Ahsoka Star Rosario Dawson Reveals “Intense” Ambidextrous Lightsaber Training

Star Wars: Ahsoka is expected to debut later this year, and it will star Rosario Dawson in the titular role. The cast also includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Hera Syndulla), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Sabine Wren), Lars Mikkelsen (Thrawn), David Tennant (Huyang), Eman Esfandi (Ezra Bridger), Ray Stevenson (Baylin), and Ivanna Sakhno (Shin). Some of the show’s cast have previously spoken about the training that went into creating the show, and Dawson recently revealed to Entertainment Weekly that she had to learn to become ambidextrous when it came to wielding her lightsaber. 

“Doing two hours a day, seven days a week, was pretty intense,” Dawson told EW‘s Dagobah Dispatch podcast. “And then you add on when we were actually filming and doing these different battles and having to continue to studying it.” She added of her character, “She is ambidextrous … That was just a lot to kind of own.”

“She’s so fierce from the very beginning,” Dawson added of Ahsoka. “It was never a question about whether she capable. She meets every single match just so head-on. There’s no hesitancy from her whatsoever, and that’s really different from someone who’s learning martial arts in their 40s who’s trying to protect their face.” 

She continued, “There was definitely a moment a few months into the training where I just felt it land in my body in a way. I remember when it clicked in where I really felt grounded in her and some of the stuff started feeling more familiar and seamless. That’s when I really felt like I locked into Ahsoka.” 

Dawson added, “I was grateful for the team of people that we have … And to have someone like [stunt coordinator] Ming [Qui], who actually started nodding and going, ‘Okay, this can work.’ When she said, ‘This one did not make my eyes hurt,’ that was the first compliment that I got, and I think I cried. It took a lot of effort on our part to make look easy, and that felt really remarkable because of that discerning eye.”

Who Is Directing Ahsoka?

Dave Filoni will direct multiple episodes of Ahsoka. Other directors include Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Patel, and Rick Famuyiwa. Recently, Filoni revealed to The Wrap that bringing animated characters into live-action isn’t his priority, but he did tease more to come in Ahsoka. 

“At the end of the day, I’ve been very happy with the ones that have gone over,” Filoni said of the characters who have moved from animation to live-action. “There may or may not be more in Ahsoka, if that’s your thing. If you’re excited about that, I’m just saying that one might have a few more, which makes sense, by the way. As you know, I wrote it. You can’t fault me there.” 

Ahsoka is expected to begin streaming on Disney+ this August.