Ahsoka made her animated debut in 2008.
Now, the former Jedi Padawan steps into the spotlight with a highly anticipated new Disney+ Star Wars series.
The first timeRosario Dawsonsaw herself as Ahsoka Tano, she couldn’t sit still.
Rosario Dawson at Star Wars Celebration.Rachell Smith
EvenMandalorianseries creatorsDave FiloniandJon Favreauweren’t sure how the colorful Togruta alien would translate as flesh and blood.
lekku, and Dawson still had to cover her brown eyes with icy blue contact lenses.
But as the actress looked in the mirror, she saw Ahsoka Tano beaming back at her.
Rosario Dawson at Star Wars Celebration.Rachell Smith
She’s a little bit…hyped fangirl.'"
Dawson headlinesAhsoka, a newStar Warsseries debuting Aug. 23 on Disney+.
“I was very fortunate,” Filoni told EW in AprilatStar WarsCelebration in London.
Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren on ‘Ahsoka’.Suzanne Tenner/Lucasfilm
I was like, ‘You know, this is going to work.’
It really was as simple as that."
For years, the animated shows and live-action movies were kept separate.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla on ‘Ahsoka’.Suzanne Tenner/Lucasfilm
At the top of that list was Ahsoka.
(He’s also developingaStar Warsfilm for the big screen.)
“There’s always been a big open question,” Beck says.
Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll on ‘Ahsoka’.Suzanne Tenner/Lucasfilm
“We don’t see her in the original trilogy.
We don’t see her in the sequel trilogy.
What did she end up doing?”
‘Ahsoka’ stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Rosario Dawson, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.Rachell Smith
“I don’t just mean visual effects, but the prosthetics we needed,” Beck explains.
The actress' journey to playing Ahsoka has been well-documented.
Dawson retweeted the image, catching the attention of Filoni.
Years later, onceThe Mandalorianwent into production, she got the call.
“I said, ‘How do you know when it’s the right person?’
And she just looked at me and said, ‘Dave, you just know.’
And she was right.
Speaking to Dawson about Ahsoka is a bit like talking to a human Wookieepedia article come to life.
(Might we see her cross lightsabers with Vader again inAhsoka, reuniting Dawson with herShattered Glasscostar Hayden Christensen?
Only time will tell.)
And I’m still tired.”
When the series begins, Ahsoka is lonely.
It’s a vow she made in theRebelsseries finale, and inAhsoka,her journey continues.
Fortunately, she’s not alone for long: Ahsoka soon reunites with the graffiti-artist-slash-Mandalorian-warrior Sabine.
“But every action scene in our show is very, very parallel to the story.
Everything is intentional, and I hope that shows on screen.”
Also joining the cast isMary Elizabeth Winsteadas General Hera Syndulla, the green-skinned, Twi’lek captain who pilots theGhoststarship.
She’s accompanied by Chopper, theGhost’sloyal but curmudgeonly astromech droid.
“We don’t often see that depicted on screen.
We see army generals being these very masculine, hard figures.
And Hera has that, but she also has this softness to her.
Winstead is no stranger to theStar Warsgalaxy: Her husband isEwan McGregor, a.k.a.
Before she was cast, Winstead would visit him on the set of theObi-Wan Kenobishow with their infant son.
(She wonders if it wasObi-Wandirector Deborah Chow who first suggested Filoni cast her as Hera.)
Today, the McGregor-Winstead house is filled withStar Warsmerch, especially now that they havetwogalactic rebels in the family.
“He always knows that if he sees any sort of Obi-Wan figure around, that’s Dada.
That’s what he knows it as right now.”
Inosanto says, laughing.
“Maybe the Force is really out there.”
“She’s impatient, but she’s a seeker.
She’s only in the beginning of finding her own voice.”
(No cause of death has been revealed.)
“And the set designs.
When EW spoke to Stevenson’s colleagues in June, they were all visibly shaken by his passing.
Dawson calls him a gentle giant, whose ferocity onscreen was only outmatched by his kindness in real life.
to the tune of the Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out.”
“His impact on my life is immeasurable,” she says.
“And so is the ache of losing him.”
“Ray really was so excited for this character to be released into the world,” Inosanto adds.
“He was just an extraordinarily kind human being.
I used to call him poetry in motion on the set.
There’s one final villain who Ahsoka will face and he’s got aStar Warshistory even longer than hers.
“He utilizes the creativity around him, and I like that.
He doesn’t just kill people off for the fun of it.
He’s sort of seven pages ahead of everybody else.”
“I didn’t really understand what he meant by that,” Mikkelsen says now with a laugh.
But bringing Thrawn into live-action required a bit more effort than just hanging out in a recording booth.
Like several of his costars, Mikkelsen spent hours in the makeup chair getting smeared in thick paint.
“I mean, I’m not the only one with various colors,” Mikkelsen says.
“There’s green and orange.
Everybody goes through it.”
“I really wanted to see it in the camera,” he says.
“But it worked.
And I was quite amazed.”
After all, the Force is all about balance.
“That’s been the challenge of the series,” Beck admits.
“But Dave was very thoughtful about crafting the narrative in a way that could invite people in.
The show tells them everything they need to know along the way.”
“After five seasons of watchingRebels,those characters are real already,” Winstead says.
After all, they say, this is a show made byStar Warsfans forStar Warsfans.
“I was a little surprised by how much it permeates into your personal life,” Bordizzo says.
I feel like I was adopted into this family.
“The set was hopeful,” Sakhno adds, “and our show is as well.”
The cast and crew are tight-lipped.
“If more comes next, I’d be really excited and grateful,” she says.
“I feel like every time I get to step into her shoes, I learn more.
I experience what I could never experience otherwise, and I feel like I keep getting better.”
When EW spoke to Dawson in June, she still hadn’t seen the final versions of the episodes.
The person whose approval she craves the most is Filoni.
But after that, “I really, really hope the fans love it,” she says.
Until then, she’ll be counting down the days until Aug. 23.
If all goes well, there might even be jumping jacks.
All interviews for this story were conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
