Another animated Star Wars character is making the jump into live action.
Slash Film reported that The Mandalorian Season 2 will feature the first live-action appearance of Ahsoka Tano, a former Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker who became a spymaster for the Rebel Alliance. The character, who currently appears in the seventh and final episode of Disney+’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars, will be played by Rosario Dawson. According to Deadline, Dawson’s part is not a series regular role.
Co-created by George Lucas and Dave Filoni, Ahsoka is from the alien species Togruta, who are known for their colorful pigments, large montrals, and head tails. Aside from being one of the main characters in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ahsoka was also part of Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars Forces of Destiny. The character also had a vocal cameo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, in which she was featured as one of the Jedi voices speaking to Rey (Daisy Ridley).
Though it’s unclear how Ahsoka will fit into second season of The Mandalorian, her impending appearance isn’t really that surprising, as the character’s co-creator Filoni works as a director, writer, and executive producer on The Mandalorian.
Dawson has long been a fan-favorite to play Ahsoka in live action. Back in 2017, a fan asked Dawson on Twitter if she would like to appear in a Star Wars movie as Ahsoka, and the actress responded, “Ummmm… yes, please?! #AhsokaLives.”
Ummmm… yes please?! #AhsokaLives #AhsokaTano #StarWars https://t.co/jYposLVGIY
— Rosario Dawson (@rosariodawson) February 7, 2017
Amazingly, this tweet resulted in a fan campaign for her to play the role. And during an appearance of Good Morning America that same year, Ahsoka said that “it would be amazing” to bring the beloved character to life.
Hmmm… @starwars for @rosariodawson? YES! She talks about wanting to be in a future film.
Cc: @dave_filoni @pablohidalgo #AhsokaLives pic.twitter.com/TI0tjVtXPE
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 21, 2017
Dawson currently stars in the first season of USA Network’s drama anthology Briarpatch. She’s also set to star in the HBO Max/DC Comics pilot DMZ, which is being directed and executive produced by Ava DuVernay and showrunner-writer Roberto Patino.
Starring Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, Gina Carano as Cara Dune, Carl Weathers as Greef Karga, and Giancarlo Esposito as Moff Gideon, among many others, The Mandalorian Season 2 is set to premiere in October on Disney+.