This past Friday's episode of The Mandalorian introduced a live-action take on Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels character Ahsoka Tano, and during an in-depth interview with Vanity Fair, actress Rosario Dawson and creator Dave Filoni discuss Ahsoka's debut for the first time.
Dawson had actually been a fan-favourite pick to play Tano for quite a while, and the Daredevil actress reveals that, yes, it was online support stemming from the #AhsokaLives hashtag which first got her noticed by the right people.
Dave Filoni began to see her as a good fit for the character, and when Jon Favreau asked who he had in mind to play Ahsoka when the decision was made to bring her into the world of The Mandalorian, Dawson's name was at the top of his list.
"People have been fancasting me on all kinds of things, like She-Hulk and stuff. And I always just think it's really fun, because I get to see myself in different kinds of art," said Dawson. "But then I got a Facetime call from Jon Favreau and Dave. They were building out The Mandalorian, and I got to have a behind-the-scenes look at visuals and concept [from] what they were planning on doing with this second season."
Dawson also spoke about getting to meet George Lucas on the set of the show, and reveals that she was actually just out of shot in full costume as Ahsoka in the photo Favreau shared of the Star Wars creator holding Baby Yoda (sorry, Grogu) back in January.
"I actually got to be there on the day that there's that photo. Someone took a picture of George Lucas holding Baby Yoda. I'm still calling him Baby Yoda—Grogu! I was there that day. I was all dressed up, I was just off to the side of that photo, all done up as Ahsoka. And I remember it broke the internet when that picture came out. It was just an amazing, amazing moment, and we were all beside ourselves. It was definitely very geek-out."
While Tano is a powerful force-wielder, most fans will be aware that she left the Jedi Order, and doesn't actually consider herself a Jedi. So, what's with the title of her debut episode?
"Yeah, I think something fans like about the character is that she's rather complex. They all focus very hard on the line, ‘I am no Jedi,’ from Star Wars: Rebels, but it's undeniable that she's trained by the Jedi. I think to most observers she is very Jedi to them. I would argue in some ways—by being so selfless and rejecting a lot of paths that would have given her power—she's more Jedi-like than even some characters who claim to be Jedi."
We don't really get any hints about what the future has in store for Ahsoka on The Mandalorian or any potential spin-off shows, but Filoni does suggest that her "larger quest" will come into play at some point.
"She wants to do good and help people, but rather than do it like the Jedi did, which was all wound up in the politics of a republic, she's doing it on an individual basis in the galaxy. Plus, she has a larger quest, which is always more fun when they have a larger quest."
Keep an eye out for more Ahsoka-related news later on today, and check out the first officially released images of the character below.