If you’ve been on social media at any time since Friday’s episode of “The Mandalorian” was released, you’re probably well aware that the latest installment in the live-action “Star Wars” series saw the debut of Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, a fan-favorite character that was primarily seen in the animated series, ‘The Clone Wars’ and ‘Rebels.’ Now, she’s been brought to live-action and fans are wondering if there’s more in store for Ahsoka Tano than just her brief ‘Mando’ appearance.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, both Rosario Dawson and “The Mandalorian” writer-director Dave Filoni talked about including Ahsoka Tano in the episode and how the actress came aboard the show. And Filoni actually teases that there may be more adventures for Ahsoka in the future.
“Actually, it first came from fans online,” said Dawson about being cast as Ahsoka Tano. “Someone tweeted me and fancast me. I retweeted back, and I was like, ‘Absolutely, yes please’ and ‘#AhsokaLives.’ And apparently that got the attention of someone who has been doing the ‘Star Wars’ press for years. She forwarded it to Dave Filoni. That kind of started a whole thing. I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, did I just get fancast in something?’ And then nothing happened.”
Filoni added, “That was the first time, and I looked at Rosario, and I thought, ‘Huh. Yeah, I think maybe she would make a good Ahsoka.’ I just kept loosely aware of what she was up to, and she was doing some Marvel things. But I’d seen interviews with her where she would talk about wanting to play the character and her excitement, so it was interesting.”
So, with the character fully formed in live-action and fans loving Dawson in the role, this means there’s truth to that rumor of an Ahsoka Tano spin-off series, right? Well, it doesn’t appear like Filoni will spill the beans, but he does hint that there is a larger story for the character that has yet to be seen.
“She wants to do good and help people, but rather than do it like the Jedi did, which was all wound up in the politics of the Republic, she’s doing it on an individual basis in the galaxy,” Filoni said. “Plus, she has a larger quest, which is always more fun when they have a larger quest.”
Let’s be real; she’s getting a spin-off. It hasn’t been announced. No one is confirming anything. But you can’t watch the latest episode of “The Mandalorian” and see it as anything other than a backdoor pilot for an Ahsoka Tano series. It’s inevitable. And with Dawson aboard and her performance in this new ‘Mando’ episode, it appears that a spin-off could be pretty great.
