Many fans rejoiced with news Ahsoka Tano would be played by Rosario Dawson in Season 2 of The Mandalorian. The Disney+ series has been very popular with people lapping up Jon Favreau's depiction of Pedro Pascal as the titular bounty hunter trying to protect Baby Yoda from the remnants of the Empire five years or so after Return of the Jedi.
Ahsoka has been integral to The Clone Wars and Rebels, so everyone's excited to hear what adventures she's been on after leaving the Jedi council and seemingly sitting out the war against Palpatine's legion. However, this provides room for The Mandalorian to bring back another Clone Wars fan favorite and the man who was like a father to her: Captain Rex.
Rex has been such a storied character in The Clone Wars, fighting alongside Anakin and Obi-Wan, and also having a virtuous bond with the entire Jedi council, Ahsoka included. His journey saw him become one of the clones who stayed loyal to the cause rather than defecting to the Republic when it became the Empire under Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, so he really is an unheralded hero.
We must remember in his older days, he worked assiduously with the rebel alliance, helping them find new strongholds and undertake missions to Geonosis. In short, Rex continued to fight the war against oppression, allying with the likes of Kanan Jarrus and Ezra to also help keep the Jedi alive. Some of his most noted jobs include rescuing Echo, as we're now seeing in Clone Wars, and decades later, working with General Syndulla to help keep Lothal safe during a siege.
Rex was also found to have survived the battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi after working with Han Solo's squadron, so Favreau has the chance to use him once he's alive and well and connect the series to a very famous period in Star Wars history. We'd love to know what he, like Ahsoka, did when Palpatine temporarily fell as this series is set 25 years before The Force Awakens. Rex knows so much about the war and he'd have great insight into perhaps Palpatine's disciples beginning a new project to bring him back which we saw in The Rise of Skywalker. Through Rex, we'd learn about ground battles, how the rebels tried to finish the job, and what they eventually failed at.
As a soldier, his exchange with Pascal's Din Djarin would also be most welcomed as Rex tried to save the Mandalorian Protectors from Admiral Thrawn and the Empire. Rex has such an affinity for these people as they also trained clones to be warriors and it showed when he worked with Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian soldier, whose honor and devotion Rex admired. Given that Sabine would try to partner with Ahsoka to bring Ezra home after he got thrown into hyperspace battling Thrawn at the end of Rebels, there is a chance she could show up too. But if she doesn't, then Rex and "Mando" could forge a similar bond and bridge cultures again.
We know Ahsoka believes in Rex, and seeing as she also admired Mandalorians from their time in the alliance, Din seems to be a perfect fit into their world. Ahsoka would cover the mystical ground of the Force, maybe even mentoring Baby Yoda, while Rex would educate Din as a teacher he never had or never thought he'd need. After all, these are trying times and as Mando tries to safeguard the kid aka the Asset, he needs all the help he can get. Rex makes sense to aid on this quest as he knows the rebels and he knows the Empire, and with darkness still out there, Din could do with a seasoned veteran on his side, even if it's for just a brief time.
Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito and Emily Swallow. Season 1 is streaming now on Disney+. Season 2 is slated to arrive this October.