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.
Stevenson played the hulking former Jedi known as Baylan Skoll in the Disney+ series. He died after a brief illness in May 2023, three months before the series premiered. The actor was a fan favorite, thanks to his resonant voice, humor and roles in Punisher: War Zone, the Thor movies and TV’s Rome.
Ahsoka stars Rosario Dawson as another former Jedi, the titular Ahsoka Tano, who teams with a former apprentice in order to stop the evil Empire from reforming. Two obstacles in her path were Skoll and his apprentice, Shin Hati, played by Ivanna Sakhno.
This is a strong recast and a far, far better decision than killing off—or simply disappearing—Skoll.
Ahsoka was not a very good show overall, but I’ll happily watch Season 2 just to find out what this character is up to.
In the end, I was left with very mixed feelings about the Dave Filoni-produced series. Here’s hoping the writing improves for the second season. There’s no word on when it will begin filming, let alone a release date.
The current Star Wars show on Disney+ is Skeleton Crew, which I’ve been enjoying a great deal. It’s The Goonies meets Star Wars meets Treasure Island and Jude Law is excellent in it.
McCann was recently was on the big screen in Gladiator II.
His other credits include Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Jumanji: The Next Level; the recent Knuckles show for Paramount+; and the animated series Transformers: EarthSpark. He is repped by Emptage Hallett and Monster Voice.