Lucasfilm reveals 'Ahsoka' release date

Rosario Dawson brings the iconic 'Star Wars' character back to Disney+. PLUS: 'The Afterparty' Season 2 gets a trailer, 'Dial of Destiny' tracking low, and does Sasha Calle have a future as Supergirl?

Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano in Ahsoka. / Lucasfilm

Is it safe to go outside? Does the air still taste like burning?

I’ve been holed up all week thanks to the Canadian wildfires that sent a wave of smoke and hazardous air down the eastern region of the United States. (Who was responsibly for raking those forests? Someone’s slacking on the job …) While we’ve been lucky to avoid New York City’s sepia-toned skies in Northern Virginia, we’ve clocked our fair share of purple and deep red warnings on AirNow.gov.

Funny how suddenly everyone is interested in Blade Runner 2049 now. Where were you all when the movie only grossed $92 million in North America?

Anyways, welcome to a Friday edition of Popculturology. There’s a ton going on in the world of pop culture. I’m already behind on the first two episodes of the new season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but with HBO in a lull between Succession and The Righteous Gemstones (no, I’m not going to waste my time watching The Idol), Sunday should be a good time to catch up.

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• Feature Presentation: Ahsoka sets a premiere date

• Bonus Feature: The kid who animated a Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse scene

• The News: Sasha Calle wants to keep playing Supergirl, Zack Snyder pitched a Star Wars film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny isn’t tracking well

• Trailer Watch: The Afterparty, Sympathy for the Devil

• Playlist: Dave

• What to Watch: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts?

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Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano in Ahsoka. / Lucasfilm

Ahsoka coming to Disney+ on Aug. 23

When Ahsoka Tano first appeared in the animated The Clone Wars film back in 2008, no one would’ve ever suspected that 15 years later she’d be starring in her own live-action series on Disney+.

Besides obvious things like “there had never been a live-action Star Wars series” and “what’s Disney+?” the character was poorly received by Star Wars fans. The character and fans grew together, though, before becoming not only one of the most popular characters in all of Star Wars but also a key figure whose story weaves through the Clone Wars, the age of Rebellion and now into the era after the fall of the Empire.

Ahsoka made the jump into live action during the second season of The Mandalorian, with Rosario Dawson taking responsibility for the character after Ashley Eckstein had voiced her in every prior appearance.

Lucasfilm revealed this week the exact date when Dawson’s live-action Ahsoka will return in own her series. We previously knew that the series was coming in August, and now we know that Ahsoka will premiere on Aug. 23.