Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson attributes landing her role to viral Star Wars fan art. Ahsoka Tano was first introduced to the Star Wars universe in The Clone Wars as Anakin Skywalker's young apprentice. Although Ahsoka started off as a slightly annoying young Jedi who often butted heads with her Master, by the time The Clone Wars' final season was released, she had become one of the franchise's most loved characters. Ahsoka reappeared in Star Wars: Rebels as a mature leader and mentor to Ezra Bridger, and she made her live-action debut in The Mandalorian season 2, portrayed by Dawson.
After her appearance in The Mandalorian, Disney announced a live-action spinoff series focusing on Ahsoka after the fall of the Empire as she hunts Grand Admiral Thrawn. Ahsoka was developed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, with Filoni serving as a writer and director. Filming on Ahsoka recently began, and the series is set to be released on Disney+ in 2023. Dawson will reprise her role, while several Rebels characters will appear in Ahsoka, including Sabine Wren, portrayed by Natasha Liu Bordizzo.
This weekend Dawson discusses her experience joining the Star Wars franchise while appearing at Star Wars Celebration. ComicBook.com reports that the Ahsoka actor credits fan art for helping her land the role of Ahsoka Tano. Dawson describes the experience of seeing the fan art as "mind-blowing" and shares how honored she felt knowing that so many people wanted her to portray such a beloved character. Check out Dawson's full comment on the experience below:
It's because of people like you. They had actually drawn all these more images of me as the character which is mind-blowing. It's just been such a thrill and honor to bring this character to life and to feel the energy of everyone wanting to see her come to life.
While many fan artists have created work with Dawson's Ahsoka since she was cast in the role, the specific piece to which she is probably referring was created by popular fan artist BossLogic in 2017. At the time, a campaign had sprung up online to cast Dawson as Ahsoka, long before The Mandalorian was released on Disney+. The Dawson Ahsoka fan art went viral, even catching Dawson's attention. Luckily for both fans and Dawson, Filoni and his team also loved seeing her as Ahsoka, and the actor made her first Star Wars appearance in 2020.
Ever since Dawson took on the role, she has given credit to the many people who helped develop the character before her, including the Star Wars fandom. Her gratitude is understandable, because Ahsoka Tano has enormous potential to expand the Star Wars universe even further, thanks to her connections to so many eras. Dawson could appear in any upcoming Star Wars project, including the Rogue One prequel series Andor, and Ahsoka may even set up future spinoffs. With so many possibilities, Dawson may be portraying Ahsoka for many years to come.
Source: ComicBook.com