Ahsoka star Natasha Liu Bordizzo breaks down Sabine's 'messy' Jedi journey

There’s a new Jedi hero in a galaxy far, far away.

Ahsoka season 1 primarily focused on Rosario Dawson’s lightsaber-wielding warrior, following Ahsoka Tano as she searched for missing friend Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). But the Disney+ Star Wars show also spotlighted the complicated relationship between Ahsoka and her headstrong apprentice Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), chronicling Sabine’s journey from brash Mandalorian warrior to skilled Jedi Padawan.

In a recent interview for EW’s Dagobah Dispatch podcast, Bordizzo opened up about Sabine’s “polarizing” journey and her connection with Ahsoka. The 29-year-old Australian actress said she was fascinated by the pair’s complicated dynamic, comparing their relationship to Ahsoka’s relationship with her former master Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen).

“There’s been a lot of feedback about how Sabine has made some wrong choices, and she definitely is a very polarizing character for some,” Bordizzo said. “But it was really fun to be able to come from such a dark place and show the arc of where that’s going. I think the show wouldn’t have had as much of a journey without starting with their dynamic being so tense and needing each other, but not really wanting to need each other.”

Bordizzo added that she was particularly intrigued by Sabine’s journey with the Force: Historically, the Star Wars saga has focused on talented Jedi like Luke Skywalker or Rey, heroes who easily tap into the Force. Sabine, on the other hand, has a much harder time connecting — at least at first.

“There was some feedback [online] that the Force was too easy for Sabine, and I was like, ‘What do you mean?’” Bordizzo explained. “The concept of the Force being this difficult to attain but attainable state of being that people could access with hard work and dedication, I think, is a really honorable concept that feels very Dave. And George Lucas had originally also said that.”

“I think it’s awesome that it was a journey,” Bordizzo continued. “You get to see her fail, and you get to see her try again and again. Mind you, she’s not always cool and finishing the fight in a cool way and having the last word. It’s messy. And then finally, when the stakes are so high, she’s able to harness it in the time she needed to most.”

Ahsoka creator Dave Filoni previously said he was intrigued by the idea of a Jedi Padawan who didn’t immediately connect to the Force, something he wanted to explore through Sabine’s arc.

“She’s a very talented warrior, but this is not something that’s easy for her, and I think that makes it relatable to people,” Filoni previously told EW. “Generally in Star Wars, we’ve always seen very gifted people be trained, and I wanted to show kind of the opposite. If she achieves her potential, there’s also a danger in that because of the way she is as a warrior. She is prone to anger, and all the things that make Ahsoka concerned could flare up.”

Bordizzo added that she spent months training to learn how to wield a lightsaber, particularly for her brutal fights with Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno). But perhaps her favorite days on set were when she got to hang out with one of her favorite coworkers: the fuzzy, four-legged puppet who played Murley, Sabine’s Loth-cat.

“There were many, many sighs on set, like, ‘Ugh, so cute!’” Bordizzo added with a laugh. “I remember just laughing so hard at the Loth-cat’s legs, just these little turkey legs at the end of this cat.”

Listen to the full conversation with Natasha Liu Bordizzo on EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast.

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