Fans of Star Wars were first introduced to Ahsoka Tano in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, wherein she is a 14-year-old Padawan apprentice. In the live-action universe, Rosario Dawson brought the character to our screens in Season 2 of The Mandalorian after a journey that saw her go from a Jedi apprentice before the Clone Wars to one of the most powerful Force-sensitive beings in Star Wars.
In no time, producers decided to further chronicle her experiences through a spin-off series, titled Ahsoka. Detailing her character’s growth, Dawson made a very intriguing comparison with Ian McKellen’s most iconic role.
How Ian McKellen’s Iconic Role Influenced Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka
Rosario Dawson‘s Ahsoka premiered in August of this year and follows the story after the events of the animated Star Wars Rebels finale. The former Jedi knight tries to uncover an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.
The actress sat down with Entertainment Weekly at the time of the premiere of her show and talked about her and creator Dave Filoni’s desire to shed light on Ahsoka’s growth from Padawan – who hated being assigned to Anakin Skywalker – into a leader.
In particular, Dawson compared the imagery of Ahsoka, dressed all in white, returning from the ethereal Force dimension with Gandalf from The Lord Of The Rings. She said:
“In the animation, you saw her go to the white, but what I loved is the idea that there was even another level to her. Dave and I talked a lot about Gandalf the Gray and Gandalf the White — talking about that transition and how she’s someone very capable and excellent and looked up to as a leader, but she still has levels of development to go.”
Ian McKellen played the character in The Lord of the Rings franchise. In the trilogy, Gandalf the Grey became Gandalf the White following his battle with the Balrog.
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Why Star Wars Figureheads Didn’t Introduce Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka in The Mandalorian Season 1
Such extensive has been Ahsoka’s presence in The Clone Wars and Rebels that Filoni was very cautious about finding a way to properly introduce the animated character to the live-action audience.
The pressure to not ruin the character influenced Filoni’s plans and stopped him from featuring Ahsoka in the first season of Pedro Pascal’s The Mandalorian. In an interview with Screen Rant, he admitted:
“I intentionally didn’t do anything with her in season one because I didn’t wanna mess it up. It’s a character that George and I created. She’s one of the first things I ever drew for Clone Wars. People know this character: they’ve watched her grow up, and the challenge was to take all of the elements we had and evolve them into this live-action version.”
Needless to say, the character has been received very well by Star Wars fans and since her live-action debut, Ahsoka has featured in her own spin-off series as well as Temuera Morrison’s The Book of Boba Fett.
