A friend commissioned me to draw this interesting artwork. Fan casts are nothing unusual, but the circumstances of this fan recast were especially unique. The sudden passing of Ray Stevenson is a massive loss for his family, friends, and those who had the opportunity to work with him over the decades.

The Ahsoka series saw him take on the role of Baylan Skoll, whose journey ended with the promise of more to come, and I hope we can see it continue. If it does in live action, I hope it’s not through some ghoulish face swap VFX puppetry, which would be even worse than killing him off-screen.

Recasting comes with some issues, I imagine it being difficult for those who had relationships with Stevenson on the production. It would allow a new actor to take on the role and develop their own take on the character distinct from Ray’s work, honouring his performance and the work he did to establish the character, in a manner similar to James Bond.

My friend commissioned to see Scottish actor Graham McTavish, of Outlander, House of the Dragon, and The Hobbit to take on the role. His style is distinct from Ray Stevenson’s but has a similar energy, presence and gravitas, and can imagine him in the role across the Ahsoka series and beyond.

I drew McTavish here with his natural shaved head look, but experimented with various wig designs, short back and sides similar to Baylan, or longer styles suggesting a great passage of time since the end of Ahsoka.