Rory McCann will the cast of Baylan Skoll. Skoll was originally portrayed by Ray Stevenson, who tragically ed away months before the premiere of Ahsoka season 1. With more of Skoll’s story to tell, Rory McCann, famous for playing Sandor Clegane (nicknamed “The Hound”), will portray the former Jedi in Ahsoka’s next season.

Much of Baylan Skoll’s history remains shrouded in mystery, but Ahsoka has revealed that he was once a Jedi Knight and general in the Clone Wars. Not only did Skoll survive the Jedi Purge during Order 66, but he also somehow learned that Anakin Skywalker became the Sith Lord Darth Vader.

By the events of Ahsoka, Skoll had abandoned the ways of the Jedi, fallen to the dark side, earned the title of Lord, and mentored the young Force-sensitive Shin Hati. Interestingly, Baylan Skoll’s name (as well as Shin Hati’s) is one of many lupine references in Dave Filoni’s Star Wars properties.

The Lupine Inspiration For Baylan Skoll

The Norse Mythology Behind Baylan Skoll

In Norse mythology, Sköll and Hati are giant celestial wolves. Sköll chases the sun while Hati chases the moon. The apocalypse (Ragnarök) occurs when the two wolves finally catch their celestial prey. While it is unknown for now how this might hint towards Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati’s goals and future in the Star Wars franchise, their names are, at the very least, among the latest references to wolves in Dave Filoni’s works.

Dave Filoni Has A Well-Known Appreciation For Wolves

His Own Star Wars Character Is Named "Trapper Wolf"

Dave Filoni has made no secret of his appreciation for all things lupine. Filoni once noted that his love of wolves began when he saw the 1983 film Never Cry Wolf, which led him to appreciate wolves themselves but also their folkloric meanings in various cultures. Throughout his career as a Star Wars creative, Filoni has referenced wolves, starting with Star Wars: The Clone Wars’s Clone Commander Wolffe, who leads the 104th Battalion - also known as the Wolfpack.

Dave Filoni’s favorite cinematic Jedi from the prequel era, Plo Koon, leads the Wolfpack.

In Star Wars Rebels, Filoni made Loth-wolves (sapient, Force-sensitive wolves native to Lothal) play an important role in the show’s final season. Dave Filoni even plays a live-action Star Wars character in The Mandalorian, a New Republic pilot named Trapper Wolf. Notably, two Star Wars characters are named Marrok (referencing a Knight from Arthurian legend who was turned into a werewolf): Embo’s pet anooba in The Clone Wars, and a mysterious former Imperial Inquisitor in Ahsoka season 1.