Rosario Dawson shines in new trailer for this summer's 'Star Wars: Ahsoka' (video)

Summertime is traditionally "Star Wars" territory, dating back to the late May release of the original blockbuster, which ran in theaters that summer of 1977. 

In keeping with that rite, Disney and Lucasfilm will launch their "Ahsoka" solo series on Disney+ on Aug. 23, and a fresh preview primes us for the event with a flurry of sci-fi fare and a non-animated glimpse at evil Grand Admiral Thrawn.

The new trailer provides peeks at lightsaber duels, rousing battle sequences, and outer space dogfights, with familiar female faces from past "Star Wars" offerings. 

Related: Everything we know about 'Ahsoka:' release date, cast, plot

Watch Ahsoka when it launches on Disney+: $7.99/month or $79.99/year

Watch Ahsoka when it launches on Disney+: $7.99/month or $79.99/year

Sign up to Disney+ to watch Ahsoka, along with all the other Star Wars movies and TV shows on there, plus loads of other Disney, Marvel, and Nat Geo content too.

"Star Wars: Ahsoka" stars Rosario Dawson as the titular character. (Image credit: Disney+)

"Ahsoka" is an eight-episode limited series set five years following "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" and right after the events of "The Mandalorian" Season 2. Rosario Dawson headlines the action-oriented show, reprising her role as ex-Jedi Ahsoka Tano in a storyline inspired by plot details presented in "Star Wars Rebels," "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett."

This star-packed adventure includes the characters of Mandalorian Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), Ghost's pilot Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), Shin Hat (Ivanna Sakhno), and Jedi Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), as Ahsoka relentlessly pursues the "Heir to the Empire," Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). 

David Tennant of "Doctor Who" is scheduled to voice the lightsaber-making droid called Huyang, with Hayden Christensen slated to again portray the Sith Lord Darth Vader in some clandestine capacity.

The new final poster for Disney+'s "Star Wars: Ahsoka." (Image credit: disney+)

Directorial duties will be handled by Dave Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Vasant Patel and Rick Famuyiwa. Filoni serves as "Ahsoka's" head writer and executive producer in collaboration with Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson and Carrie Beck, with Karen Gilchrist as co-executive producer.

"Ahsoka" lands with its first two episodes on Aug. 23, exclusively on Disney+.

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Jeff Spry
Contributing Writer

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.