Ahsoka Episode 7 Confirms One Star Wars Rebel's New Job - And It's Perfect
Showrunner Dave Filoni's live-action "Star Wars" series "Ahsoka" is effectively a new season of his mid-2010s cartoon "Star Wars Rebels" in all but name. While some characters like lead Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) have appeared in previous live-action "Star Wars" shows, "Ahsoka" is the first viewers have seen of major "Rebels" characters like Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) since its conclusion in 2018.
The sole main "Rebels" cast member absent from "Ahsoka" is Zeb Orrelios (voiced by Steve Blum). In Episode 7, however, Eza Bridger (Eman Esfandi) reveals what Zeb has been up to since "Rebels" as he's reviewing major developments that have taken place during his absence. As it turns out, Zeb is now "training recruits," presumably for the New Republic army.
Whereas Hera's tactical expertise in "Rebels" pays off with her landing a position as a military general, Zeb is more of a brute force fighter. Passing down his expertise to new recruits for the New Republic, then, similarly makes use of the skillset that largely defines his character throughout "Rebels."
Zeb could play an important role in Ahsoka Episode 8 or a future Star Wars project
While Zeb's absence from "Ahsoka" is conspicuous given that every other surviving "Rebels" character is a major player in its story, fans of Dave Filoni's growing "Star Wars" TV universe will recall that Zeb has shown up in live action once already, albeit merely for a brief, fan service-y cameo. He appears in "The Mandalorian" Season 3, Episode 5 alongside New Republic ship Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) in a bar on the planet Adelphi.
Now that fans know about Zeb's new government gig, it perhaps makes more sense why he was unable to aid Teva on the mission he received in that moment to defend the planet Nevarro from pirate captain Gorian Shard (Nonso Anozie). Presumably Zeb keeps plenty busy with his job and would be abandoning his post were he to unexpectedly set off on a mission outside of his purview.
That said, based on the fact that Zeb's look in live action is already established and his name is invoked in "Ahsoka" Episode 7, viewers most likely have not seen the last of him. Whether in "Ahsoka" Episode 8 or Filoni's future "Star Wars" TV and film work, the way Zeb is subtly still in the mix hints at an important role at some point in the franchise's future.