The search for Ezra Bridger’s actor is over—and the search for Ezra Bridger on Ahsoka has just begun. Star Wars: Ahsoka is bringing Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano into her own series for Disney+, with Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren. And now comes the news that we’ll get to see fan-favorite character Ezra Bridger embodied by actor Eman Esfandi.
The Hollywood Reporter announced the casting and it continues to be a great bit of news for fans of the animated Star Wars Rebels world that creator Dave Filoni (who is also behind the Ahsoka series) helped build. Not that we couldn’t trust Filoni before, but the way the cast is coming together to bring these beloved characters into the live-action fold with Ahsoka is incredibly exciting to see.
Esfandi is a relatively unknown actor. He’s had roles in the Robert Rodriguez horror film Red 11 and was recently in King Richard in a cast with Will Smith and Jon Bernthal. He’s also listed as a director of short films on IMDb. But this is, for the most part, the first big title character that Esfandi has had and he looks absolutely perfect for the role of Ezra Bridger!
Who is Ezra Bridger?
The Force-sensitive boy grew up during the reign of the Empire and came from the planet Lothal. He was a Jedi Padawan and is a leader in the rebellion and trained with Ahsoka (meaning that he already has a pre-established relationship with her). The thing is, though, that Ezra Bridger is missing. He disappeared with Thrawn (he was gone during the original trilogies, which means that he is still alive post Return of the Jedi). He has a long history with Ahsoka (that I suggest either watching in the animated series or reading up on from the Star Wars fandom sites) and he’s definitely a vital character to her lore.
Aladdin actor Mena Massoud had been rumored for the role in the past, but tweeted about Esfandi’s casting.
Glad the rumors will stop now. Never really had a fair shot at it unfortunately (1 self-tape months ago) but just wasn’t meant for me I guess. Can’t deny the dude looks exactly like Ezra. Hope it’s done justice!
— Mena Massoud (@MenaMassoud) September 9, 2022
We did a full breakdown on whether or not the character would be in Ahsoka, and given his connection to both Sabine Wren and Ahsoka in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, it isn’t that surprising that he is going to make an appearance in the series. It was just about who would be playing him.
Eman Esfandi looks like the perfect Ezra Bridger, and I hope that this casting means that we’re going to get a trailer for Ahsoka soon where we get to see him. From the footage that I saw at Star Wars Celebration this year, it was clear that Sabine was still searching for Ezra, and so whether or not he’ll play a big part in this first season is something we’ll have to explore. Until we know more, we at least know that Ezra is coming at some point and I couldn’t be happier.
(image: Lucasfilm, YouTube screengrab)
