Haunting of Bly Manor Star Sets The Record Straight On Those Mandalorian Casting Rumors

Rahul Kohli and Ezra Bridger

As Season 2 of The Mandalorian draws closer, fans continue to speculate away about what’s in store for Din Djarin (Mando) and The Child (Baby Yoda) in this new set of episodes. Among the hottest topics of speculation is the potential role the Jedi Order could play. So far, it pretty much seems certain that Rosario Dawson will appear as Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Ahsoka Tano. However, there were also rumors that Rebels’ Ezra Bridger could join the fray, leading The Haunting of Bly Manor’s Rahul Kohli to jokingly tweet about playing the role.

Unfortunately, fans took his comments a little too seriously and began to link him to the Disney+ show. Now, Kohil has provided some further clarity on the situation and why he put out that initial tweet:

I was trolling. I heard rumors that there was a casting call looking for a live-action Ezra that was looking for Asian actors in their late twenties, early thirties. I had watched a bit of Rebels that morning, so it was fresh in my mind. I was going to the gym and I thought I'd fire off a cheeky tweet.

Kohil admitted to Inverse that people don’t usually pay him much attention when he posts things like that. So you can imagine his surprise when he returned to check his phone after being away for a while:

I say stuff like that all the time and everyone ignores me, it's just me being a little geek and fancasting myself. I came back to my phone and I realized I may have kicked up a hornet's nest. But because I'm a troll and a bit of a child I ended up doubling down because I couldn't help myself.

It's one thing to have fun with fan, but joking with Star Wars fans is an entirely different thing. Most know how passionate they are, and they take any developments regarding the property very seriously – sometimes a bit too seriously.

But just because Rahul Kohli isn’t interested in playing an older version of missing Jedi Ezra Bridger, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t actually want to be a part of the franchise. Kohli says he “became an actor because of Star Wars” and has even admitted that he’s "spent more hours lightsaber dueling in my garden than I have acting.” With this, the actor revealed he would really like to play vintage characters Kyle Katarn or Dash Rendar. And both would be more than suitable options for him.

It honestly would have been cool to see Rahul Kohli bring Ezra Bridger to the live-action realm, and it’s still something worth thinking about. Let’s hope his love of Star Wars (and keen acting ability) will eventually lead him to the galaxy far, far away.

Get ready to watch The Mandalorian when Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on Friday, October 30.

Erik Swann
Senior Content Producer

Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.