Ashoka: Is Dash Rendar in the Show, & Why Do We Care?

YsmaelByYsmael Delicana Published on
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One of the things that we learned from the recent Star Wars Celebration 2023 event is that the Ahsoka series will be a ride of nostalgia because it will feature characters that fans already know and love from the Star Wars: Rebels series. However, some fans believe that some of the classic characters could be making their live-action debut in this series because it seems like the best time for them to appear. One such character that fans want to see in Ahsoka is Dash Rendar. So, will he be in the show?

There is no news regarding the possibility of Dash Rendar appearing in Ahsoka. However, Dave Filoni, who worked on the series, said that anything is possible about different Star Wars characters. As such, he isn’t dismissing the possibility of Dash Rendar appearing in Ahsoka.

Even though he isn’t one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars continuity, Dash also has his own fans because he has been around for a while already. While he used to be a Legends-only character, he was moved to the canon side of Star Wars. As such, being a canon character allows Dash to appear in any live-action show, including Ahsoka.

Who Is Dash Rendar?

We know that there are a lot of different Star Wars characters that were introduced outside of the movies and series. Some of them were introduced in other forms of literature. One such character is Dash Renda, who has only been seen outside the movies and shows. So, who is Dash Rendar?

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Dash Rendar is a smuggler and mercenary active during the Empire and was one of the many characters that encountered Han Solo and Chewbacca during the Imperial era. He was a rival to Han Solo because he claimed that he was the better smuggler between the two. Rendar even said Chewbacca was the brains in operation involving Han and the Wookiee.

However, Rendar was a character introduced in the Shadows of the Empire game that was released during the 90s when there weren’t many things happening in Star Wars. In fact, Shadows of the Empire was a massive collection that included games, novels, toys, and comics. The entire collection told stories about the events between Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. 

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In Shadows of the Empire, Dash Rendar is a smuggler who captains the Outrider ship. He was largely viewed as a rip-off of Han Solo because they are similar. But Rendar earned himself his own followers and has become popular in his own right.

But we all know that Shadows of the Empire was relegated to the Legends storyline of Star Wars and is no longer canon. That means that, at one point in time, Dash Rendar was a Legends-only character that wasn’t part of the official Star Wars canon. Nevertheless, we know that many characters were repurposed to become part of the official canon. One of them is Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the biggest characters in the Legends storyline.

While he isn’t as important as Thrawn, Rendar became part of the official canon when the 2018 journal book Solo: A Star Wars Story: Tales from Vandor was released. He was included in that book as a way for author Jason Fry to have someone humorous, as Rendar was always known as a Han Solo rip-off. So, even if Rendar’s inclusion in the book was for humor, he still became part of the official canon, although his storyline in the Legends part of Star Wars is no longer the same as in the canon side of things.

Wil Dash Rendar Be in Ahsoka?

As mentioned, Dash Rendar was never the most important Star Wars character but was still quite popular in his own right. But because more and more Legends characters are joining the canon, some fans believe that Rendar could be making his official live-action debut in Ahsoka because this series is likely to reveal more live-action characters were once part of the Legends storyline. Dave Filoni, the producer and director of Ahsoka, actually had this to say about Rendar:

“I would just say anything’s possible. If I would have looked back over the years and said I would be doing live-action, I would have thought, ‘I don’t see that happening,’ and yet, here I am, standing on that stage today and looking left and seeing Sharmeen and looking right and seeing James, that’s what’s special to me, and it’s a real thrill and it’s a real responsibility that I take seriously. It’s a great opportunity for myself and I hope to represent Star Wars and fans well.”

While Filoni never said anything about Dash Rendar appearing in Ahsoka, he didn’t deny the possibility. He said that, at this point in the Star Wars storyline, anything could happen about the characters that could make the jump to the live-action part of the galaxy. As such, we just have to wait until the release of the Ahsoka series to know whether or not Dash Rendar will be in it.

Why Do We Care About Dash Rendar?

We cannot stress that Dash Rendar isn’t an important part of the Star Wars canon because he has never affected the canon storyline in any way. So, why do we care about Dash Rendar appearing in Ahsoka if that’s the case?

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We care about the possibility of Rendar being in Ahsoka or in any other live-action series because this opens up the possibility of some of the other Legends storylines becoming part of the official canon. And if you know the Legends part of Star Wars, you would understand just how deep the lore is.

If Lucasfilm were to make Rendar a live-action character in the canon side of Star Wars, that would mean that there is a stronger possibility of more and more Legends or book-only canon characters making their way to the screen as live-action characters. We know that many popular Legends and book-only canon characters in Star Wars were active during the Imperial era. 

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So, if someone as insignificant (for lack of a better term) as Dash Rendar were to make his way to the live-action universe, then that would mean that other characters like Doctor Aphra and even the ones that existed during the Old Republics could end up making live-action appearances somewhere down the line.

As Dave Filoni said, the possibility in the Star Wars universe is endless because Lucasfilm is now willing to expand the lore more due to the popularity of the Star Wars shows that can be streamed on Disney+. That means that Rendar and other characters are likely to appear later in the larger storyline of Star Wars.

Ysmael

Ysmael “Eng” Delicana is a writer based in Davao City, Philippines. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at Ateneo de Davao University before continuing to teach part-time at the same university. While teaching was a fun gig, being a geek and a writer seemed to be his calling. His expertise includes fantasy shows and movies, comic books, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and popular RPG video games. Ysmael also excels at learning new things and getting to know new topics that are interesting yet foreign to him, and that’s why he can also be called a jack of all trades. He also works as a part-time writer for books about sports. As an avid fan of fantasy TV shows, video games, and books, Ysmael is fond of watching, playing, and reading things related to fantasy, magic, and mystical creatures. However, he is also a huge fan of anime, as he spends a portion of his time watching shonen anime. As long as something is interesting and worth his time, Ysmael tends to devote his effort to it, as he has been great at geeking out about a certain topic. Ysmael’s writing style tends to be quite conversational in the sense that he likes speaking to the readers instead of making them feel like they are reading something tedious. He picked up this during his teaching years because he needed to find ways to simplify topics that tend to be foreign and complex to students. Ysmael also writes for Comic Basics.