The Star Wars community is very stressed about Jacen Syndulla's post-Ahsoka fate – and we understand why.
Jacen was introduced to live-action in Ahsoka episode 3, after first appearing in the Star Wars Rebels season 4 finale. He's the son of Hera Syndulla and the late Jedi Kanan Jarrus, and, as he says in the third Ahsoka episode, he wants to be a Jedi himself.
It's that wish that has Star Wars fans worried. Around this point on the Star Wars timeline, Luke Skywalker is building his new Jedi Academy, with Grogu as his first student. Assuming Ahsoka takes place after The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka Tano and Luke have already met. If Hera has a mind to send her son for Jedi training, then, there's only one logical place for him to go – a place that she could know about through Ahsoka.
Just a small concerning thought I had... Hopefully I'm wrong. from r/StarWarsAhsoka
Of course, Luke's Jedi school meets a terrible fate in the sequel trilogy, when Kylo Ren slaughters all of the students. Grogu has escaped this dark future by choosing to return to Mando, but nothing is known for certain about Jacen's future. The Ghost ship, which belongs to Hera, makes an appearance in the big battle scene at the end of The Rise of Skywalker – but anyone could be flying it, meaning we can't even count that as evidence Jacen will survive.
Then there's the fact that Jacen Syndulla has a very curious name. In the now-defunct Star Wars Legends canon, Jacen was the name of Han Solo and Leia Organa's son. Jacen Solo, who was trained by Luke, ended up turning to the dark side and becoming the Sith Lord Darth Caedus – doesn't that remind you of a certain Ben Solo? It would be a cruelly ironic twist indeed if Jacen Syndulla was killed by Kylo Ren, considering their shared connection.
But, there is still a chance that Jacen avoids disaster. If Sabine Wren and Ahsoka succeed at tracking down Ezra Bridger, he could return and take Jacen as his Padawan.
Plus, Luke's school was destroyed in 28 ABY (that means 28 years on from A New Hope). With Ahsoka taking place somewhere around 9-11 ABY, that places Jacen's age at somewhere between nine to 12 years old. He could easily finish his Jedi training in under 10 years and be nowhere near Luke's Temple when it's destroyed. Then there's the fact that Luke follows the old Jedi teachings on attachment, as one fan points out: "Luke probably wouldn't accept him... too attached to Hera." There's hope for the youngling yet.
Jacen has only had a very small amount of screen time so far, but he's already breaking hearts with a tearjerker of a reference to his father Kanan.
We'll just have to see how Jacen's story plays out as Ahsoka continues weekly on Disney Plus. For much more on the show, check out our deep dives on:
- Who is Grand Admiral Thrawn?
- The purrgil explained
- Explaining the mystical realm of the World Between Worlds
- The history between Anakin and Ahsoka explained
- Everything you need to know about Star Wars Rebels
- The Ahsoka end-credits clues explained
- The Nightsisters of Dathomir explained
- Who is Clancy Brown playing in Ahsoka?
- Huyang explained
- Who is Inquisitor Marrok in Ahsoka?
- Where have we seen Morgan Elsbeth before?
- What to watch before Ahsoka
- How to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars in order
- The Ahsoka timeline explained
- The Ahsoka release schedule
