Everything to Know About STAR WARS’ Sabine Wren Before AHSOKA

Star Wars Rebels‘ Sabine Wren will soon make her live-action debut on Disney+’s Ahsoka, but she’s already made her mark on the galaxy far, far away. Both literally and figuratively. The legendary Mandalorian warrior and hero of the Rebellion is also the artist who inspired the galaxy’s greatest symbol of hope. Who is she and why did she once serve the Empire she helped bring down? And why does her past always seem to haunt her? Here’s everything you need to know about Sabine Wren before she makes her live-action debut in Ahsoka.

What Planet Is Sabine Wren From?

Sabine Wren was born on Mandalore to Ursa and Alrich. She is also the older sister to her brother Tristan. Sabine considers Clan Wren’s ancestral planet Krownest to be her other homeworld.

Her mother Ursa was a member of Death Watch, the terrorist group who wanted to return Mandalore to its traditional warrior ways. Her father Alrich was an artist. Both had a tremendous influence on their daughter.

How Did Sabine Wren Betray Mandalorians While an Imperial Cadet?

Sabine joined Mandalore’s Imperial Academy as a child. She initially believed in the Empire and was one of the Academy’s top cadets. Her dedication only began to waver when she started learning about the actions of Cham Syndulla (father of Hera) and Mandalorian Protector leader Fenn Rau during the Clone Wars.

Any remaining loyalty Sabine had to the Empire ended when it began testing her own invention against Mandalorians. Sabine’s Arc Pulse Generator, a superweapon she dubbed the Duchess, could incinerate sacred Mandalorian beskar steel and anyone wearing it. When the Empire used it on her own people she damaged the Duchess and unsuccessfully tried to destroy its blueprints. She then defected from the Empire, but her family did not.

Why Did Sabine Wren’s Family Banish Her?

Sabine might have left the Empire, but Clan Wren did not. After Sabine’s defection her family banished her and remained loyal to the Galactic Empire. However, their commitment did not garner them any favors.

The Empire forced House Wren to answer for Sabine’s actions. The planet’s Imperial Viceroy, Gar Saxon, took Sabine’s father as hostage. Her mother was called on to prove her family’s loyalty in service, and Sabine’s brother was made to join Saxon’s Imperial Super Commandos.

How Did Sabine Wren Join the Ghost?

Without a home or a family to rely on, Sabine started working as a bounty hunter with a friend. The two talked about joining an underworld criminal organization together, but ultimately went their separate ways. That eventually led to 16-year-old Sabine joining the Ghost, a Rebel cell known as the Spectres.

Kanan Jarrus recruited the young Mandalorian with a fondness for graffiti art into the group. At the time it also consisted of Captain Hera Syndulla, the astromech droid Chopper, and the Lasat warrior Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios. Young Ezra Bridger would eventually follow Sabine’s path and become a crew member.

Sabine’s past meant she didn’t like to take orders blindly, but her ability to focus on a mission, resourcefulness, improvisational skills, and Mandalorian training made her an invaluable member of the Ghost. As did her work with explosives.

How Did Sabine Get Along With Her Fellow Spectres?

Sabine was strong-willed, independent, and preferred to keep to herself. The group’s loner was also sassy and troubled by her past, but fiercely loyal and protective of her fellow Spectres, especially Ezra. The two friends frequently tried to one-up the other.

While Sabine often trained and ate alone, she always expressed herself through art. She had a fondness for spray painting drab Imperial machines with bright colors during missions as both a form of personal expression and as a defiant act celebrating freedom. Sabine even turned herself into a canvas, often changing her hair color and painting her beskar armor which she said felt like a second skin to her.

The ubiquity, beauty, and spirit of Sabine’s art even inspired the galaxy’s symbol of hope.

When Did Sabine Wren Create the Rebel Logo?

Sabine drew her personal trademark, the starbird, throughout the galaxy as both a signature on her art and a symbol of freedom. Eventually the growing Rebellion, which transformed from a collection of independent cells into a unified movement, used her starbird as the basis for the Rebel Alliance logo.

Why Didn’t Sabine Wren Want to Wield the Darksaber?

The Rebel Alliance logo isn’t the only important symbol connected to Sabine Wren. She also found the Darksaber, Mandalore’s iconic lightsaber, on Darth Maul’s home planet. Sabine eventually relented and let Kanan Jarrus train her in how to use the weapon that symbolized Mandalore’s power. She also had help from Fenn Rau, whom she had recruited to the Rebel cause.

But she never felt totally comfortable possessing it or with the idea of leading her people. Instead she turned her anger, frustration, and sadness about her own past actions into motivation.

How Did Sabine Reconcile With her Family?

Sabine’s Darksaber training led her to return to her family on Krownest. At first her mother betrayed her to Gar Saxon in exchange for Sabine’s life. When the Viceroy ordered Clan Wren’s destruction anyway, a fight broke out. It ended with Sabine defeating him. Sabine refused to kill him, but Ursa took matters into her own hands when Gar Saxon tried to murder Sabine. After that Clan Wren welcomed her back and abandoned the Empire (though they still refused to join the Rebellion at that point). Sabine then left her fellow Spectres to stay behind with Fenn Rau to try and help unify Mandalore.

Eventually the Ghost returned to ask for Clan Wren’s assistance in a mission against the Empire. When Sabine defied her mother to help her friends Ursa relented and sent aid. When Sabine returned to her people a new bond had formed between Clan Wren and the Rebellion, but Mandalore remained House Wren’s focus.

That’s eventually how Sabine learned the Empire had rebuilt the Duchess. They then began using it against rebelling Mandalorians, who considered Sabine a traitor when they learned she designed it. Sabine got back into their good graces when she fought with them and was able to alter the weapon to target stormtrooper armor instead.

With the Arc Pulse Generator destroyed for good, Sabine then helped reunite all Mandalorians. She gave the Darksaber to Bo-Katan Kryze who became Mandalore’s ruler once more. After Sabine returned to the Ghost.

Why Did Ezra Bridger Task Sabine With Finding Him?

Star Wars Rebels‘ final battle saw the Ghost fighting against the Imperial blockade of Lothal. It ended when Jedi Ezra Bridger called on purrgil to whisk both him and Grand Admiral Thrawn deep into the Unknown Regions of the galaxy. Ezra didn’t reveal his plans to his fellow Spectres before he carried it out, but he did leave a message behind for all of them.

That included a short message for Sabine. “Don’t forget, I’m counting on you,” he said. It took Sabine awhile to figure out exactly what Ezra meant, but after Emperor Palpatine’s death she finally knew what Ezra was telling her. He was counting on her to find him. And in the animated show’s final moments, after Sabine looked over a mural she’d painted of her Ghost family, Sabine set out with Ahsoka Tano to locate Ezra.

She’s still looking for him. Years after Star Wars Rebels ending, he remains missing on Ahsoka.

Who Voiced Sabine Wren on Star Wars Rebels?

Tiya Sircar voiced Sabine Wren on Star Wars Rebels.

Who Will Play Live-Action Sabine Wren on Ahsoka?

Natasha Liu Bordizzo will bring Sabine Wren to Star Wars live-action when she plays the character on Ahsoka.

Ahsoka premieres on August 23 on Disney+.