One quote from Star Wars creator George Lucas may finally explain why Ahsoka Tano believed her former Jedi Master, Anakin Skywalker, had died during Order 66. George Lucas was strongly attached to the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show, and it was clear that he cared deeply for all the characters seen in the show.

For a while, it was unclear what the fate of Ahsoka Tano would be, since all the Jedi were supposed to die in Order 66, but the longer audiences got to know and love the character, it became clear that killing her off wouldn’t be as easy.

By the time Ahsoka appeared in Star Wars Rebels, more than a decade after the Jedi mᴀssacre, it was clear she thought her former master had perished. However, when she sensed him in the Force while in a space battle with Darth Vader, she realized the horrifying truth.

George Lucas’ Explanation Makes Perfect Sense

In 2016, George Lucas’ protégé Dave Filoni did an interview with Star Wars where he revealed how he and George Lucas explained Ahsoka not knowing about Anakin.

This is something that George [Lucas] and I talked about. When Order 66 is called and Ahsoka survives it, she has a moment where she reaches out into the Force and she looks for Anakin’s presence. She could feel Anakin’s presence in the Force, no matter where she was in the galaxy. It’s not like a metal detector — she couldn’t just go right to where he was, but she would get a feeling that her friend is still safe and alive. When she reaches out after Order 66, she doesn’t get that. It’s gone, and so she believes him to be ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.

Through this quote, we can see that Ahsoka did try to search through the Force for Anakin and to see if he was alive. This was something that was also brought up in the Ahsoka novel by EK Johnson.

Because of the threat of Inquisitors, and with so few Jedi left after Order 66, it wasn’t safe for Ahsoka to constantly be reaching out through the Force to try to find others. While the dust still settled, Ahsoka tried to see if Anakin was still alive, but without sensing him through the Force, there was no other explanation other than his death.

Was Obi-Wan Technically Right About Anakin?

So often, Obi-Wan Kenobi gets treated as a liar for telling Luke Skywalker that his father died in A New Hope. However, considering George Lucas’ and Dave Filoni’s stance that Anakin couldn’t be felt through the Force, it kind of makes him right.

Additionally, scenes from the Obi-Wan Kenobi show have Darth Vader telling Kenobi that Anakin was gone and that Vader had killed his former self. Not only does this take the heat off of Obi-Wan for lying to Luke, but it also kind of makes him right.

If Ahsoka, who had such a strong connection with Anakin, couldn’t find him in the Force, then that means no part of him was truly there. So, while audiences know that Anakin Skywalker just turned into Darth Vader, this gives weight to Ahsoka Tano not knowing Anakin was alive after the execution of Order 66 in Star Wars.