The series begins after Ahsoka's appearances in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which she is shown to be hunting for the character Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Filoni said the series would tell a serialized story rather than having separate adventures in each episode. Filoni and Favreau consulted with The Thrawn Trilogy author Timothy Zahn regarding Thrawn's appearance in the series because the character is "his thing... [w]e want to make sure we get it right". Star Rosario Dawson confirmed in April 2023 that Ahsoka would continue the story established in the animated series Star Wars Rebels. Regarding Ahsoka being a continuation of Rebels or referred to as a fifth season of that series, Filoni said that was "interesting" and "one way of looking at it" explaining, "For me, when I'm telling those stories, I don't limit things like, 'Oh, well, I did it an animation, so I would do it distinctly different in live action.' There's just the story that it is, and I was telling it in one medium."
