See Sabine, Thrawn, and an adorable Loth-cat in new Ahsoka photos

Ahsoka makes a point

"There was definitely a moment a few months into the training where I just felt it land in my body in a way," Rosario Dawson says about training to play the lightsaber-wielding title character and star of our latest EW cover story. (All interviews were conducted before the current SAG-AFTRA strike.) "I remember when it clicked in where I really felt grounded in her and some of the stuff started feeling more familiar and seamless. That's when I really felt like I locked into Ahsoka."

Sabine suits up

"She's been through a lot and she's still a stubborn cookie," says Natasha Liu Bordizzo of where Sabine is when Ahsoka picks up. "At the end of Rebels, she was a huge part of the liberation of Lothal and many regard her as this hero, but she so does not feel that way about herself. She's only thinking about the obligation she has toward her friend. She's got that mission in mind, not her hero status. And she has got a huge journey to go on with Ahsoka, so we find her at the start of that."

All hail Hera!

"I see Hera as an incredibly strong but complicated person," Mary Elizabeth Winstead says of the Ghost pilot. "She is very maternal, but also she's this leader of this crew. And as we see, she continues and becomes a general. And so she's leading quite a lot of people and she's become something of a legend in her own right."

Standing tall

The late Ray Stevenson — who passed away on May 21 after completing filming on the series — loved his time working on Ahsoka as Baylon. "One of the things that was so overwhelming at first was the costumes are works of art," he told EW in April. "And the set designs. You think, who designed this? And then you look at the set construction that is surrounding you — the technical and creative talent is quite breathtaking. And you've got to summon it up from the balls of your feet, stand your ground, and own the space."

Shin advances

"I hope that despite her darkness of a character, we're able to also expand our understanding of that darkness within someone and the reason behind it," Ivanna Sakhno says of her villain, Shin. "I love her. I really care so much about her, and I feel like it's my job to take care of her and protect her."

Thrawn makes his live-action debut

"He's a top strategist," Lars Mikkelsen says of the fan favorite Grand Admiral Thrawn, who first made his debut in Timothy Zahn's 1991 book Heir to the Empire. "He's always seven paces ahead of anybody else. And ruthless, of course. But only when it's needed, actually. I think he thrives also with the creativity of the surroundings. I mean, he's not using people in a bad way. He's using their creativity to reach his goals."

Feline friend

Lothal was the main center of action for the Star Wars Rebels animated series on which Ahsoka is based, so it's only fitting that its most famous species, the Loth-cat, makes an appearance in the new live-action show.

Full speed ahead

In addition to Chopper, Ahsoka will also feature the droid professor Huyang — famous as a lightsaber architect for Jedi younglings. Like his animated Clone Wars counterpart, Huyang will once again be voiced by David Tennant.

Sabine can't drive 55

As part of her research into playing Sabine, Bordizzo went back to the Rebels source material. "I watched it all with the intention of capturing the essence of the character and having almost this free storage bank of memories to go from, that they'd already worked so hard to create. It was awesome as an actor to have that. But then live action is so different. So I absorbed it all, and then forgot it all at the same time — somewhere in the balance of that."

A formidable Force

"He has a kind of, I would say, an inherent ability," the late Stevenson told EW in April of his character, Baylon. "It's like, if you don't stand in his way, he's got no malicious attitude at all. But if you do, you'd just be swept aside, because there's something that's driving him and is hopefully going to be revealed throughout the telling. And it's just breathtaking."

The next chapter begins

Dawson gives credit to executive producer Dave Filoni and original Ahsoka voice Ashley Eckstein for creating the character and helping chart her future. "To have Dave and her guiding it to this next thing is really quite beautiful. And it's nice to see the fans appreciate that as well, because we've all been on this journey together for a long time, and now it's exciting to see where it goes next."

Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Rosario Dawson, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead at Star Wars Celebration

Winstead and husband Ewan McGregor now make a Star Wars couple. "I love that y'all are like a Star Wars family," Dawson gushes to her costar. "I know when Obi-Wan was coming out and you were telling me that in the anticipation of it coming up, people were just walking up like, 'May the Force be with you.'"

"It was so great," says Winstead. "We'd be with security guards on places we would go, and they would give him like a little bit of special attention and then go, 'May the Force be with you.' It was when Obi-Wan was coming out, like there was this special time that people were like, 'Oh, God, we know it's coming and we want to tell you we approve.' It was so nice."

Mary Elizabeth Winstead at Star Wars Celebration

"Having a character who's already existed and has such a rich history on something like Rebels, as an actor, it's incredible," says Winstead. "Because sometimes we're tasked with creating our own backstories or trying to flesh out a character that doesn't really have that much on the page. And so to play a character that has season after season of storylines and complex histories with everyone in their life and relationships and experiences was really something I've never experienced."

Natasha Liu Bordizzo at Star Wars Celebration

"Sometimes you do stunts in projects, and it feels performative or more like it's for the fun of the action, which is fine," Bordizzo says. "But every action scene in our show is very, very parallel to the story. Every move is thought out, to where they would comment that a certain move did or didn't feel like Sabine. Everything is intentional, and I hope that shows on screen."

Rosario Dawson at Star Wars Celebration

"I definitely feel more powerful and confident portraying this character, and I think it does show up," says Dawson. "Even when I'm meditating, I feel that there is an energy that we have and a power that we have that if we do concentrate it and focus it in the right ways can move mountains."

Make sure to read more from Rosario Dawson and the full Ahsoka cast in our cover story out now.