Summary
- An interview with Dave Filoni confirms that the inspiration for Ahsoka's World Between Worlds in Star Wars came from C.S Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.
- The World Between Worlds in Star Wars is depicted as a metaphysical realm with many doorways across time and space, similar to the Wood Between Worlds in Narnia which granted access to various worlds through pools of water in a forest.
- The use of mythological lore by Filoni in creating new elements in Star Wars is similar to how George Lucas pulled ideas from different spaces to create something new yet familiar as its own cosmic mythology. The Force nexus in the World Between Worlds is one of the most intriguing elements in recent Star Wars canon.
An interview with Dave Filoni confirmed an original inspiration for Ahsoka episode 5, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) experienced a critical Force vision in which her spirit was taken to meet Anakin's in the World Between Worlds, first seen in the animated Star Wars Rebels show which Tano once visited with Jedi Ezra Bridger. However, the metaphysical realm with its many doorways across time and space was apparently inspired by C.S Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia.
During a Star Wars Rebels retrospective at Star Wars Celebration 2019, Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni confirmed that the original inspiration for the World Between Worlds came from the "Wood Between Worlds" featured in C.S Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, specifically the sixth book The Magician's Nephew (chronologically the first). Appearing as a forest with many pools granting access to various worlds, it's not hard to see the similarities. A video reposting Filoni's interview can be viewed below from Instagram Vactor (complete with SNL's "Lazy Sunday" song about Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell's hilariously going to watch the Narnia movies):
Giving credit to his wife and her own deep knowledge of mythology and lore, Filoni's comments about the World Between Worlds and its Narnia inspirations are fascinating as Star Wars fans continue to try and uncover the nature of Star Wars' most mystical plane.
How Does The World Between Worlds Compare To Narnia's Version?
In The Magician's Nephew, the Wood Between Worlds provided access to countless worlds represented by pools of water. Earth, Narnia, and Charn were the primary three worlds that were explored with the White Witch originally belonging to Charn before coming to Narnia. However, these worlds and the forest itself could only be entered and exited using green and yellow rings with magical properties. In comparison, the World Between Worlds is much more cosmic in its makeup with bridges suspended within a sea of stars. Likewise, Star Wars Rebels depicted the Force nexus with several doors offering access not only to different points in space but also across time itself.
Ultimately, it's very cool to see all the various points of mythological lore used by Filoni as they inspire brand-new elements of the ongoing Star Wars lore and canon. It's very much what George Lucas did himself with the original and prequel trilogies, pulling ideas from several different spaces in order to create something new yet intrinsically familiar as a mythology in and of itself. While it's unknown if Anakin or the World Between Worlds will be seen again as Ahsoka continues, the Force nexus is undeniably one of the most intriguing elements of the Star Wars canon in recent memory.
Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.
Source: Instagram/Vactor