The Mandalorian Star Rosario Dawson Scored Ahsoka Role Thanks to Twitter

More than a decade after she debuted in the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars, fans finally got [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

More than a decade after she debuted in the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars, fans finally got to see Ahsoka Tano be brought into the world of live-action during The Mandalorian's "Chapter 13: The Jedi," as actress Rosario Dawson confirmed that the opportunity was all thanks to a simple post on Twitter. When one fan tweeted at the actress back in 2017 that she should play the character, an idea Dawson endorsed, it caught the attention of Ahsoka creator Dave Filoni, who kept the actress in mind the entire time he started to explore live-action directing with The Mandalorian.

"Actually, it first came from fans online. Someone tweeted me and fancast me," Dawson shared with Vanity Fair. "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."

At the time, Dawson was starring in Netflix's Marvel series, though she had starred in a variety of different movie and TV projects throughout the years. Even fans didn't know that this could lead to the actress actually securing the role, as a live-action Star Wars TV series wasn't even announced until November of 2017.

"That was the first time and I looked at Rosario and I thought, 'Huh. Yeah, I think maybe she would make a good Ahsoka,'" Filoni pointed out. "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."

He added, "[…] But when I started working with [The Mandalorian creator] Jon [Favreau], I'd bring up the character and he's like, 'Well, who are you thinking of playing her?' I said, 'Well, Rosario Dawson's top of my list,' and he's like, 'I know her!' So immediately that starts to fit really well."

Dawson also confessed that she was only somewhat aware of the character, having just seen a handful of Clone Wars episodes prior to the debut of The Mandalorian.

"I'd seen some of Clone Wars, and once I got the role, I actually went and started watching everything in its order," Dawson detailed. "I started seeing a lot more of the connective tissue. There was always that conversation around Ahsoka leaving the Order, and that being a major trigger for Anakin going towards the Dark Side. It was just really incredible that the character started off as a teenager, you know?"

It's currently unknown if we can expect to see more of Ahsoka in The Mandalorian, with some rumors claiming she could be getting her own Star Wars series.

What do you think of Dawson as the character? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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