In a new interview with Variety, Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni discusses the effects of the tragic death of Ray Stevenson, as well as what that means for the future of the character he portrayed in Ahsoka. From the sound of things, it seems that his story is not over, but how and when that story is told, is still up in the air.
Check out a few quotes from the article below…
To Filoni, Baylan is a seeker just like Ahsoka, someone wrestling with the memory of what he was taught and the subsequent disillusion that has set in. “He’s a person that survived the Clone Wars, that was trained in the waxing-waning days of the Jedi Knights, just like Anakin,” Filoni says. “He saw his order, his way of life fall apart. And he’s basically deemed it a failure: That way did not work. That it’s not something worth resurrecting, which is why he tells [his apprentice] Shin [played by Ivanna Sakhno], ‘I didn’t teach you to be a Jedi. I taught you to be something more.’”
“He’s tried to take these teachings that he learned as a young person and create his own way of being. And he’s looked at the cycle of things and said, ‘Enough with this. If I have this power, I should wield it. I should be the one making decisions,’ which a lot of people with power decide that’s the way to go,” Filoni says. “He’s also very certain that what he’s doing now is the right thing.”
While Filoni isn’t yet sure what will become of Baylan in Stevenson’s absence, he acknowledges that the character’s journey is not complete. “Obviously, there’s a story there,” he says. “We’re in a wait-and-see pattern at this point. But I’m glad the conversation is about Ray and how great he was…. I used to have mini debates with him and say, ‘Ray, you’re the villain here.’ And he’d be like, ‘I don’t think so.’ I was like, ‘I know you don’t think so, but you are. I love that you’re playing it like you’re not.’ Which is exactly the way Baylan thinks.”
The character became one of the standouts of the series, a new fan favorite. “I think he would’ve been over the moon. The big regret here is that he didn’t get to experience that,” Filoni says. “I’m glad he was at Star Wars Celebration with us, that he got to see the trailer and get a taste of that from the fans. And they’ve been nothing but wonderful about Ray and the character.”
You can check out the rest of the article at the link below, which includes much more about the future of Star Wars under Dave Filoni.
