Rosario Dawson has been cast as Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian season 2!

Hey, here’s some very exciting news to cheer you up as you’re cooped up in the house during the coronavirus outbreak: Slashfilm has confirmed with two independent sources that Rosario Dawson (Briarpatch and Marvel’s Netflix shows) has been cast as the much-beloved Star Wars character Ahsoka Tano, in season 2 of The Mandalorian.

It’s important to note that neither Disney/Lucasfilm nor Dawson’s reps have yet to officially confirm this news, but Slashfilm is a reputable site and the folks there seem very confidant in this bit of news.

So who is Ahsoka Tano and why is she important in season 2 of The Mandalorian? Well, for starters, the character was created by The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni, who, as it happens, is serving as a showrunner on The Mandalorian, and who directed two episodes in the show’s inaugural season, as well as at least one episode in the show’s forthcoming second season.

A Togruta female with the distinctive head tails — or montrals — synonymous with her species, Ahsoka was the padawan of Anakin Skywalker and accompanied him on countless missions as the Jedi and Clone army fought to defeat the Separatists. Toward the end of the war, Ahsoka was framed for a terrorist plot against the Jedi, and even though she was proven innocent, she decided to leave the Jedi Order forever.

"How Rosario Dawson would look as Ahsoka Tano! from StarWars"

Ahsoka then re-appeared as the Rebel spy, Fulcrum, in Star Wars Rebels, where she helped train Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus, and befriended the Mandalorian mercenary, Sabine Wren — who once wielded the Darksaber.

There’s also the fact that Giancarlo Esposito who plays Moff Gideon on the show, and who ended up with the legendary Darksaber in the final moments of season 1, recently spoke at FAN EXPO Vancouver where he talked about a possible lightsaber duel.

“The prop guys are wondering about me because I was in a bit of a commotion and a bit of a struggle with someone else, which I’m hoping you will enjoy when you see it,” he said. “Major, major, epic, epic lightsaber action happening on this show, and I should mention that I’m the only character in this first season who was able to be honored with having that lightsaber. So it feels wonderful.”

Could Esposito be hinting at a lightsaber duel between Gideon and Ahsoka? Here’s the thing, in upcoming episodes of the final season of The Clone Wars on Disney+, we know Ahsoka will try and help lift the Siege of Mandalore from Darth Maul and the Shadow Collective. As far as that animated show goes, Maul was the last wielder of the Darksaber, so Ahsoka should be very familiar with it.

The Darksaber then resurfaced in Rebels and again in The Mandalorian. So there’s plenty of past connections between Ahsoka and the weapon.

Also, Togrutas live much longer lives than humans do, and there is every reason to believe Ahsoka would be alive and well after the fall of the Empire, during the timeline of The Mandalorian.

With Dave Filoni directing at least one episode in The Mandalorian season 2, and with Dawson’s excitement at the possibility of playing the role, I for one can’t wait to see her play a live-action Ahsoka Tano.

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