The end of Star Wars: Ahsoka’s first episode pays a heart-touching tribute to the late actor Ray Stevenson, who played the role of the villainous Dark Jedi Baylan Skoll in the series. The episode launched on August 23 on Disney+ in the UK and August 22 in the US. The Star Wars actor died back in May at the age of 58. At the end of Ahsoka’s first episode, right before the end credits roll out, a title card was featured for the late Ray Stevenson, with a message that read, "For our friend, Ray."
The late actor was popular in the Star Wars community, as he was the voice behind Gar Saxon in Star Wars Rebels as well as The Clone Wars before he jumped on board to play the role of Admiral Thrawn’s ally Baylan Skoll in Star Wars: Ahsoka. The footage that was released from Star Wars Celebration showed Baylan dueling with Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano.
Previously, Dawson shared some pictures with Stevenson recalling the time they spent together on the set of Ahsoka, with the caption reading, "A giant of a man… @officialraystevenson_ , stunned and reeling from this tragic, devastating news. Gone too soon from this world. At a loss for words… just wanted to mark this moment and share your ever ready and present smile. Love you forever.”
Speaking to EW, another Ahsoka star known as Ivanno Sakhno, who plays the role of Shin Hati, talked about her time working with the late Ray Stevenson. The actress said, "I remember the first scene that we were filming, you came up with a song for Shin. I can't say too much of the scene itself, but Ray would just constantly walk around like, 'Who let the Shin out? Who, who, who…?'"
In addition to this, the official Star Wars website also posted a tribute, which read, "We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of our dear friend Ray Stevenson. Ray was an incredible combination of talent, warmth, humor, and heart. His ability to play a villain, while being such a kind and caring person in reality, is a testament to his incredible talent."
Star Wars: Ahsoka is the most recent Star Wars live-action Disney+ series, with some others being Andor, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and The Mandalorian. Created by Dave Filoni, the show features the story of the former Jedi Knight known as Ahsoka Tano as she searches for an “emerging threat” that might prove to be a real threat to the already vulnerable galaxy.
Star Wars: Ahsoka’s first two episodes are currently streaming on Disney+ and have received pretty good reviews from fans and critics.
