Rosario Dawson‘s long-rumored debut as Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian has been a massive hit with fans who have been hoping for a live-action version of the beloved Star Wars character. And it’s exactly that hope that made Dawson’s casting possible. In a lengthy interview with Dawson and Mandalorian showrunner Dave Filoni, whose work on The Clone Wars made Ahsoka a fan-favorite, Dawson confirmed that her casting was the direct result of Star Wars enthusiasts on Twitter. Via Vanity Fair:
Actually it first came from fans online. 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.
However, that’s not the whole story of how it happened. According to Filoni, he saw the fan-casting tweets and thought, “Huh. Yeah, I think maybe she would make a good Ahsoka,” and he kept the idea in his back pocket. Eventually, when it came time to introduce Ahsoka into The Mandalorian, Filoni brought up Dawson to Jon Favreau who was immediately on board. The two approached the actress with concept art before the first season even dropped, and she couldn’t believe the role was actually happening.
“I was beside myself, and they were asking, ‘Do you want to do this? I mean, we appreciate if it’s not something you want to do.’” Dawson recalled. “And I was like, ‘Oh no, no, that would be cool, actually. I think we could maybe work this out.’ Trying to play it cool, but I was sweating.”
Disney+ also unveiled a new Ahsoka poster for The Mandalorian below:
(Via Vanity Fair)