Popverse's top stories of the day

• Marvel has an unpublished Star-Lord story by Star Wars' Thrawn creator Timothy Zahn. The author isn’t sure it will ever be released.
• Rings of Power just reached one of Lord of the Rings' most consequential battles... with huge diferences from how J.R.R. Tolkien wrote it
• The Grinch returns! Dr. Seuss's holiday hater turns vacation villain in new kids graphic novel

How did Rosario Dawson end up as the live-action incarnation of Star Wars’ Ahsoka Tano? Talking during her spotlight panel at Rose City Comic Con 2024, the actor shared that the answer included an online suggestion, some social media interaction, and the inexplicable power of coincidence.

“BossLogic fancast me as Ahsoka, and I re-posted it, and then it was shown to Dave [Filoni],” Dawson remembered, referring to fan art created by the popular poster portraying Dawson as the fan-favorite character. “Dave was like, ‘Actually, she does look like Ahsoka,' and had the Star Wars account follow me. The fans online went 'what does it mean?' and I'm like, 'I don't know what it means!’”

That didn’t necessarily mean anything, however… until Filoni started really thinking about the possibility of a live-action Ahsoka.

“Dave had been wanting to do a live action Ahsoka for a really long time, even before they did The Mandalorian,” Dawson continued. “He had me in mind, and then as he started looking up stuff, he kept seeing pictures of me in Hayden when we were younger, and he was like, ‘That's really weird.’ And then, in the era of The Mandalorian, where that takes place, the character would be in the 40s, and I'm 45 so that worked out perfectly. So, like, it just was, like, this beautiful kind of thing that came together.”

Of course, if this makes anyone feel as if BossLogic has magical powers when it comes to casting, Dawson did share that even he can be fallible.

“He also fancast me as She-Hulk, but that didn’t take, obviously,” she said, laughing.

Not done with Star Wars yet? Dive into the films and TV shows with our Star Wars watch order, or debate on which was the best with our ranked list of the best (and worst) Star Wars movies. And since it's now upon us, follow along with Popverse's coverage of The Acolyte.