Rosario Dawson Is With Ahsoka for the Long Haul as She Discusses Her Future

In a mammoth interview with Vanity Fair, Rosario Dawson discussed Ahsoka Tano at length. She spoke about filming the upcoming Ahsoka series and her debut in The Mandalorian. It appears that Dawson will play Ahsoka for as long as Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau will have her -- indeed, she says as much at the end of the article:

Dawson also reveals a little about Ahsoka's arc in the show. While fans have spoken a lot about Ahsoka being a 'gray Jedi', she is wearing white when she shows up at the end of Star Wars Rebels, like Gandalf in The Two Towers. It suggests an evolution of the character that Dawson hints may come in Ahsoka:

Rosario spoke at length about what it was like to prepare for the role -- evidently, playing a role as physical as a former Jedi is not easy for someone in their 40s, and she found those physical challenges some of the most difficult. It was important to her that she overcome those challenges and made her performance feel authentic to those who knew Ahsoka well from the animated shows.

It's clear that Rosario is very respectful and appreciative of Ahsoka's history in animation, and Ashley Eckstein's performance in particular.

It's been reported previously that Dawson loved the character even before she was cast, and she makes that very clear in the interview. She wants to continue playing Ahsoka because she finds her story genuinely interesting, not just because she's a good fit physically right now.

Dave Filoni spoke a little more about writing the series after it was teased in Vanity Fair's initial interview, particularly how he collaborates with both Favreau and Carrie Beck:

Beck also offered some insight on the similar themes shared between Ahsoka, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett:

Filoni spoke to Vanity Fair at length about casting Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka:

According to Dawson, Filoni was particularly cautious when it came to convincing her to play the character for a long period of time, presenting her guest appearance in The Mandalorian as a one-off in case was all she was comfortable with.

Filoni also wasn't sure if the character's look would translate well from animation to live action. Sure, fellow Togruta Shaak Ti had a minor role in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, but she was never a protagonist. Filoni was concerned having a main character in such heavy prosthetics might not work the way everyone hoped it would:

One thing that was pointed out by many fans was that Ahsoka's montrals were noticeably shorter in live action than they were in the animated series. Filoni has since explained that they took that decision to make the stunt work easier, but it's reassuring to know that Rosario pointed it out too when she first had the prosthetics attached:

Dawson also insisted that they use contact lenses so her eyes matched Ahsoka's:

So far, that embodiment has been evident in her performances. Ahsoka promises to be something really special, and we can't wait to get our first look at the show.



Click HERE to check out and comment on this topic on our main site