Rosario Dawson explains how Ashley Eckstein's heart lives in Ahsoka

Dalton Ross
·3 min read
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Ahsoka is about to get her close-up. The Star Wars character, who made her live-action debut courtesy of Rosario Dawson on The Mandalorian and then The Book of Boba Fett, is getting her own self-titled series that debuts this August on Disney+. But the woman now rocking the montrals as the titular character is always careful to pay respect to the woman who originated Ahsoka: Ashley Eckstein.

Eckstein first voiced Ahsoka Tano on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which debuted in 2008 as an animated movie in theaters before starting its run as a weekly series on Cartoon Network before moving over to Netflix and finally Disney+. Eckstein played the character on all seven seasons of the show as well as other animated offerings like Star Wars Rebels and 2022's Tales of the Jedi, and when Dawson recently joined fellow Ahsoka stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Natasha Liu Bordizzo on EW's Dagobah Disptach podcast, she made sure to emphasize how Eckstein's vocal performance provided the template to follow.

Rosario Dawson on 'Ahsoka'
Rosario Dawson on 'Ahsoka'

Lucasfilm Ltd. Rosario Dawson on 'Ahsoka'

"You have this volume and work and performance to go back to," says Dawson, "and these memories and reflections and The Clone Wars and Rebels with the work that Ashley did. We got to watch her grow and develop, and see the heart and the energy and the passion and the love that Ashley has brought to this character."

For Dawson, the original Ahsoka's connection to the character goes well beyond the screen. "Any single time there's a Tano Tuesday or any of these different things, she just goes off and she's just got this history and this connection with the fans for so long."

That connection continued when Eckstein visited the set of Ahsoka as an observer. "It was just absolutely remarkable to have her on set," Dawson says. "We were beside ourselves. And she came in and you could just see it in her eyes. It's very similar to the look in [Clone Wars, Rebels, and Ahsoka creator Dave FIloni's] eyes. These are people who have been working in dark rooms with microphones and these animated characters for so long. And to see it now three-dimensionally is pretty wild. And to have her energy there and her blessing on this show is everything, because she's so much a part of this show."

The two Ahsokas: Ashley Eckstein and Rosario Dawson
The two Ahsokas: Ashley Eckstein and Rosario Dawson

Ashley Eckstein/Instagram The two Ahsokas: Ashley Eckstein and Rosario Dawson

Dawson doubles down on how Eckstein's spirit permeates the space drama, and how much the Ahsoka cast kept going back to Eckstein's original performance. "We literally religiously watch these episodes over and over again as homework, which is like the easiest and the best homework in the world," she says. "And the inflection of the voice and the heart and the love and just the commitment over so many years — I mean, she's a true believer. And I think that heart just lives on in this story."

For Dawson, having the folks who first created the character in Filoni and Eckstein along for the ride into live action makes the entire ride that much sweeter. "To have Dave and her guiding it to this next thing is really quite beautiful," she says. "And it's nice to see the fans appreciate that as well, because we've all been on this journey together for a long time, and now it's exciting to see where it goes next."

To listen to EW's entire interview with Dawson, Winstead, and Bordizzo, check out the latest episode of Dagobah Dispatch.

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