The Mandalorian reportedly casts Rosario Dawson as a fan-favourite Jedi
Ahsoka lives!
After a first series that largely ignored existing Star Wars characters, Disney+’s The Mandalorian has reportedly added a fan-favourite Jedi Knight to the cast for season two – though if you’ve only watched the movies, you might not have heard of her.
According to Slash Film, Sin City and Daredevil’s Rosario Dawson is playing the live-action version of Ahsoka Tano, a main character from animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels who has a devoted following online.
Ahsoka (voiced by Ashley Eckstein on TV) is introduced in The Clone Wars as the padawan of Anakin Skywalker, later leaving the Jedi Order and battling the Empire alongside other heroes and having various other adventures.
Over the years she has become a favourite character with Star Wars fans, and received her feature film debut in 2019 movie The Rise of Skywalker when Ahsoka’s voice was heard among other TV and film Jedi inspiring Rey (Daisy Ridley) to take on The Emperor one last time.
However, Dawson’s casting (if true) would mark an even bigger milestone for Ahsoka, the first time that fans see a physical, live-action version of her, as well as the first time The Mandalorian has introduced an existing Star Wars character.
And given that Dave Filoni, who co-created the character and worked on both The Clone Wars and Rebels, currently works as a writer and director on The Mandalorian, fans can probably rest easy that it would be a respectful interpretation.
Dawson has also previously indicated her enthusiasm for playing a live-action version of Ahsoka onscreen, so assuming this news is true it’s a rare example of fan casting coming true.
And given that The Mandalorian season two has already completed filming, hopefully it won’t be too long until we get to see her in action. Ahsoka lives!
The Mandalorian arrives on Disney+ UK on Tuesday 24th March. Want something to watch tonight? Our full TV guide is here.
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
