Who is Clancy Brown playing in Ahsoka? The Star Wars Rebels character explained

Clancy Brown in Star Wars Rebels — (Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

Warning: The following contains major spoilers for Ahsoka episode 1! Turn back now if you're not up to date on the new Star Wars show!

Who is Clancy Brown playing in Ahsoka? The actor made a surprise appearance in the premiere episode of the new Star Wars show, with his involvement in the live-action series remaining a secret until now.

The actor, who was recently seen in action blockbuster John Wick 4, doesn't have a whole lot of screen time in the first episode, but he's actually playing a character with a Star Wars history – and we'll get into it all here. In fact, he's actually played his character before in Star Wars.

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For even more on Ahsoka, check out our guide on everything you need to know about Rebels. To have all your questions answered on Clancy Brown's Ahsoka character, head down to our guide below.

Who is Clancy Brown playing in Ahsoka?

Clancy Brown as Ryder Azadi in Star Wars Rebels — (Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

Clancy Brown is playing none other than Ryder Azadi in Ahsoka. We see him on the planet Lothal in the first episode, about to introduce Sabine Wren to the crowd – only, she hasn't shown up.

Ryder Azadi is the Governor of Lothal, and, as we'll get into below, he's appeared in Star Wars Rebels before and has a history with Ezra Bridger.

Brown actually voiced Ryder Azadi in Rebels, meaning he's joined Lars Mikkelsen and Katee Sackhoff in making the jump from voicing their animated characters to playing them in live-action: Mikkelsen is playing Grand Admiral Thrawn after voicing him in Rebels, and Sackhoff has appeared as Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian after voicing her in Rebels and The Clone Wars.

Where have we seen Ryder Azadi before in Star Wars?

Ryder Azadi is a Star Wars Rebels character who is linked to Ezra Bridger's parents. Ryder was originally the Governor of Lothal before being arrested by the Empire. Ezra's parents made revolutionary broadcasts and Ryder supported them, which meant he ultimately got taken into custody by the Imperials along with the Bridgers.

Ezra would eventually make his own revolutionary broadcast, which so inspired his parents that they launched a prison break attempt. Tragically, both Bridgers were killed trying to escape, but Ryder made it out and was able to tell Ezra what happened. Ryder then stuck around to help the rebels on Lothal and beyond.

Thanks to his appearance in Ahsoka, we know that Ryder once again took his rightful place as Lothal's governor after the Empire fell.

Ahsoka is streaming on Disney Plus now. For much more on the show, check out our explainers on: