Star Wars fans got very excited when it was reported last week that Ahsoka Tano would be making her live-action debut in The Mandalorian. What’s more, Rosario Dawson has been hired to play the Togruta heroine in the flesh. As much as everyone wants her to make the jump to live-action, some feel that Dawson taking over the part is a snub to original actress Ashley Eckstein, who has voiced Ahsoka in everything from Star Wars: The Clone Wars onward.
Eckstein herself has now broken the silence on the matter though and has penned a letter to her fans which she’s shared on Instagram. The star never references Dawson by name and notes that she can’t comment on the Disney Plus production as she’s not involved in any way, but she does make clear that she’s proud to have the former Jedi Padawan’s story continue in a new form.
“[I]t has been my dream for 14 years to continue to play Ahsoka Tano in all forms. I will continue to be grateful for opportunities to help create stories for Ahsoka Tano and I am always happy to see her legacy continue. I am only one member of a tremendously talented team of people that it takes to bring Ahsoka Tano to life,” the actress continued. “The final decisions for Ahsoka are not mine to make and I cannot comment on something that I truly know nothing about.”
Though her statement is professional and positive, it sounds like Eckstein – much like the fans – wishes that she’d gotten the chance to bring her character to life. After all, who could play Ahsoka better than Eckstein, who’s voiced her across The Clone Wars, Rebels, video games and even her cameo in The Rise of Skywalker? At 38, she’s even basically the right age to play her in The Mandalorian era, where she’d be in her early 40s.
All this said, obviously Dawson is a gifted performer and she’s been campaigning to play Ahsoka for years now, so if they had to pick someone other than Eckstein, then she was probably the best choice. Hopefully fans will be won over by Dawson’s Ahsoka, too, as it sounds like Lucasfilm has big plans for her. The Mandalorian season 2 could even lead to her own live-action spinoff.
For now, though, you can continue to catch Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 on D+ every Friday.