Dave Filoni and Rosario Dawson Discuss Bringing Ahsoka Tano Into The Mandalorian
Phil Roberts 
Dawson opens up about becoming Ahsoka, Ashley Eckstein, and a set visit by George Lucas
Following her captivating debut as Ahsoka Tano in last week’s episode of The Mandalorian, Rosario Dawson and visionary director Dave Filoni sat down with Vanity Fair to talk all things, Tano. Aside from dropping some juicy tidbits of information, Dawson touched on becoming Ahsoka, her friendship with Star Wars veteran Hayden Christensen, and revealed more about George Lucas’ set visit.
Here’s an excerpt:
We heard a lot of stories about Werner Herzog being obsessed with Baby Yoda when he was on the show last season. I wondered, Rosario, what’s it like to be around…I guess after this episode we can call him Grogu now? Maybe I should call him the Artist Formerly Known as Baby Yoda?
Dawson: [Laughs.] It built it up for me. Like, what is it going to be like when I get on set? And actually, some of the guys who worked with Grogu were folks I had met before, because they worked on Men in Black II with the worm guys. So it’s like, these people have been doing this for a really, really long time, and there’s several different guys, and one controls the ears, and the other one the eyes, and the arms are moving. You’re holding this adorable, unbelievably cute, tiny little creature, and it’s blinking, it’s looking at you, and its mouth is moving, and its ears are moving, and it’s so soft, the little hairs on its head. [Sighs.] I mean, it’s unbelievable. I completely was with Werner. I understood what he was going on about.
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) January 17, 2020
You also got to meet up with George Lucas on set.
Dawson: I actually got to be there on the day that there’s that photo. Someone took a picture of George Lucas holding Baby Yoda. I’m still calling him Baby Yoda—Grogu! I was there that day. I was all dressed up, I was just off to the side of that photo, all done up as Ahsoka. And I remember it broke the internet when that picture came out. It was just an amazing, amazing moment, and we were all beside ourselves. It was definitely very “geek out.”
Against all the odds, Dawson turned in a noteworthy performance as our beloved Togruta and she deserves all the love and admiration we can muster. Filling the shoes of the tenacious Ashley Eckstein is a difficult task – one that Dawson met with determination and vigor, and we can only hope she returns to the live-action galaxy far, far away sooner rather than later.
To get the full picture, head over to Vanity Fair now, and read the interview in full.
This is the way of Ahsoka Tano.
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Phil Roberts is the Owner, Daily Content Manager, and Editor-In-Chief of The Future of the Force. He is passionate about Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Follow him on Twitter @philthecool where he uses the force and babbles frequently!
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Source: Vanity Fair
Phil Roberts is the Owner, Daily Content Manager, and Editor-In-Chief of The Future of the Force. He is passionate about Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force and babbles frequently!
