The Ahsoka season 2 trailer brings with it plenty to get excited about, but – for me, anyway – the most exciting part is the return of Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker. Anakin will be back not just in flashbacks to The Clone Wars, but also as a Force ghost watching over his old Padawan Ahsoka Tano.

Anakin’s ghostly return quickly sparked discussion online, with some Star Wars fans pointing out that he seemed to be neglecting his children, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, in favor of guiding Ahsoka. “Don’t you have like a son or something?” asked one fan, while another said: “You have two children who are fighting for their lives out in the galaxy. Go help them, you bum.”

As much as some of the jokes were funny, I figured the reason why Anakin seemed to be spending all his afterlife time with Snips was pretty simple: Leia’s aversion to her biological father has been well-established in canon novels already, while Anakin is probably visiting Luke off-screen (after all, one of the last shots in Return of the Jedi is Anakin joining Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda in watching over him). Since neither of the Skywalker twins is currently set to appear in a new Star Wars project (that we know of), the answer will have to remain speculation, and that’s a symptom of a larger issue.

Darkness rises

Judging by the new trailer, Ahsoka season 2 is going to have galactic consequences. Grand Admiral Thrawn has returned with his chilling sights set on the Rebel Alliance (or, as it’s actually known at this stage on the Star Wars timeline, the New Republic), and the galaxy’s heroes are mobilizing to stop him. If that’s the case, though, there are a couple of glaring absences: Luke and Leia themselves.

Before Thrawn’s return, both of them being busy off-screen made sense. Luke – as we saw in The Book of Boba Fett – is busy trying to build his new Jedi school, while Leia surely has her hands full with the fledgling New Republic.

But it’s very hard to imagine both of them would sit out a confrontation with Thrawn and the greatest Imperial threat they’ve seen since the Age of the Empire. Surely, these icons of the Rebellion would be on the front lines of such a struggle, alongside the likes of Hera Syndulla and Ezra Bridger. Even Admiral Ackbar is returning for a showdown with Thrawn. It’s hard to imagine why Luke and Leia wouldn’t step up, except for the obvious behind-the-scenes reasons that keep these characters from returning in a big way.

To the future

Luke and Leia have had a presence in Star Wars these past few years, however. Luke made a triumphant return in The Mandalorian season 2 and featured heavily in The Book of Boba Fett (where he was even revealed to know Ahsoka already), while Leia intervened in Hera’s council meeting via C-3PO in Ahsoka. Luke hasn’t been seen since 2021, however, and Leia hasn’t been seen since the sequel trilogy. When Luke did return, it was via CGI wizardry that created a digital version of the character that looked and sounded very much like Mark Hamill (who himself was involved in the process), while similar efforts were taken to bring a younger version of the late Carrie Fisher’s Leia back to the big screen in Rogue One and The Rise of Skywalker. The technology is certainly impressive, but it’s hard to overlook the ethical issues that come with recreating an actor digitally, especially after their death. Then there’s also the fact that, no matter how sleek the effect, something about it will always carry a hint of the uncanny valley.

There is a very simple solution to all these problems: recasting. This is something Lucasfilm seems wary of after Solo, starring Alden Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo, disappointed at the box office. But if this period of the Star Wars timeline is going to continue to be explored, the absence of characters like Luke and Leia – and, indeed, Han and Chewbacca – will only seem stranger. Of course, it’s much trickier when it comes to Leia after Carrie Fisher’s incredibly tragic death. I have no doubt that Lucasfilm could find a respectful way forward that honors her iconic character and her memory, however.

Beyond Ahsoka season 2, we know that Dave Filoni is set to direct a film that will tie together the Disney Plus shows, which surely means the culmination of the struggle against the Imperial remnants and Thrawn. If this is truly heading towards an Heir to the Empire-style story, where the fate of the galaxy is at stake, then Luke and Leia’s absence would be even more baffling. They wouldn’t need to be the main characters, since this is the story of Ahsoka first and foremost, along with Sabine Wren and the rest of the Ghost crew. But they do need to be there. There’s simply no real, believable reason why they wouldn’t be.

So, while it makes complete sense for Anakin to be guiding his one-time Padawan from beyond (and seeing Anakin and Ahsoka together again is a true delight), the jokesters on Twitter have a point, too. If heavy hitters like Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano are still around, surely Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa should be, too. It would seem their story isn’t over just yet.

Ahsoka season 2 arrives on Disney Plus on January 20, 2027. In the meantime, keep up with everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store with our guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.