‘Ahsoka’ Trailer Puts Rosario Dawson at Center of ‘Star Wars’ Galaxy

Ahsoka Tano is finally getting the live-action spotlight, with the first trailer for Ahsoka debuting at the Star Wars Celebration event in London on Friday.

Rosario Dawson, who plays the title character (whom she previously played in episodes of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett) took to the stage to help introduce the poster, the release date of August 2023 and the first footage from the series. Meanwhile, co-star Mary Elizabeth Winstead announced her previously hush-hush role, that of revolutionary leader Hera Syndulla.

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“Something’s coming, something dark, I can sense it,” Ahsoka says in the trailer, which features numerous spaceship battles, plenty of lightsaber action and — of course —  a skinny robot. The footage drew gasps and cheers, with Ray Stevenson as a Sith cutting rebels with a red sword and using the Force to choke one.

Speaking on stage, Dawson said, “I’ve had so many pinch-me moments, even on the last day of shooting, when we turn the lightsabers on and I’m in the world of Star Wars,” adding, “I’m poised and ready, because if this does well, we’re going to get a second season.”

Alongside Dawn and Winstead, the series stars Ivanna Sakhno, Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Eman Esfandi as fan-favorite animation character Ezra Bridger. Hayden Christensen returns as Anakin Skywalker, with Stevenson on the call sheet as a villain.

Ahsoka came from the world of animation, where she debuted in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and was voiced by Ashley Eckstein. Dave Filoni, one of the key architects of Star Wars’ Disney+ slate, is the creator of the character and is the driving force behind Ahsoka as writer an executive producer. Filoni’s Star Wars partner Jon Favreau is also executive producing the series. Peter Ramsey, co-director of the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, is among the directors on season one of the series.

Favreau previously described the series as Filoni’s “magnum opus” after spending so many years in the Star Wars galaxy, first in animation and later in live-action.

“It’s something that I never thought I would be doing, as much as I’ve done all these different things over the years with Star Wars,” Filoni previously told The Hollywood Reporter. “Writing and directing and collaborating on this type of thing with so many people is just the top of the mountain for me at this point.”

A previous version incorrectly stated in which animated project Ahsoka debuted.

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