The Ahsoka series serves as a live-action sequel to Star Wars Rebels despite its unique style and voice, but not every viewer or casual follower of the franchise has watched all of the Star Wars shows, much less the animated ones. As we move into the back half of the season, it stands out as the perfect time to summarize all the things it’s essential to know in regards to the lost Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger.
In case you need quick refreshers on more key Star Wars characters who’ve made the jump from animation to live-action, try our rundowns on Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla, and Bo-Katan Kryze. Most of those characters (if not all of them) will certainly have major roles to play within the upcoming Star Wars event movie written and directed by Ahsoka creator Dave Filoni and the preceding shows.
After the Ahsoka series, we’re looking forward to Skeleton Crew on Disney Plus as the subsequent chapter within the Latest Republic saga. Still not enough Star Wars for you? We have all of it covered with our Star Wars movies ranked and Star Wars T.V. shows ranked, plus the highest 10 best Star Wars video games of all time list.
Who’s Ezra Bridger?
Ezra Bridger is a Force-sensitive human from the planet Lothal. Incidentally, he was born to Ephraim and Mira Bridger on Empire Day – the day when the Galactic Empire was formed – in 19 BBY (this stands for Before the Battle of Yavin which is explained within the Star Wars timeline). His parents were openly critical of the Empire, which landed them into prison, leaving Ezra an orphan as a toddler.
In 5 BBY, he was recruited by the Ghost crew, a band of rebels, and commenced training within the ways of the Force under Kanan Jarrus’ tutelage. Like many other Jedi before him, Ezra exhibited a specific connection to nature and other living beings, especially the Force-sensitive ones.
Ezra Bridger: Early history
Ezra’s parents were taken away by the Empire around 12 BBY, leaving him to continue to exist his own, finding work as a con artist and thief. His important base of operations and residential would eventually turn out to be the abandoned LothalNet comm tower E-272.
Despite his knack for pickpocketing and persuasion, nobody on Lothal paid special attention to Ezra’s skills. Even he was unaware of his Force-sensitivity, which allowed him to share a natural bond with animals too. This all modified when he met Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus.
Ezra Bridger through the Age of the Empire
Ezra happened to walk into Kanan and his team executing a small heist on Lothal, which led to him fleeing the capital city aboard the Ghost ship. Through the chase, he unknowingly used the Force to leap into the ship, a feat which didn’t go unnoticed. After an operation to free Wookiees enslaved by the Empire on Kessel, Ezra stole Kanan’s lightsaber and returned to his tower. The Jedi noticed this and gave him the alternative to affix the Ghost’s crew and turn out to be his apprentice, leaving Lothal and his troubled past behind. Ezra seized that chance.
In 4 BBY, he learned that his parents were killed after they attempted to flee from prison. This step by step led him to struggles with the dark side, including the recovery of a Sith holocron which he believed would help him and Kanan destroy the Emperor and Darth Vader. The previous Sith Lord – and fallen criminal kingpin – Maul also got here into the image with hopes of creating Bridger his apprentice, as he still desired to regain his lost power and strike down each Obi-Wan Kenobi and his old master, Sheev Palpatine.
On the traditional Sith world of Malachor, a giant encounter which involved Ezra, Maul, Kanan, three Inquisitors, Darth Vader, and even Ahsoka Tano (a vital ally of the Rebel cause back within the day) took place. This clash of Force users ended with Maul fleeing the scene, Ezra and Kanan re-connecting (and the latter losing his sight), the death of the three Inquisitors, and Ahsoka fighting Vader because the temple collapsed around them.
Ezra and the Ghost crew would later come into conflict with Grand Admiral Thrawn, who relentlessly hunted them down. Other major adventures included helping Sabine Wren – who’d essentially turn out to be a sister to him – reunite the Mandalorian people and looking for Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The latter quest led to Maul’s ultimate demise on Tatooine by the hands of his old Jedi enemy and Ezra learning that Kenobi had a greater mission to finish on the desert planet.
Months before the decisive Battle of Yavin, and with the assistance of the mysterious Loth-wolves, Ezra managed to enter the World Between Worlds through a portal hidden on Lothal. Inside the magical dimension, which connected space and time, he saw Ahsoka facing against Vader on Malachor. Before the Sith Lord could land the ultimate blow, Ezra pulled the Jedi through the portal. Darth Sidious, the Emperor himself, who was attempting to access the magical realm in his quest for unlimited power, attacked Bridger and Tano using the dark side of the Force, however the two Jedi were capable of escape the plane and seal Lothal’s portal.
Through the Liberation of Lothal, Ezra was brought aboard the Chimaera, Thrawn’s star destroyer. There, a rebuilt portion of the Lothal Jedi Temple’s mural had been placed in hopes of reopening the portal to the World Between Worlds. Emperor Palpatine asked him via hologram to unlock the portal in exchange for the prospect to reunite along with his parents. The young Jedi resisted temptation and eventually let go of his parents, using the Force to tear down the structure.
With the assistance of his allies, a pod of purrgils – giant space whales which can be able to interstellar travel – were summoned to the skies of Lothal, converging around Thrawn’s destroyer and trapping each the huge ship and everybody inside it. The purrgils later made the jump to hyperspace, with Ezra staying contained in the Chimaera to finally remove Thrawn from his homeworld and the larger war.
Ezra Bridger after the autumn of the Empire
Ezra and Thrawn’s current whereabouts are unknown, but each Ezra’s friends – a gaggle led by Ahsoka and Sabine – and people still loyal to Thrawn learned from an ancient star map that they are stranded in a completely different galaxy. Through the second half of the Ahsoka series, we’ll finally discover where they’re and the way they’ve fared after a protracted disappearance.