The upcoming Ahsoka series will feature Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll, and this seemingly new antagonist could actually be an existing Star Wars character. Baylan was first revealed in the Ahsoka teaser trailer at Star Wars Celebration 2023, wielding an orange lightsaber and clashing blades with Ahsoka Tano. Not much is known about Baylan and his apprentice, Shin Hati, other than that they're working with Morgan Elsbeth, meaning they could team up with Grand Admiral Thrawn himself. While this would tie in nicely with Ahsoka's mission, it also hints at Baylan having a secret identity that will change the course of both Ahsoka and the Mandoverse.

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If Baylan is revealed to be an existing Star Wars character, several story possibilities would open up based on that character's history. This would allow the team behind Ahsoka to tie Baylan's character into Thrawn's plan and create even more connections to the other Star Wars TV shows. The concepts that would become available could lead to a lot of really fun and creative moments in Ahsoka, taking the live-action Star Wars show to the next level. All of these possibilities hinge on Baylan being confirmed as an existing Star Wars character, and there's actually quite a bit of evidence to suggest that it will happen.

There's a good chance that Baylan is actually Joruus C'Baoth from Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy of books. In the Star Wars Legends timeline, Joruus C'Baoth was a mad clone of Jedi Master Jorus C'Baoth, who teamed up with Thrawn in Heir to the Empire as a means of achieving his own goals. He tried converting Luke Skywalker to his side, but Luke saw how he had fallen to the dark and refused, which led to a climactic duel at the end of the trilogy. Given the Star Wars TV shows' focus on Imperial cloning and C'Baoth's connection to Thrawn, making Baylan his canon equivalent would make sense for the story.

Thrawn first met Jorus C'Baoth in the years before the Clone Wars, where the two came into a conflict that ended with Thrawn destroying C'Baoth and the Outbound Flight project. Perhaps something similar happened in canon, which would explain Thrawn creating C'Baoth's clone, or discovering that Palpatine had created him, like in Legends. Baylan bears a striking resemblance to C'Baoth, albeit with much shorter hair, and being a dark Jedi could explain the meaning behind the orange lightsaber color. Perhaps Baylan will try to recruit Ahsoka as C'Baoth did with Luke in Legends, given that she's technically no longer a Jedi.

Baylan being Joruus C'Baoth would also set up more Jedi clones, just like in the Thrawn trilogy. In The Last Command, C'Baoth created a clone of Luke named Luuke Skywalker, grown from the hand that he lost in The Empire Strikes Back. Incorporating Luke as a villain would be an incredibly bold way to feature him in Ahsoka, and having a slightly altered clone would allow for a new actor, rather than another CGI recreation of Mark Hamill. This would also be a great way to continue Ahsoka's character arc, as an evil Luke would remind her of Anakin Skywalker and drudge up old wounds that she hasn't fully overcome.

Another shocking possibility would be Ezra Bridger, who was last seen disappearing with Thrawn into hyperspace. Since Thrawn knows that Ahsoka is looking for Ezra, perhaps he'll create a clone to fool her and eventually strike when Thrawn sees fit. This would make for an incredible twist if the show waited a few episodes before the reveal, and it would make the real Ezra's return even more satisfying. Star Wars Rebels briefly teased Ezra turning to the dark side in season 3, but this idea was quickly dropped, so having an evil Ezra clone is a great opportunity to build on this concept.

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If Ahsoka does bring back Joruus C'Baoth and even clones of existing characters, then Star Wars canon should also bring Mara Jade into the Mandalorian era. She was an integral part of the Thrawn trilogy, the former Emperor's Hand who had failed to kill Luke Skywalker, only to team up with him to stop C'Baoth. She was the one who killed Luke's evil clone and C'Baoth himself, so given how intertwined their stories are in Legends, she deserves to be brought back if he is. Of course, much of Mara's Legends story would no longer work in canon, namely her marriage to Luke, but there are ways to work around this.

If Luke and Mara were to meet in canon, then there could be some slight adjustments to their history. They could simply be friends or allies, or have a brief romance that doesn't lead to marriage, allowing some of their story to be the same without contradicting canon. Mara was eventually killed in Legends, so her death could be shifted to earlier in the timeline, explaining her absence in the sequel trilogy and maybe even allowing her and Luke to have been married after all. However, if Mara doesn't appear in Ahsoka, her role could be filled by a different character, such as a former Inquisitor or even Shin Hati.

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Mount Tantiss is one of the most significant elements to be reincorporated into Star Wars canon, and it carries even greater importance if Baylan is in fact Joruus C'Baoth. The Emperor's secret cloning facility first appeared in Heir to the Empire, guarded by Joruus C'Baoth himself, which brought the mad Jedi into conflict with Thrawn before they agreed to work together. Mount Tantiss returned to canon in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and this would be the perfect setup for Joruus C'Baoth to return in Ahsoka. Thrawn also used Mount Tantiss in Legends to create his own clone army, which ties in nicely with a Jedi clone.

Because Mount Tantiss was used for Palpatine's cloning project, a Jedi clone would set up his return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The Star Wars TV shows have hinted that the various cloning projects all lead to Palpatine or Snoke, with Thrawn's "Project Necromancer" being the most recent hint. C'Baoth's appearance would honor the original Thrawn story, build on Star Wars' current projects, and set up the future timeline all at once. The Star Wars franchise has done an excellent job setting up a canon adaptation of the Thrawn trilogy, and having Ahsoka's Baylan be Joruus C'Baoth would serve as the final piece that brings it all together.

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Ahsoka's Baylan Actually Could Be This Huge Star Wars Character ... - Screen Rant