Rosario Dawson on Dave Filoni’s Prep Work on Ahsoka and Reuniting With Mary Elizabeth Winstead

SWNN Probe · Jul 28, 2023

Rosario Dawson spoke with The Hollywood Reporter in a recently-published interview where they discussed what fans have to know going into Ahsoka, Dave Filoni's way of prepping the show, and what it was like reuniting with her former Death Proof costar, Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

While the conversation mostly focused on Disney's Haunted Mansion, Dawson was also asked about her role in Ahsoka. In response to whether or not Ahsoka will help people get caught up to speed for those who haven't seen Star Wars: Rebels, she was more than certain that Ahsoka would do so:

'Oh my goodness, yes. Natasha [Liu Bordizzo] said something to that effect, and there was some fanfare about it. But it’s important. With Star Wars fans, there’s folks who really just watch the films, but now and especially with The Mandalorian, more [and more] people are watching the live-action shows. And then there are people who watch the animated shows. There’s even a tier beyond that with all the books and fan fiction. So there’s different levels to the Star Wars family, and it’s always been very highly considered to make sure [everyone can watch it]. Dave [Filoni] has done a really brilliant job, and knowing the universe so inside and out -- and having created so many of the characters and spaces within that universe -- he just knows where to start. He knows what needs to be alluded to, and he is just really brilliant at figuring out how to make it for both. So it made a big impact and difference having him on set.'
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(L): Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in Lucasfilm's STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

The actress also discussed Dave Filoni's modus operandi on the show, and how it used pre-visualizations, a technique used by filmmakers in high-budget projects where they animate specific parts of the movie/show before cameras start rolling, to their full extent:

'We filmed in tandem the whole time. It was a six-month shoot, and it probably would’ve been a year had we not had two different crews filming multiple different episodes at the same time. So it was a lot, and it was constantly being jumbled around, but Dave made pre-vises or pre-animations for the entirety of each episode. He brought that over from his animation work, but he wouldn’t let us really watch it. So I haven’t seen anything of Ahsoka either, but that’s not surprising. It’s a very weird project to be a part of, as it’s one of the biggest things, so they’re like, 'See nothing, say nothing.' But Dave had it down, and the different directors kept that connection.

So it was beautiful to just craft this thing as itself. It is a new part of the journey, but you don’t need to know the previous part of it to get engaged. And that’s one of the things I’m excited for people to see and experience. We got so excited when we were doing our table reads. We had it revealed to us episode by episode; we didn’t have it all in advance. And then Dave used our voices [from the table reads] and put them in the pre-vises that they watched. So we had these little animated video game characters of ourselves on these sets that they were starting to design and build, and you would watch these mini episodes. So it was pretty remarkable.'
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(R): Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in Lucasfilm's AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Dawson was also asked what it was like to reunite with Mary Elizabeth Winstead on the set of Ahsoka after the two worked together on Quentin Tarantino's 2007 film Death Proof:

'(Laughs.) I definitely said that it was nice to see that she’s okay. That’s always been the question, because we definitely left [Mary’s Death Proof character] behind to go gallivanting in this car. So, clearly, it worked out. But I asked her more about singing. Mary and Ewan [McGregor] have this beautiful little baby that would come to set and have no issue whatsoever with having these iconic Star Wars characters as parents. (Laughs.) And she said that they sing to him all the time. They harmonize at night when they sing for the baby, and I think that’s just the cutest thing. So that’s what I talked to her about, because whenever I think of Death Proof, I think of Mary’s beautiful voice.'
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Ahsoka will premiere on August 23 on Disney Plus, debuting with two episodes. While Ahsoka will help guide those who haven't seen The Clone Wars or Star Wars: Rebels, Ahsoka's original voice actor, Ashley Eckstein encouraged fans to still watch the previous animated shows so that they can get a full appreciation of what's going on.

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Rosario Dawson on Dave Filoni’s Prep Work on Ahsoka and Reuniting With Mary Elizabeth Winstead

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