When the news came out that Rosario Dawson will play a live-action version of Ahsoka Tano in season 2 of “The Mandalorian,” there were a lot of strong reactions from fans. There was plenty of excitement for the chance to see the fan-favorite character in a big-budget live-action project, sure. There was also plenty of confusion and outrage due to Ashley Eckstein, who first brought Ahsoka to life in “The Clone Wars,” not being cast to play the live-action version after lending her voice to Ahsoka’s brief audio cameo in “The Rise of Skywalker.” Well, now we know what Eckstein has to say, and unsurprisingly she took a very diplomatic stance on the situation.
Though Dawson has commented about playing Ahsoka since at least 2017, including a tease during an appearance on Good Morning America, Eckstein has played the character for over a decade. In an Instagram post, Eckstein didn’t confirm or deny the casting of Dawson in “The Mandalorian,” but did write “It has been my dream for 14 years to continue to play Ahsoka Tano in all forms,” and that she will “continue to be grateful for opportunities to help create stories for Ahsoka Tano and I am always happy to see her legacy continued. I am only one member of a tremendously talented team of people that it takes to bring Ahsoka Tano to life. The final decisions for Ahsoka are not mine to make and I cannot comment on something that I truly know nothing about.”
This is as Ahsoka-like a response as we could get. It is clear Eckstein is disappointed about not bringing the character to life in the Disney+ show, but she is taking the high road here. The statement also seems to confirm Ahsoka won’t be dubbed over in “The Mandalorian” like they did with Maul in “Solo: A Star Wars Story” much to the disappointment of some fans. But in the meantime, you can still watch Ahsoka’s last great adventure in “The Clone Wars” which is heading to a confrontation between Tano and Maul in no other place than Mandalore.
