Sabine Wren is a major character in Ahsoka, but she was first introduced in Star Wars Rebels. That means that, if you haven't seen the animated show, you might be wondering about her backstory. But that's where we come in. We've got everything you need to know about the Mandalorian Jedi-in-training below.
Sabine has a pretty epic backstory, which features a dark Imperial past, rebellious artistic flair, and even a brief stretch of time wielding the Darksaber. Yep, Sabine's story is full of huge Star Wars moments, which means catching up is essential. The below is up to date on Sabine's adventures in Ahsoka, which means you'll find spoilers for that Star Wars show – so don't read on if you haven't finished the series yet.
So, for all you need to know about Sabine Wren, head to the below. For even more of a deep dive into Ahsoka, see our guides on what to watch before Ahsoka and everything you need to know about Star Wars Rebels.
Who is Sabine Wren?
Sabine Wren is a Mandalorian member of the Ghost crew (that's Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, Zeb Orrelios, and the droid Chopper). She's got a real passion and flair for art, often putting her unique stamp on Imperial property – in fact, she's the inspiration behind that iconic Rebel Alliance symbol. Grand Admiral Thrawn is even an admirer of her work and has his own collection of her pieces, if you can believe it.
Who is Sabine Wren's family?
Sabine is a member of Clan Wren, which is a vassal of House Vizsla (you might remember Paz Viszla from The Mandalorian).
Clan Wren was allied with the Imperial supporting Clan Saxon, meaning they supported Gar Saxon as Governor of Mandalore. They ultimately switch sides, however, and fight against the Imperials in the Mandalorian Civil War – more on that in a moment.
Clan Wren is made up of Sabine's father Alrich Wen, her mother Countess Ursa Wren, and Sabine's brother Tristan.
What is the weapon Sabine Wren created? Why does Sabine leave the Empire?
Sabine was in Mandalore's Imperial Academy when she was younger and, to prove herself, created a super-weapon with terrible capabilities. The weapon, named the Arc Pulse Generator (but nicknamed the Duchess, after the late Satine Kryze – Bo-Katan Kryze's sister and former ruler of Mandalore), heated beskar until it completely disintegrated the person inside the suit. That has catastrophic implications for Mandalore, of course, since Mandalorians don beskar armor as a key part of their culture.
Once Sabine discovered the weapon was being used against her own people she was horrified, but her family sided with the Empire, leaving her an outcast. With fellow Mandalorian Ketsu Onyo, Sabine escaped the Academy and went into bounty hunting. This led to Sabine's father Alrich becoming Gar Saxon's hostage, with her mother Ursa and brother Tristan made to prove their loyalty to the Empire and Saxon.
Why does Sabine have the Darksaber? Why does she give it up?
Sabine finds the Darksaber on Darth Maul's planet of Dathomir (Maul was ruler of Mandalore for a time in The Clone Wars). At first, Sabine is resistant to taking the Darksaber thanks to her complicated relationship with her family, but ultimately decides to give it a try. Kanan trains her in Darksaber combat, and, eventually, Sabine leaves for Mandalore with Kanan, Ezra, Chopper, and a Mandalorian named Fenn Rau whom the Ghost crew had encountered on a previous mission.
On Mandalore, Sabine learns of her father's capture, and discovers that Clan Wren is thought of as traitorous to the Empire thanks to her actions. Unbeknownst to Sabine, her mother Ursa has made a deal with Gar Saxon to hand over the Darksaber, Ezra, and Kanan in exchange for Sabine's life. Saxon goes back on the deal, however, but Fenn Rau comes to the rescue. Sabine then battles a Darksaber-wielding Saxon with Ezra's lightsaber, emerging victorious. When Saxon tries to kill her after she spares his life, Ursa shoots him dead.
Sabine does not want to be ruler of Mandalore, but decides to stay behind after the death of Saxon. She eventually reunites with the Ghost crew, then returns to Mandalore once again to try and rescue her father from captivity. This is when she meets Bo-Katan, who Sabine thinks is fit to rule Mandalore. Bo-Katan initially turns down the Darksaber, however.
Sabine manages to save her father, but discovers the Arc Pulse Generator has been used against her family's forces – even though she destroyed the weapon. Sabine then goes to destroy the weapon for good, then convinces Bo-Katan to take the Darksaber. As we see in The Mandalorian, though, that didn't work out so well for Bo...
What happens to Sabine Wren at the end of Rebels?
Rebels ends with Ezra and Thrawn disappearing into hyperspace together, after Ezra summons a band of purrgils (hyperspace-traveling space whales) to make them disappear. Sabine distracts the Ghost crew to let Ezra sneak away to face Thrawn himself.
Later, a hologram message from Ezra relays "I'm counting on you" to Sabine, which at first confuses her, before she realizes that Ezra wants Sabine to look for him. At the end of Rebels, in an epilogue narrated by Sabine, we see her and Ahsoka Tano heading off to do just that.
What's going on with Sabine in Ahsoka? Is she training to be a Jedi?
When we meet Sabine again in Ahsoka, it's fair to say that she's a little bit jaded. She refuses to come to a ceremony honoring Ezra and she's clearly harboring some painful feelings when it comes to her reunion with Ahsoka. But with a little prodding from Huyang, by the end of the opening two episodes Sabine has chopped off her hair, donned her armor, and is back training with Ahsoka.
In Ahsoka episode 3, we get to see a bit more of her training after it was teased in some trailers for the show. Sabine is still using Ezra's lightsaber, which he gave up shortly before going to meet Thrawn in the Rebels season 4 finale.
The catch though, is that Sabine doesn't seem to be Force-sensitive (as Huyang likes to keep reminding her), so this isn't strictly Jedi training in the traditional sense (though Huyang also reminds Ahsoka that she comes from a non-traditional Jedi heritage herself). We do see Sabine putting her 'saber skills to use against new villain Shin Hati, though, so it's certainly coming in handy.
In Ahsoka episode 4, Sabine lands herself in a whole load of trouble after facing off against Baylan Skoll. After he manipulates her about the loss of her family, she hands back the map to find Ezra and accompanies Baylan on a journey through hyperspace.
She's not seen in Ahsoka episode 5, as it largely focuses on the flashbacks between Anakin and Ahsoka, but she makes a major return in Ahsoka episode 6. After being taken to Thrawn on Peridea, she's sent off on her own to try and find Ezra. The journey isn't easy as she encounters some nasty bandits along the way, but thanks to some help from some adorable crab-like creatures, she's reunited with her long-lost friend.
By Ahsoka episode 8, Sabine is racing to stop Thrawn with Ahsoka, Ezra, and Huyang. Sabine finally learns how to wield the Force in the finale and is able to use it to grab her lightsaber and save herself from a Night Trooper. Though Ezra makes it onto Thrawn's Star Destroyer and back to the main galaxy, Sabine and Ahsoka do not, and they're left stranded.
Ahsoka isn't worried though, believing they're where they need to be – and Sabine even almost catches a glimpse of Anakin Skywalker's Force ghost in the final moments of the episode, though brushes off what she saw as a shadow. We'll likely see Sabine again in a potential Ahsoka season 2.
All episodes of Ahsoka are streaming on Disney Plus now.
For even more on Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka, check out our deep dive on the mystical realm of the World Between Worlds, or get the lowdown on the history between Anakin and Ahsoka. For everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store, check out our roundup of all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows.
