Rosario Dawson says Ahsoka’s journey was inspired by Gandalf from Lord of the Rings
By Daniel Roman
Ahsoka represents a new milestone for the Star Wars saga, with one of the franchise’s most beloved heroines finally making the leap to headline her own show after captivating fans in both the Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated series. Ahsoka has had quite a journey. She began as Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice, before becoming more of a mentor figure during Rebels.
That series ended with Ahsoka donning a white robe as she reemerged from a spiritual dimension known as the World Between Worlds. According to actor Rosario Dawson, who plays Ahoska in The Mandalorian and in the new Ahsoka series debuting later this month, the character’s transformation was inspired in part by another very famous fantasy character: Gandalf from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
“In the animation, you saw her go to the white, but what I loved is the idea that there was even another level to her,” Dawson told Entertainment Weekly. “[Showrunner Dave Filoni] and I talked a lot about Gandalf the Gray and Gandalf the White — talking about that transition and how she’s someone very capable and excellent and looked up to as a leader, but she still has levels of development to go.”
Ahsoka will reunite with the Star Wars Rebels gang to hunt for Thrawn
The comparison Dawson and Filoni make to Gandalf is pretty apt. Filoni oversaw both animated series which featured Ahsoka, and during that time she underwent an enormous transformation as a character. But just like Gandalf, there’s more yet to discover about herself even after her seemingly messianic turn in Rebels. Ahsoka is a constantly evolving character, which is part of what drew Dawson to the character in the first place.
“That push for more, that desire for more, that challenge that she pushes herself to is okay — and it’s actually remarkable and important,” Dawson said. “That’s one of the reasons I’ve been drawn to her over the years, the fact that even with her excellence, she continues to push further.”
According to EW, Ahsoka will begin with Dawson’s former Jedi alone on the hunt for Thrawn, the infamous Star Wars villain who featured in Rebels and Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire novels. Thrawn is being played by Lars Mikkelson, who also provided the voice for the character in Rebels.
There are a lot of ties to that animated series in the new Disney+ show debuting later this month. Ahsoka’s search will bring her back into contact with the old crew from Rebels, including Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo).
“[Ahsoka] seems very lone wolf, and we kind of felt that coming off of Rebels, where she works with all of these different folks, but she’s really on her own in a lot of ways,” Dawson explained. “What I really liked about this [show] is that we get to flesh that out a little bit more. We get to see what that’s like for her in this position and the path she’s choosing as a sort of ronin, just this warrior on her own. And I really loved that we get to rekindle some of these relationships that she’s had from her past.”
The first two episodes of Ahsoka premiere August 23 on Disney+.
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