‘Star Wars’ Actress Officially Leaves ‘Ahsoka’ Series Ahead of Season 2
The Star Wars galaxy is navigating another major shift, this time involving an exit linked directly to a dispute with The Walt Disney Company.
When Ahsoka landed on Disney+ in August 2023, the show wasn’t just a spotlight for one character—it emerged as the thread connecting eras of Star Wars storytelling. Dave Filoni’s series stitched together the narrative fabric of The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and the post-original trilogy period, continuing the timeline of The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew.
Rosario Dawson leads the series as Ahsoka Tano, searching for Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) while facing the reemergence of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). The cast also includes Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ivanna Sakhno, the late Ray Stevenson, and Diana Lee Inosanto.
Season 1 ended with Ahsoka and Sabine stranded on Peridea as Ezra made his way home. With Season 2 confirmed and a Mandalorian and Grogu film dated for May 2026, Filoni reportedly intends to craft a complete arc—even if the series ends early—following what happened with The Acolyte. “According to Daniel Richtman, the plan now is to make sure the series has a satisfying ending in case it’s canceled and doesn’t return for a third season.”
Production had already faced a setback with the loss of Ray Stevenson, who passed away at 58. THR shared, “Scottish actor Rory McCann, best known for playing the burly brute The Hound on HBO’s Game of Thrones, will replace late actor Ray Stevenson for a second season of Star Wars show Ahsoka, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.” The casting was revealed at Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo.
But casting news has taken another turn, as one performer has stepped away after a financial dispute with Disney.
Ahsoka Actress Quits Star Wars Over Pay
Claudia Black, who portrayed the Nightsister Grandmother Klothow in Season 1, revealed in an interview that she will not return for Season 2. Her departure marks another notable shift as the series repositions its roster.
Black clarified that the issue stemmed from compensation. Although she had been secured for the upcoming season, filming in London made participation difficult. As a single parent maintaining a home in Los Angeles, the offered pay could not meet her needs.
“They picked up season two,” Black told Bleeding Cool, “picked me up with it, and then Disney, which is structuring things differently these days, could not pay me what I needed to be paid as a single mother to keep all my responsibilities going at home in Los Angeles, because they were filming in London.”
Klothow appeared as part of the Nightsisters’ governing council on Peridea, aiding Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) and Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) against the heroes. Black praised the work environment, the creativity of The Volume, and shared that her son—an avid Clone Wars fan—figured out her involvement despite secrecy contracts.
“He was like, ‘Are you talking about the Nightsisters? What’s the show?’ He heard one little thing, and he was like, ‘I know exactly who she’s talking about,’ so it was fun to go into and do something relatable with him. But, very sad to not be able to continue that at the end of the day.”
Black followed up by speaking with The Hollywood Reporter about the broader industry issues tied to her exit.
“When I did the first season, people assumed that I’m making hundreds of thousands of dollars. It could not be further from the truth on a role like this,” Black told the outlet. “[My pay was] closer to what I was earning when I was 19 or in my early 20s.”
“I have heard people who work in corporations, not necessarily Disney, but all these bigger corporations, they have spoken in rooms about how lucky the actors should be to be part of a successful franchise, and that they will take it for the screen credit and they will take it for a bit of money, and then hopefully that will bring them further work, but that they should be lucky,” she expanded. “The issue I have is when that comes to women, other people who were able to say yes to this job didn’t have the same responsibilities, and that thinking is not designed around how much invisible work women do in a household.”
She further explained why she believes conversations like this matter.
“I have a great community, I have an amazing life,” Black explained. “It’s just something needs to change and this needs to be discussed, and I knew the risks and I think there’s more power in me stepping back, because I’m not desperate and there’s more power in me talking about it even though there’s so little job security and there’s so little psychological safety in these spaces when women do speak up.”
She added that the situation isn’t personal toward Disney: “It’s a difficult situation, and the industry is fragile because if you push too hard, nothing gets made,” while acknowledging “the decision that Disney made” was “absolutely not personal” since negotiators “might not even know my screen credits, might not even know who I am.”
With three decades of experience, Black said she was struck by industry support and emphasized discussing “disparity and the way things are run, and the way women are treated,” clarifying that she wasn’t “treated poorly in this instance with Ahsoka” but that “we’re not thought about, we’re not factored in” regarding “invisible work that women do in a household.”
She also emailed Dave Filoni to say that “if I could have, I would have, and that I did season one on a massive pay cut, precisely because many people want to be part of the Star Wars universe,” but “it took me to burnout, and it actually did really cost me.” Black stressed she is seeking “awareness to grow around the diversity of people in this business,” adding, “If they want to have the aura of an older woman who has all this lived experience, but they don’t wanna help actually support her, then there’s a problem.”
With Klothow expected to appear again, the role will likely be recast. No new actress has been named. Ahsoka Season 2 will arrive on Disney+ in 2026.
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