Why Ahsoka's World Between Worlds and Mysterious New Galaxy Are NOT Leading to A Star Wars Multiverse

Star Wars: Ahsoka has had fans go wild with theories since the show began, and as Episode 4 "Fallen Jedi" brings us to the halfway point in the show, those theories are only getting wilder! 

(Ahsoka SPOILERS) The latest episodes of Ahsoka have set up two very lore-heavy plotlines that are literally and figuratively pushing Star Wars into new frontiers. The first storyline is the over-arching hunt for both Grand Admiral Thrawn and former Rebel Alliance fighter/padawan Ezra Bridger, who was last seen being transported into the unknown regions of space, during the Star Wars Rebels finale. Thrawn's lackey Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) and her dark side warriors Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), and Marrok (Paul Darnell/Sam Witwer) successfully got the mega-sized Hyperjump Ring online and plotted a course to the other galaxy where Thrawn has been stranded all these years. As a result of her duel with Bayaln, Ahsoka was knocked off a cliff, only to wake up in the World Between Worlds, with Anakin Skywalker's ghost there to greet her. 

Theory: How Ahsoka Is Introducing A Star Wars Multiverse

The popular theory is that the MacGuffin of the different galaxy out in the Unknown Regions will actually be revealed to be a parallel galaxy, with its own alternate version of the Star Wars Universe. Similarly, there's the notion that the World Between Worlds – a realm that exists outside of time and space – will be used to alter the Star Wars timeline, creating a divergent timeline that will splinter off from the main Star Wars canon, going forward. 

It's understandable why this theory is being floated by fans: Star Wars has boxed itself in with its timeline. This is best evidenced by the overwhelmingly popular New Republic era of Ahsoka and The Mandalorian still having to set up and ultimately fit with the events of the overwhelmingly unpopular Sequel Trilogy era of the First Order and the First Order-Resistance War. The idea of Star Wars giving itself the same multiversal spinoff/reboot device as Marvel and/or DC makes a certain amount of sense.

...Then again, Star Wars has never been like Marvel and DC, nor should it be. This is NOT a franchise that needs to dip into ideas of the multiverse, alternate timelines, or variant versions of popular characters. More to the point: Star Wars already had major precedence for both what could be waiting in that next galaxy, and what time travel hijinks we could see in the World Between Worlds. 

Grand Admiral Thrawn is a character who originated in the novels of the former Star Wars Extended Universe (now called the "Star Wars Legends" Universe). In addition to the Thrawn Trilogy, one of the most famous and enduring events of the Star Wars EU was the Yuuzahn Vong War. Chronicled in the Star Wars: The New Jedi Order series of EU novels by R.A. Salvatore, the Yuuzhan Vong War introduced the Yuuzhan Vog as a savage warring species from a destroyed galaxy, who plotted to conquer the Star Wars Galaxy for years before invading and nearly accomplishing that goal – starting with the Outer Rim territories. Now that Thrawn has been made canon, a lot of fans speculate that Dave Filoni and co. could also do their own version of the Yuuzhan Vong War, with Thrawn leading an army from the Unknown Regions against the Star Wars Galaxy – with the Outer Rim territories of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett being the battlefield for that conflict. It would be a franchise turn that could make new seasons of the MandoVerse shows worth watching – and is certainly worthy of Filoni's big MandoVerse event film. 

As for the World Between Worlds: Star Wars has made it pretty clear it's not the pathway to alternate timelines – it is a method of time/space travel that still fits under Star Wars' thematic umbrella of circular destinies and the guiding hand of fate. In Star Wars Rebels Season 4, Ezra used the World Between Worlds to save Ahsoka Tano from being killed by Darth Vader in their Season 2 duel. It was firmly established that Ezra had NOT created some divergent timeline where Ahsoka didn't die – him pulling her out of the duel with Vader and moving her to the present time was the way things were always meant to unfold in the timeline. The World Between Worlds is a shortcut to places and moments in Star Wars – not a multiversal reset button. Best guess? The World Between Worlds will get Ahsoka to where she needs to be (in this galaxy or the next) at the exact moment she needs to be there to help her friends. Because the Force wills it, and all that. 

In any event, hopefully, the chatter about a Star Wars Multiverse will be put to bed by the end of the highly-anticipated Ahsoka Episode 5, as actual reveals come to light. 

Star Wars: Ahsoka streams new episodes Tuesday nights on Disney+.