On Aug. 22, Disney released the first episode of its new “Star Wars” series, “Ahsoka,” on its streaming service. The series follows the Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano in the time period after the fall of the Galactic Empire — after the events of the original “Star Wars” trilogy. She is in search of a re-emerging threat that she had faced with her companions long ago. The show is almost finished with its release schedule, with its eighth and final episode premiering on Disney+ Oct. 3. So far, fans have received the show quite well.

Due to the fact that Disney has not had a theatrical release of a “Star Wars” film since “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019, they have turned to strictly television-oriented “Star Wars” content. With overly negative responses to “The Rise of Skywalker” and the sequel trilogy as a whole, fans were left disappointed with where the “Star Wars” universe was going. But with the success of Disney’s live-action series, can fans continue to stay optimistic about the ambitious future of “Star Wars”?

So far, “Ahsoka” has been a step in the right direction by incorporating beloved cinematography elements from prior films and storytelling that is diegetic. When George Lucas created “Star Wars” in 1977, he took inspiration from the 1958 Akira Kurosawa film “The Hidden Fortress,” using thematic features in his films which easily bear resemblance to Kurosawa’s work. In Lucas’ prequel films, these features are continued through the beautifully choreographed duels between characters and the correlation between the ways of the Jedi and the Bushido Code. “Ahsoka” has now returned to that style of filmmaking with similar duels as the prequels and cinematography reminiscent of samurai films.

“Ahsoka” has also been able to pull fans back into the world that was established in the original trilogy while expanding that world with a depth of lore. The series continues the knowledge fans have from those films but also brings plot points into the series that were explored in the animated shows like “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels” . Taking story elements from these animated shows has allowed Ahsoka to have more depth as a character because of the amount of material she has in the animated show –– especially her relationship with her master Anakin Skywalker.

“Rebels” has also given background and complexity for side characters like Sabine Wren and the main villain of the series, Thrawn. This series has also been able to have subtle nods to other films and television shows in the “Star Wars” universe without it just being nods to get a reaction and publicity out of fans.

The return to the “Star Wars” world building and cinematography combined with the new addition of lore is what has made this show great so far. With the ambitious future of multiple series and films run by Dave Filoni, who has worked on “The Mandalorian” and “Ahsoka,” this series can set the tone for these projects and get fans invested. But with Disney’s track record of having mediocre finales for their shows, don’t get your hopes up quite yet.