Claudia Black Exits AHSOKA Season 2 After Pay Dispute: “They Could Not, Sadly, Support a Single Mom”
Claudia Black’s time in the Star Wars galaxy has come to an unexpected end. The actress, known for her roles in Pitch Black, Farscape, and Stargate SG-1, made her Star Wars debut in Ahsoka as Klothow, one of the mysterious Great Mothers. Black has now confirmed she won’t be returning due to a pay dispute that made the job impossible for her to continue.
Speaking with Bleeding Cool, Black explained her departure. She was initially picked up for Season 2, but negotiations hit a wall when Disney and Lucasfilm were unable to meet her needs, especially with filming set in London while she lives in Los Angeles.
She laid out the situation, saying: “They picked up season two, picked me up with it, and then Disney, which is structuring things differently these days, could not pay me what I needed to be paid as a single mother to keep all my responsibilities going at home in Los Angeles, because they were filming in London. It was not something that they could make happen, and therefore, I had to bow out for season two."
Walking away from the project was not easy, and Black expressed how meaningful the experience was for her.
"It was very sad for me. I sent an email to Dave Filoni thanking him, and I said, 'What a ride!' Everyone like me who grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s has always been into the Star Wars universe, and it's a very playful environment to work in. I'm grateful that I got to be in that universe, lovely people, lovely directors, interesting to work on 'The Volume.'"
She also talked about how the role connected to her family, sharing: "It was extraordinary. It was a fun, playful space to be in, and people who wanted to be there were excited to be part of the Star Wars universe. It's fun to do something that was relatable to my younger son, who was passionate about The Clone Wars, which was the new iteration for his generation."
Black then summed up the difficult reality of the business side of Hollywood. "It's very sad to not be able to continue that at the end of the day. They call it 'show business' for a reason.
“It's like 90% business and 10% show. They could not, sadly, support a single mom, and I'm very sad about that, but I also understand market forces being what they are, and the very delicate time in the business to even be able to afford to make anything at all. We all had to do our sums and move on."
Klothow played a key role in Season 1 as the de facto leader of the Great Mothers, a powerful sect of Nightsisters aligned with Grand Admiral Thrawn. Their dark magic and connection to Dathomir are expected to be major pieces of Thrawn’s future plans.
With Black out, fans are left wondering whether Lucasfilm will recast the role or remove the character from the story. Given Klothow’s importance, a recast seems like the more likely outcome, though no official decision has been announced yet.
Despite Black’s exit, Ahsoka Season 2 still features an impressive lineup of returning performers, including Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati, Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger, Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, Rory McCann as Baylan Skoll, David Tennant as Huyang, Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn
The series is expected to return to Disney Plus in 2026.