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Star Wars star reveals Disney & Lucasfilm are consciously using new & returning character debuts to test the waters for solo shows

The Ahsoka series wouldn’t have happened if Rosario Dawson’s Mandalorian cameo wasn’t well received

Ahsoka
Image credit: Lucasfilm

The Force is strong with Ahsoka Tano. Anakin Skywalker’s former Padawan became a fan favorite character during her time on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Ahsoka later returned for Star Wars: Rebels, resulting in an awesome duel against Darth Vader. Believe me when I say that this is one of the most intense lightsaber duels ever seen in the Star Wars saga.

This led to Ahsoka making her live-action debut in The Mandalorian, where Rosario Dawson took over the role from voice actress Ashley Eckstein. From there, Dawson starred in Ahsoka, a Disney+ series that puts Tano centerstage. It seems that Star Wars fans liked the series, because a second season is currently in production. However, it wasn’t always going to end up this way. Speaking to a crowd at SpaceCon San Antonio, Rosario Dawson revealed that her guest appearance on the Mandalorian was initially a one-off appearance.

“When I signed on to do her, it was just for that one episode. It was just a trial. It could go further, it could not. It was literally just this. This is the Mandalorian, I was doing an episode on that show. And then we got to come back around with Boba.”

While Lucasfilm had ideas for Ahsoka’s future, they wanted to see how audiences would react to Dawson’s take on the character.

“It wasn’t like when I first signed up that it was this guarantee I was going to have my own show or do any of those things. I think it was a trial for all of us, and also for the audience to really see if they wanted to continue this story with her. I was so excited that Ahsoka lived, and that she got to have a new adventure, and then I got to put on this outfit that wasn’t just a cosplay experience, but was also a new look, and a new journey for her.”

Ahsoka is currently streaming on Disney+. A second season is currently in development.



Get to know, understand, and love the Star Wars franchise more with our Star Wars watch order, guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies & TV shows, and all the Star Wars movies and Star Wars TV shows ranked.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone

Joshua Lapin-Bertone: Joshua is a pop culture writer specializing in comic book media. His work has appeared on the official DC Comics website, the DC Universe subscription service, HBO Max promotional videos, the Batman Universe fansite, and more. In between traveling around the country to cover various comic conventions, Joshua resides in Florida where he binges superhero television and reads obscure comics from yesteryear.

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