Star Wars fans praise emotional recast

Following the heartbreaking death of Ray Stevenson back in 2023, his role as the iconic Baylan Skoll in Ahsoka has been taken over by a former Game of Thrones star and fans are praising this difficult decision.

Stevenson took on the role of Baylan Skoll in season one of Ahsoka back in 2023 before his untimely death later that year.

However, rather than implementing CGI or abandoning Skoll’s story altogether, the show runners made the difficult decision to bring a new actor in.

They cast Rory McCann who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of The Hound in HBO’s Game of Thrones and now the Scottish actor will be picking up where Stevenson left off for Ahsoka season two.

In an interview with ComicBook to discuss his new film Tornado, McCann opened up about replacing Stevenson and how his weapon training in Game of Thrones helped out when it came to wielding a lightsaber.

“I think it’s the right decision to carry on his storyline, not just cut it off,” McCann said.

“We’ve done it before with other things. I hope the fans embrace it and I’ll do my best. I’m just starting now, so I’m just trying to be in the right zone for doing it.

It’s pretty bloody exciting.

I mean, I remember being a kid with my dad, going to the first one probably in the late ’70s and ’80s. Now I’m training with a lightsaber at night, so it’s pretty exciting.”

When asked about how his lightsaber training is coming along, McCann revealed that he was feeling optimistic.

“Thrones has really helped with that. Same kind of moves, same blocking.

Doesn’t have the same sexy sound though.

Oh, my God … Lightsabers are lighter, but having said that, the Thrones swords were stunt swords and you’ve got to pretend that they’re three times heavier than they are.

But it’s all pretend, really. It’s all very exciting.”

It is safe to say that McCann is feeling excited and luckily, fans are agreeing with this Ahsoka recast.

“I think this is the right way to go.

Because I'd rather remember the first than never see the character again and forget them both in time. Like Black Panther,” user MysteriousViper89 said over on Twitter.

Another user added, “He’s the perfect replacement. I’m glad they’re gonna continue his story. He's probably the best character Disney has created so far.”

Ahsoka season two does not yet have a release date but is currently in production at the time of writing.