Ahsoka has become one of the most hotly anticipated new series of the summer, and it’s easy to see why. The series stars Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, a character who has become a fan-favorite throughout her numerous appearances in animated Star Wars series over the last 15 years. After debuting in live-action during the second season of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka is receiving her own standalone series for the very first time, and it’s a dream come true for many fans out there.

The series is also building off a lot of the other work that creator Dave Filoni has done in the various animated Star Wars series. Several characters from Star Wars Rebels are also making the jump to live-action, including Hera Syndulla (played by Mary Elizabeth-Winstead), Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).

Fans have been looking forward to the Ahsoka series for years now, and it is debuting at a crucial time in the overall Star Wars franchise. Ahsoka needs to be a win for Lucasfilm, as the studio has bet a lot on the series, both financially and creatively. Here’s how the series will play an important role in the studio’s plan for Star Wars moving forward:

The Franchise Has Lost its Way
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Firstly, it’s important to recognize the place that Star Wars is in right now. The franchise used to be expanded on-screen fairly rarely. In the first 30 years of its existence, there were six live-action Star Wars films that were released. After Disney purchased Lucasfilm about a decade ago, that number has nearly doubled to 11 live-action movies, in addition to four live-action streaming series. Both of those numbers are also set to grow over the next few years, as three more films are in active development and three new streaming series are set to premiere throughout this year and next.

With that kind of rapid expansion, there were bound to be some growing pains. However, the troubles facing Star Wars don’t have simple remedies. Casual audiences have become overwhelmed with the amount of new material from the galaxy far, far away. Part of the issue is that all of these new films and shows have been produced with seemingly little thought put into their relation to one another. Beyond the divisive sequel trilogy of movies, Star Wars has been mostly directionless. The franchise has been jumping all over its timeline, with very little interest in exploring characters that don’t stem from the original trilogy of films.

The franchise has gone from Rogue One and Solo to The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett back to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor. While many of these shows have told compelling stories, the seemingly random jumps throughout the universe have resulted in audience disorientation. It has become hard to follow what is going on in the Star Wars universe, as every new project pulls the viewer in a completely different direction from the last. This has removed some of the easy accessibility of the Star Wars franchise, as there is so much background material that is necessary to watch each new project.

Related: Star Wars: Every Live-Action and Animated TV Series, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes

Building to Dave Filoni’s New Movie
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By building off the success of The Mandalorian and the various animated series, Ahsoka is poised to offer a refreshing new direction to Star Wars. The show will be building off storylines established within both Rebels and The Mandalorian, which is sure to please the franchise’s dedicated fans. One of the biggest things working in the show’s favor is that it will also offer a new jumping-on point to casual viewers. While Filoni has stated that Ahsoka operates in some ways as a fifth season of Rebels, he has also stated that viewers don’t need to have seen the animated series or The Mandalorian in order to follow the story of Ahsoka. All signs point to Ahsoka continuing to build up Grand Admiral Thrawn as the galaxy’s next big villain post-Return of the Jedi, which is a thread likely to continue beyond this show’s first season.

Earlier this year, Lucasfilm announced three new Star Wars feature films, which all tell new stories and got fans excited for drastically different reasons. One of these films is an as-of-yet untitled film from Filoni, which will serve as a crossover finale of sorts to Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and any other show set within that time period. Though it is not confirmed, it seems likely that this film will be a loose adaptation of the trilogy of Thrawn books, primarily Heir to the Empire, written by Timothy Zahn in the ‘90s.

While we won’t bore you with the details of that story (of which there are many), having Thrawn serve as the primary antagonist for all these shows before building that story into one climactic film could be an excellent idea. This approach allows the Star Wars franchise to build upon the success of its hit shows like The Mandalorian, while also providing a specific and clear overall direction to the story.

Related: Star Wars: Why Dave Filoni’s ‘Mandoverse’ Movie Could Be the ‘Episode VII’ Fans Always Wanted

Fan-Favorite Characters
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Beyond giving the overall franchise a new direction to focus its story in, Ahsoka is also breathing some new life into Star Wars by introducing audiences to many new (or new to them) characters to fall in love with. Beyond Rogue One and The Mandalorian, every new Star Wars movie and show that has been produced by Disney has focused on or heavily featured the franchise’s legacy characters. While we love the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and Boba Fett, it’s also not a bad thing to expand the franchise in new directions.

While yes, Ahsoka is being largely built around characters that were already established in Rebels, the truth is that not very many people outside the die-hard Star Wars fan base actually watched Rebels. Characters like Ahsoka, Sabine, Hera and Ezra have already proven their potential in previous Star Wars materials. Upgrading them all to starring roles in live-action shows and films allows the franchise to move on from its legacy characters from the original trilogy. These new characters have already developed a passionate fan base; introducing them to a wider audience could regain the interest of a lot of casual fans and breathe some new life into Star Wars.