First, Rosario Dawson made her live-action debut as Ahsoka Tano. Anakin Skywalker’s former Padawan joined forces with an unlikely ally, Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) to defeat Corvus Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto).
As Djarin said, “A Mandalorian and a Jedi, they’ll never see it coming” — and they didn’t.
During her battle with Elsbeth, a second major animated character was introduced into the live-action canon. The Togruta successfully defeated Elsbeth, but not before learning that Rebels’ blue-skinned villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), was behind all of the Magistrate’s ministrations on Corvus.
Although Djarin tried to leave his tiny foundling, Grogu (AKA “Baby Yoda”) with Tano to train, she refused, and, ultimately, the little Force-sensitive being ended up in the care of Star Wars icon, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker.
Now, Filoni has admitted that he and Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau have been at odds over Tano’s “Mando-Verse” story. In the new book, “The Art of The Mandalorian: Season 2,” Filoni shared:
“There were a lot of debates about [Ahsoka Tano pointing the way to Luke Skywalker]. And Jon and I went back and forth, because if [Ahsoka can’t take Grogu], then who will?”
“Taking care of the Child is not her destiny. That’s not what I’ve been planning for her to do [laughs], so I can’t change it up.”
Filoni went on to share part of his vision for Tano’s future in The Mandalorian saga:
“But it is interesting if Ahsoka’s there along the way, not as somebody who takes this burden away from Mando but as somebody to say, ‘You might be forgetting that this kid has a choice too. It’s not just about you and your oath to your covert.'”
Rebels character Sabine Wren will also make her live-action debut in the upcoming spinoff series, with Natashia Liu-Bordizzo replacing voice actress Tiya Sircar in spite of some fans’ online protests.
What do you think about Favreau & Filoni being at odds over Ahsoka Tano’s Star Wars future?