No matter what your take on Ahsoka so far, there is little debate about the fine performances from its stacked cast, including acclaimed movie stars Rosario Dawson as the titular Togruta Jedi and her pal with an equally impressive head tail – Mary Elizabeth Winstead‘s Hera Syndulla. But did you know this is not the first project these two actresses have been in together?
As a testament to just how diverse each of their respective filmographies are, the film that Dawson and Winstead appeared in together for the first time could not be more different from the galaxy far, far away. In fact, the blood-spattered thriller isn’t even appropriate for kids 17 and under.
The project we’re talking about happens to be something Quentin Tarantino cited as his worst movie – 2007’s Death Proof. Despite this relatively low critical rating, Death Proof is still a pretty good movie that was released in theaters in a unique “Grindhouse” double feature format alongside Robert Rodriguez’ Planet Terror.
The film centers around Kurt Russell’s Stuntman Mike, a professional driver who likes to prey upon young girls using his car as a deadly weapon. The movie’s first half sees Mike slaughtering a group of girls only for a new entourage to emerge as his next target.
In this new group, Dawson and Winstead are friends with Zoë Bell – a real-life stunt driver who plays a fictionalized version of herself. When Zoë plays a dangerous game of riding on the hood of a car at speed, she becomes the target of Mike in an homage to classic grindhouse films and car-centric thrillers like Road Games, cited as a favorite of Tarantino’s.
The tale has plenty of twists and turns but let’s just say both Dawson and Winstead emerge as two very different kinds of heroes in the end compared to their Ahsoka counterparts. Their participation in the film is a testament to each actress’ gradual but meteoric rise to fame that began in off-beat genre films in the 2000s, such as Dawson’s iconic role in Sin City and Winstead’s unforgettable turn in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Check out both Dawson and Winstead in more episodes of Ahsoka that drop every Tuesday on Disney Plus.