‘Ahsoka’: Who Is Huyang? Meet David Tennant’s Character

Almost every notable ‘Star Wars’ story needs its own awesome, fan-favorite droid. The original movies have R2D2 and C-3PO, ‘The Mandalorian’ has IG-11, the new trilogy has BB-8 – and ‘Ahsoka’ has Huyang. However, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this 25-millennia-old droid in action. So, who is Huyang, and who voices him?

Huyang is a lightsaber architect droid who helps Jedi younglings build their first lightsabers and teaches them the ways and rules of the Jedi. Every Jedi once learned under Huyang, but after there were no Jedi left to teach, Huyang served as a guide to Ahsoka Tano, guarding the Jedi lore and helping her along her path.

Huyang is voiced by David Tennant, who implements a brilliant dose of sarcasm and irony to the character that quickly made the droid a fan-favorite from the first few episodes of ‘Ahsoka.’ However, Those who read the ‘Star Wars’ graphic novels or have seen ‘The Clone Wars’ are probably well-acquainted with Huyang already. Let’s meet David Tennant’s character more closely.

How old is Huyang?

Huyang is a very old but incredibly well-crafted droid that is believed to be over 25,000 years old. His exact history with the Jedi Order is unknown, although a 2022 adult novel called ‘Brotherhood’ explains that Huyang came to the Jedi thousands of years ago in a blue box.

That’s actually a clear reference to David Tennant’s Doctor Who character, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

Huyang’s origin story

Huyang is a very highly skilled and capable droid that, despite being alive for 25 millennia, still claims he has about 75% of his original parts. Since the emergence of the Jedi Order, Huyang has been a teacher and a lightsaber architect droid, helping Jedi younglings craft their own lightsabers.

He was even there when Grand Master Yoda crafted his very own lightsaber. In fact, Huyang was there for almost every lightsaber ever created within the Jedi Order, from the first moments of gathering the Kyber crystal to the point of the lightsaber being crafted and finished – as he was there when Mace Windu crafter his first lightsaber.

Not only did Huyang help craft lightsabers, but he remembers every single lightsaber that has ever been crafted throughout the thousands of years. The droid also teaches the young Jedi about the history, doctrines, and lore of the Jedi Order. Seeing that essentially every Jedi crafted their lightsabers with the help of Huyang, it means he was also a teacher to every single Jedi.

That means, despite not being a Jedi himself, Huyang is the closest thing you can be to a Jedi without actually being one. He knows all of the Order’s rules and helps Ahsoka Tano adhere to and abide by those rules when necessary. Huyang is a moral compass for Ahsoka and is there to help guide her to defend the galaxy, even after she left the Jedi Order.

Despite being quite intelligent and resourceful, Huyang’s main characteristic that makes him such a fan-favorite character is his demeanor. With a British accent, snarky humor, and an incredibly likable personality, Huyang certainly belongs among our most beloved droids of all time despite having a minuscule canon role so far.

He did appear in ‘The Clone Wars’ over a three-episode span (technically, two, while being mentioned in the third), where we met the character for the first time. David Tennant also voiced Huyang here in 2012, and he received a Daytime Emmy award for his voice portrayal of the droid as an Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program.

We’ve read about Huyang in numerous Star Wars novels and comics as well,  and now, a decade after his appearance in ‘The Clone Wars’ – we’re seeing Huyang in live-action for the first time in ‘Ahsoka.’

David Tennant voices Huyang in ‘Ahsoka’

David Tennant is, yet again, giving his voice to Huyang for the new Disney+ TV series, ‘Ahsoka.’ As mentioned, Tennant won a Daytime Emmy ‘Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program’ award for his portrayal of Huyang in ‘The Clone Wars’ animated series in 2013.

Now, he is back and in a live-action show for the first time ever. Already after the first two episodes, fans who haven’t seen ‘The Clone Wars’ or read any of the novels where the droid appeared seem to love Huyang for his awesome demeanor, ironic and sarcastic personality, but also his morals and deep, genuine affection towards his students and peers.

As for David Tennant (the actor lending his voice to Professor Huyang), he is a Scottish actor – which is why you can hear the distinct, awesome accent when Huyang speaks, somewhat similar to C-3PO’s British accent in the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy.

Tennant is a well-known actor who has already collected many accolades and awards throughout his career. He is mostly recognized as the 10th Doctor Who (but is now set to be the 14th Doctor as well), but that is far from the only notable role in Tennant’s career.

He was absolutely brilliant as D.I. Alex Hardy in ‘Broadchurch,’ as well as Kilgrave – the bad guy in Marvel’s ‘Jessica Jones.’ His other notable roles include ‘Good Omens,’ ‘There She Goes,’ ‘Inside Man,’ ‘Des,’ ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, and many more.

I’m positive that Huyang will continue to be a fan-favorite factor in the show. The third episode of ‘Ahsoka’ drops today, August 29, exclusively on Disney+.

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