Ahsoka Tano voice actress Ashley Eckstein responds to not being cast as the character on The Mandalorian. Making her debut in the Clone Wars animated movie back in 2008, Eckstein has played Ahsoka throughout multiple seasons of the Clone Wars TV show, a guest role in Star Wars Rebels, and several other pieces of Star Wars media, including video games. Eckstein was even brought in to voice Ahsoka for the sequence in The Rise of Skywalker where Rey heard the voices of the Jedi who came before her. For all intents and purposes, Eckstein is synonymous with the role.

Last week, it was reported Rosario Dawson would portray a live-action Ahsoka in The Mandalorian season 2. Many fans were immediately thrilled by the news, as Dawson has long been a top choice to play the character. In wake of this development, viewers are theorizing how Anakin Skywalker’s former Padawan will factor into The Mandalorian’s story and checking out all the fan art depicting Dawson in-character. However, others are wondering why The Mandalorian didn’t cast Eckstein as Ahsoka and now the actress herself has weighed in on the topic.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Taking to her Instagram account, Eckstein posted a message expressing gratitude for all the Star Wars fans that reached out to her to send kind words following word of Dawson’s casting. In her letter, Eckstein touches on The Mandalorian, saying she’s “not involved” with the hit Disney+ original and is unable to answer questions people have because of that. Check out Eckstein’s post in the space below:

View this post on Instagram

Thank you 🧡 Please read the letter in my carousel and I hope you’ll join me today for an Instagram Live chat at 4:30 EST/1:30 PST! #AhsokaTano #AhsokaLives #AhsokaLivesInAllOfUs #starwars #thankyou #grateful #gratitude #tanotuesday #clonewars #clonewarssaved

A post shared by Ashley Eckstein (@ashleyeckstein) on

Eckstein’s letter to her followers covers a variety of topics, including the importance of helping one another amidst the coronavirus pandemic and her excitement about the remainder of Clone Wars season 7. That said, people will probably take most interest in her comments on The Mandalorian, given her strong connection to Ahsoka. It’s nice to see her take the high road here, understanding who plays Ahsoka in live-action is not her call to make. At the same time, some might takeaway Eckstein is disappointed by the turn of events (see: her saying it’s her dream “to continue to play Ahsoka Tano in all forms”), which is understandable. Eckstein’s obviously invested a great deal of time into playing Ahsoka and would likely be up for portraying the character in live-action if given the opportunity. From the sound of things, she wasn’t even in discussions to do so on The Mandalorian.

As upsetting as it might be for some that Eckstein won’t be on The Mandalorian, this whole story is still huge for Ahsoka in general. The character was widely criticized after the Clone Wars movie, but is now a fan-favorite and ranks among the most popular in the entire Star Wars franchise. It’s a big deal she’s making the jump to live-action on Disney+’s trademark program, adding to her already rich history. And there’s a good chance Ahsoka’s role on The Mandalorian will encourage others to check out The Clone Wars and fall in love with Eckstein’s portrayal. Nobody at Lucasfilm is going to discount what she did to make the character standout, and even if Dawson is playing Ahsoka in live-action, Eckstein’s contributions will never be forgotten.

Source: Ashley Eckstein

Who Plays Jean-Luc’s Father In Picard Season 2

About The Author


Chris Agar
(5543 Articles Published)

See also  Biggest Changes I Know What You Did Last Summer Makes From The Movie

Chris Agar is a news editor for Screen Rant, also writing features and movie reviews for the site as one of Screen Rant’s Rotten Tomatoes approved critics. He is a graduate of Wesley College’s Bachelor of Media Arts and Master of Sport Leadership programs. In 2013, Chris was hired to write weekly box office prediction posts in conjunction with the Screen Rant Underground podcast’s Box Office Battle game and his role expanded over the next few years. In addition to covering the latest news and hottest movie topics daily, Chris has attended numerous media events for Screen Rant, including San Diego Comic-Con, delivering content his readers care about. He credits Star Wars and Toy Story with launching a lifelong fascination with movies that led to his career, and now he has a wide range of cinematic tastes, enjoying the latest Hollywood blockbusters, Oscar contenders, and everything in between. Chris’ favorite film genres include sci-fi/fantasy, crime, action, and drama.

More From Chris Agar