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Credit: LucasfilmThree generations of Ahsoka Tanos joined forces for the latest Disney+ Star Wars spinoff, Ahsoka. Now that its first season has come to an end and the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved, title star Rosario Dawson is opening up about working with her “replacement” for the show, who could take the lead in future Star Wars entries moving forward now that creator Dave Filoni has been promoted at Lucasfilm.
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Who Is Ahsoka Tano? ‘Clone Wars’ Origins and Live-Action Appearances
Audiences weren’t sure what to think when the character of Ahsoka Tano was introduced to George Lucas’ galaxy far, far in Dave Filoni’s animated film, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). Voiced by Ashley Eckstein, the Force-sensitive Padawan of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) was a glaring retcon of the Prequel Trilogy, as the Chosen One (played in live-action by Hayden Christensen) never had a mentee under his wing — or so we thought.
Although Ahsoka, in terms of character development, needed a bit of time to breathe, she gradually became a fan-favorite of the animated TV show of the same name, becoming a permanent fixture in Star Wars lore. While the series completed its seven-season run on Disney+ back in 2020, it was far from the end of the line for the character of Ahsoka, who made her official live-action debut in Season 2 of The Mandalorian.
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Now, with a fresh new face (played by Rosario Dawson), it became evident that Lucasfilm and Filoni had some big plans for Ahsoka. Not only was the former Jedi Padawan set to lead her very own solo show, but it was also revealed that she would also play a key role in the overarching “Mando-Verse,” AKA all Disney+ Star Wars series that takes place in the aftermath of the Galactic Empire, including The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and the upcoming Skeleton Crew.
‘Ahsoka’ Show and its Role in Dave Filoni’s “Mando-Verse”
Filoni, who was recently promoted to Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm after nearly 20 years of working with the studio, will culminate each of these interconnected stories in his untitled “Mando-Verse” crossover movie, which was announced at April’s Star Wars Celebration Europe. While plot details remain scarce, there’s no question that Ahsoka did a lot of the heavy lifting setting up its primary conflict, which will, presumably, involve Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and his Imperial Remnant.
Until then, fans are crossing their fingers, hoping for a sophomore season of Ahsoka to be green-lit before the “Mando-Verse” crossover event arrives in theaters. As of now, there’s been no official word on whether or not Disney plans to give the go-ahead on a follow-up season, but both Dawson and Filoni are already on board for more episodes, hinting that it could already be in development.
Though not without its issues, Ahsoka was a much-needed win for Disney and Lucasfilm, mixing a little Clone Wars-era nostalgia with an exciting set-up for future Star Wars projects for an overall satisfying addition to the canon universe. The premise is pretty straightforward, following Dawson’s titular hero as she enlists the help of old friends Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to track down Thrawn after he disappeared into the Unknown Regions with Jedi Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) during the Star Wars Rebels finale.
It’s universally agreed upon that Ahsoka‘s highly emotional fifth episode, titled “Part Five: Shadow Warrior,” was a highlight of the first season and, more so, one of the best pieces of Star Wars content to come out of the Disney era. In the episode, Ahsoka wakes up in the mysterious World Between Worlds after her duel with Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), where she’s met with the face of someone she thought to be long dead: her former Master, Anakin Skywalker.
Hayden Christensen reprised his role for the episode, much to the delight of Prequel fans. Upon realizing it is, in fact, her Master she’s seeing, Ahsoka immediately becomes skeptical, knowing Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side and subsequent rebirth of Darth Vader brought chaos and destruction to the galaxy. Still, she agrees to be taught one final lesson: “Live…or die.”
Placing the spotlight on a young, Clone Wars-era version of the character, played by Barbie (2023) actress Ariana Greenblatt, Ahsoka is taken back to specific points throughout her life, in which her former Master tries to teach her that she must let go of her troubled past, and is now free to determine her legacy. The whole ordeal ends in a showdown between Ahsoka and Anakin’s Dark Side alter-ego, in which Ahsoka ultimately wins by choosing “to live.” She parts ways with Anakin, who leaves her with the words, “There’s hope for you yet.”
It was a heartfelt and full circle moment for Clone Wars fans who have long wished to see “Snips” and “Skyguy” together in live-action, brought to life by some fantastic writing, directing, and onscreen performances. Although Greenblatt’s teenage Ahsoka only took the lead in a couple of action scenes, some would even say that her portrayal of the titular Jedi overshadowed Dawson’s — something the latter celebrated in a touching social media post.
Rosario Dawson Pays Tribute to Fellow Ahsoka Actresses
Taking to Instagram, Dawson gushed over her Ahsoka “replacement” now that she and her fellow cast members are allowed to publicity speak about the show, starting by first thanking original Ahsoka voice actress Ashley Eckstein and praising the “talent, love and passion” that she put forth in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels:
Now that I can share some moments of this remarkable journey, Ashley Eckstein, I wanted to start by saying thank you. Your talent, love and passion sears through every Ahsoka performance. Having you onset (and nailing our con photo routine) has the fan girl in me forever grinning. Thank you for visiting me in another galaxy.
Dawson continued, offering her first comments on Ariana Greenblatt’s “fierce” performance as young Ahsoka Tano, saying her “dedication” to the role — which she was secretly training for while filming Barbie — was both “awesome” and “heartbreaking:”
Dear fierce Ariana Greenblatt, tiny and mighty. You do not play when you train and prepare. It was awesome to see you transform. You embedded so much heart into every moment-it was heartbreaking.
The actress then concluded her caption by giving a sweet shoutout to her fellow Ahsoka actresses for “[turning] dream into reality,” expressing her gratitude with both of them and the fans:
Both of you expanded and inspired in me memories, informing every day with a rich palpable history. You helped me turn dream into reality and I will forever be grateful to share in telling AHSOKA TANO’s story to the world, with you.
Cheers to all of the fans who have championed AHSOKA all of these years, keeping her story going and making my (our?!) dreams come true.
Dawson is certainly correct in saying the iteration(s) of Ahsoka we saw in the recent Disney+ series have been years in the making. Each of these actresses has put their own unique spin on the character, and it sounds like they enjoyed a bit of bonding behind the scenes.
As for Greenblatt, specifically, the actress also opened up about her Ahsoka experience to Variety, in which she revealed that she juggled rigorous training for the Star Wars show with her role in Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar blockbuster — a seriously impressive feat, given she’s just 16-years-old.
While chatting with the outlet, Greenblatt also highlighted how the entire Ahsoka crew were such big fans of the franchise and thanked Dawson in particular for being her “mentor through it all” as she worked on the series:
It was amazing. I got to train for around two months. I was actually training during filming ‘Barbie,’ but I obviously couldn’t tell anyone. It was really incredible, and to just fully endorse myself into that space, and…everyone that works on Star Wars is the biggest Star Wars fan, which makes the environment that much better. But yeah, the stunt training was crazy, super hard, but Rosario Dawson was my mentor through it all, so, shout out her.
As of now, there’s been no word on whether or not Greenblatt will return to Star Wars in the future. Clearly, she got along quite well with Hayden Christensen (as seen in some adorable BTS pics uploaded to X), and with many fans hoping for Lucasfilm to greenlight a live-action Clone Wars series, there’s no denying that all the right ingredients are there for her to reprise her role as teenage Ahsoka down the line.
Meanwhile, it sounds like a Season 2 of Ahsoka is inevitable, especially after a re-done X post was corrected to call Episode 8 the “season finale” instead of the “series finale.” With many hoping to see Ahsoka and the Rebels crew reunite for more adventures, the demand is undoubtedly there for Lucasfilm to pick up a second season — as long as it fits into Filoni’s “Mando-Verse” movie plans.
For now, the door is certainly wide open for each of the Ahsoka actresses to return to Star Wars at one point or another. But no matter what the future may hold, it’s heartwarming to see three generations of “Snips” take the time to celebrate each other’s achievements.
All episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming exclusively on Disney+.
Would you like to see a live-action series centered around young Ahsoka? Let us know in the comments below!