animated series THE CLONE WARS from this September, writing adventurer Ryder Windham's excellent and esential THE ULTIMATE VISUAL GUIDE from 2005 gets a welcome re-release from DORLING KINDERSLEY books, fully updated and expanded for 2012, and truly chock-a-block full of the history of the saga both on and off screen.

Launched from 2008 onwards, THE CLONE WARS gets some fine coverage in the new edition...

As does the events of THE FORCE UNLEASHED.

More on Obi-Wan Kenobi's self-exiled life on Tatooine, as well as other planetary characters, is revealed. Art by Jerry Vanderstelt.

As the story, once described as belonging to "a boy, a girl and a universe", continues to evolve in its enduring mythos of wondrous imagination, memorable characters and stirring adventure, so too does the accompanying visual guide as, eight years on from its original release (of which an awful LOT has happened/emerged from the hallowed grounds of LUCASFILM and SKYWALKER RANCH since it's original publication!), this well-deserved update has a terrific and colourful new section on THE CLONE WARS series (the book even has an enthusiastic new launch foreword from Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano herself, aka the lovely and telented voice actress Ashley Eckstein) and looks at all the key moments, characters, battles, technology and drama of every story arc from it's first four seasons within a lovely visual feast that makes the most of the series pioneering animation and visual style (leading up to the return of the dreaded, once deceased, Darth Maul), but noticably not covering the separate, and no less enjoyable, Genndy Tartakovsky animated series events leading up to the live-action EPISODE III in either edition. Is there a long-term reason for this? Will the eventual final season of THE CLONE WARS be doing its own particular replacement lead-in to what had previously been established in 2005?). The Lucas made series 24 page section also includes some notable books and comics tie-ins, too, accompanied by a behind the scenes spread look at the making of the hit series and the talented cast and crew that bring it to life. Linked to the Classic Trilogy events both live-action and multi-media, there's also a new spread on the malevolent Dark Times period between movies EPISODE III and IV, in which our pariah hero Obi-Wan Kenobi spent nearly twenty years in isolation on the hauntingly beautiful desert world of Tatooine, the cataclysmic events of Dark Jedi servant/secret weapon "Starkiller" and THE FORCE UNLEASHED, and a look at the legacy decades after and beyond the original saga with the adventures of Cade Skywalker against an Empire now reborn and even more all-powerful. As if all that wasn't enough to further satisfy, there's also more-a lot more- dedicated space on the merchandise empire that is now a firm part of the STAR WARS legacy which fans old and new will wallow deeply in nostalgia to, a welcome look at the classic KENNER figures that helped create the toy craze from the seventies onwards into the huge conglomarate it is now with HASBRO- the modern guardians of the sacred flame, and a quirky and noteworthy look at some of the zany, old/new and beautifully specialised novelty SW items and mass appeal technology that have emerged to span four decades.

One of the books new spreads on the singular (so far) THE CLONE WARS movie from 2008.

Another new spread on the diverse array of Bounty Hunters appearing in the new animated series.

If you haven't already gotten hold of this release, now is the perfect time to sit (or should that be Sith?) back and clutch this enjoyably weighty tone, and discover, or re-discover, the wonderful, epic scope in all-things that is STAR WARS.

The essential purchase for STAR WARS fans of all ages, with its exhaustive research, exemplary picture selections (encompassing all media)/specialist photography, and its lovely and easy to follow overall design, the newly updated and expanded ULTIMATE VISUAL GUIDE fully justifies my 10 out of 10 rating for it, IMO.

CELEBRATION V: STAND OUT MOMENTS OF MIRTH AND MADNESS!

STAR WARS AFICIONADO list its favourite moments of surprise, mirth and madness from the latest CELEBRATION event.

You know you're going to a STAR WARS convention when you travel down a highway named "Goldenrod Road"!

A fan asking Carrie Fisher to marry him during her autograph signing! She politely turned him down.

The shocked looks on the faces of the OFFICIALPIX's coupons booth staff as the sound of a huge STAR WARS sound effects explosion rocked the main hall- I still have no idea exactly where that sound came from!

A young fan trying to get Dave Filoni to reveal more about the new season of THE CLONE WARS and telling him, "Don't hide what's inside!" That line brought the house down and made Filoni a quivering wreck- so much so that he joked that the kids always asked the most difficult questions and that, from now on, like a theme park roller coaster ride, there should be a height requirement for anyone wanting to enter the questions area!

The STAR WARS commitment booth and speed dating areas. And the Slave Leia belly dancing lessons on the Digital Stage. Nuff said!

Mark Hamill returning back to the autograph line and stopping for a photo to be taken by some kids in the VIP line. Instead of just smiling, Hamill pulled a gurney face at them and made the kids laugh, saying "How's that for your profile picture!"

Lucas attending the RAIDERS OF THE LOST TEMPLE OF DOOM show at DISNEY FILM STUDIOS and lightsaber duelling with Mickey Mouse.

Myself getting lost in the empty convention centre at 12.30 at night after a digital film screening, but hearing James Arnold Taylor's soothing pre-recorded words as Obi-Wan over the tannoy system telling me where to go! Very surreal.

Ashley Eckstein being freaked out one late night (after all her hard work on her new clothes range) outside the convention centre car park-not by the sight of me and two other fans by her car wanting to talk and say hello to her, but by a large spider on her car door. She hates spiders!

James Arnold Taylor's brilliant vocal abilities tested to their whirling dervish limit, and to great crowd pleasing success, in THE CLONE WARS VOICE ACTORS PANEL.

Waving hello to Matthew Hood in the hotel lobby one evening and getting a return wave back! Guests there also included Peter Mayhew, Kyle Newman and Jaime King (who looked lovely wearing her silver sequined top at breakfast one morning, but almost blinded me with its brightness at the same time!). And I saw FAMILY GUY's Seth MacFarlane looking very cool and relaxed in the car park, too!

Kudos to the sweet little girl who, despite being totally overwhelmed, was able to ask her heart-throb, Matt Lanter, a question about Anakin Skywalker during the CLONE WARS VOICE ACTORS PANEL. Bless!

A fan in the main hall actually stopping me - this really happened, no lie!- and asking if I was an actor in a STAR WARS film! Believe me, I would have loved to have said, "Yes, I was. I played young Ben Kenobi!"

Above art: one of the jolly posters for Celebration V in Orlando, by Randy Martinez.