Star Wars: Andor Actor Admits to Only Appearing in Ahsoka Briefly

Actor Genevieve O’Reilly debuted in the Star Wars franchise back in 2005 with Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, but went on to reprise her role in Star Wars: Andor, a series that took place only a few years after the events of that prequel film. O’Reilly is also set to appear in Star Wars: Ahsoka, a story that takes place years after Mon Mothma’s first live-action appearance in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, though the actor herself has confirmed that she only has minimal involvement in this upcoming series. Star Wars: Ahsoka is set to premiere on Disney+ on August 23rd.

“It was fascinating that they asked me and it was such a surprise. I was really thrilled that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were interested in me coming for a minute to play with them,” O’Reilly revealed to DiscussingFilm. “They’re such brilliant filmmakers. It was just thrilling for me to be able to go over and play with them for a bit. I’m a huge fan of Rosario [Dawson], she’s a brilliant and formidable woman and actor. I think what they’re doing with that piece is going to be really exciting. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is a wonderful actor and to get to work with her also was amazing.”

Even if O’Reilly’s debut performance as Mon Mothma back in 2005 was minimal, she returned to reprise the role for both Star Wars Rebels and for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While those adventures took place before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, it’s clear that her trajectory ties heavily into characters featured in both of those narratives. Even if her overall involvement in Ahsoka is brief, it’s clear that Mon Mothma is intrinsically connected to the history of the Rebel Alliance.

“It felt extraordinary for Mon to get the opportunity to enter a different world again, and perhaps that’s because I’m so invested in Andor. But when Jon and Dave rang and spoke so passionately about Mon, and made it clear that they really wanted her to be in Ahsoka, I felt humbled that they were inviting me to come and join them,” O’Reilly expressed. “They’re brilliant storytellers and filmmakers at the cutting edge. What they’re doing over there with how they use The Volume, they film in a very different way than how we filmed [Andor]. That was really exciting and informative for me to go over and learn how they do that because using that kind of cutting-edge technology to inform the piece, it’s a very different way of filming. I was grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of that.”

Fan-favorite Star Wars hero Ahsoka Tano returns in the brand new series on Disney+. Rosario Dawson stars in Star Wars: Ahsoka, premiering in August on the streamer. The series picks up after the events of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which we saw the former Jedi searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and helping Luke Skywalker train Grogu. Ahsoka will be joined on her new mission alongside longtime allies Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as they attempt to track down Thrawn, who was last seen disappearing to the far reaches of space after a confrontation with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Star Wars: Ahsoka is the latest live-action series from Lucasfilm’s creative duo of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.

Star Wars: Ahsoka premieres on August 23rd.

Are you glad O’Reilly is appearing in the series? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!