No./13 Ahsoka Tano: a new hope
Rosario Dawson playing a fan favourite in The Mandalorian Season 2? Count us in...
IN CASTING-NEWS terms, the recent report that Clone Wars veteran Ahsoka Tano would be appearing — in the flesh! — in The Mandalorian Season 2 could hardly be more exciting for long-time Star Wars fans. Over the years, we have come to know this former Padawan of the Togruta race extremely well, watching her evolve from an overly perky, slightly irksome 14-yearold apprentice to a pivotal, shady figure in the Rebel Alliance, as seen in Clone Wars sequel show Rebels. It’s hard to think of another female Star Wars character who’s been given such a detailed and developed arc.
We received a hint that she’d be moving over from the series’ animated strand, Saw Gerrera-style, when she was heard (courtesy of voice actor Ashley Eckstein) among the disembodied Jedi aiding Rey’s climactic struggle in The Rise Of Skywalker. Her inclusion among such august company as Obi-wan Kenobi, Yoda and Qui-gon
Jinn was well deserved, not least owing to her fascinating and crucial relationship with demised Sith
Lord Darth Vader.
Ahsoka started out as his apprentice, facilitating his maturation from the Anakin we saw in Attack Of The Clones to the one at the opening of Revenge Of The Sith. In a brilliant Clone Wars-finale twist, she also quit the Jedi Order, having been falsely accused of murder, and sensed the cracks in its noble facade.
And, in Rebels she returned, finally identified her old Master in Vader, faced him in a vicious lightsaber duel — and survived.
So basically, then, she’s pretty damn cool, coming with her own interesting perspective on the fall of the Jedi, not to mention a distinct fighting style. Rosario Dawson now looks certain to take the role — three years after responding to a fan lobbying for her on Twitter with an emphatic “Ummmm… yes, please?! #Ahsokalives”. Dream casting realised, she’ll no doubt need to start double-white-lightsaber acrobatic combat training as soon as possible. Because ol’ Mando is about to meet his ass-kicking match.