Star Wars Doubles Down On It’s Best Ahsoka Retcon

Star Wars has doubled down on a wonderful retcon for Ahsoka Tano
‘s costume. Debuting in 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ahsoka Tano was initially quite a controversial character; she aged well as the years passed, though, in large part because of smart writing that allowed her to grow up with viewers. Ahsoka’s original costume hasn’t dated so well, though; she essentially wore a tube top, which felt somewhat inappropriate – especially for someone leaping into war-zones as Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan.

2022’s Tales of the Jedi featured episodes set during the Clone Wars, and it showed the young Ahsoka in a completely different outfit – one that maintained the same spirit as the original version, but that also felt a lot more practical. The Ahsoka Disney+ TV show featured some thrilling live-action scenes that cast back to the Clone Wars, with Ariana Greenblatt playing the young Ahsoka Tano, and she wore this new costume too. Now, Star Wars is subtly retconning that this was Ahsoka’s outfit all along.

Official Star Wars Art Is Rewriting Ahsoka’s History

Marvel Comics’ Ahsoka adaptation features a stunning cover by Takashi Okazaki, recreating classic art from her co-creator Dave Filoni. As noted by Cobalt Green on Twitter, this is significant because Okazaki has envisioned the young Ahsoka in her modern costume, not the one she actually wore in the Clone Wars animated show. This solidifies the retcon, suggesting this is the outfit she wore all along, not the problematic tube top.

This fits with the clear intention of Ahsoka episode 5, which featured scenes set during Ahsoka’s first mission on Teth, and yet showed her in the modern redesigned outfit. It’s a smart decision on Lucasfilm’s part, essentially erasing a significant misstep from 2008. It seems the tube top has effectively been erased.

Not Every Retcon Is A Problem

Star Wars retcons are often pretty controversial, although viewers tend to forget they’ve been part of the story since the beginning; George Lucas retconned Darth Vader as Luke’s father in the second draft of The Empire Strikes Back, after all. Ahsoka Tano’s costume change is a smart reminder that not every retcon is a bad move, because this one works so well. It’s pleasing to see that absurd tube top erased from continuity.

Source: Cobalt Green