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The Mandalorian Season 2 officially casts Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano
Well, it's official: The Mandalorian's second season will feature Rosario Dawson as a live-action Ahsoka Tano, Variety has confirmed.
The character, whose role is being kept under wraps for now, has never appeared in a live-action format. A fan favorite of the Dave Filoni-created Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show (where she's voiced by Ashley Eckstein), Ahsoka was once the padawan of Anakin Skywalker. A member of the Togruta, she eventually quit the Jedi Order and, years later, defied the Empire in Star Wars Rebels.
Ahsoka's voice (provided by Eckstein) can briefly be heard during the climax of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, where Rey (Daisy Ridley) receives encouragement from Jedis past in her final confrontation with her grandfather, Emperor Sheev Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). While fans were worried that Ahsoka's inclusion alongside a bunch of dead Jedi meant she too was no longer alive, Filoni hinted on Twitter that she may still be kicking somewhere out there in the galaxy.
As far back as 2017, Dawson has been whole-heartedly committed to the idea of playing Tano. In January of this year, she quoted a tweet making the case for her casting. The post stated that Ahsoka would be in her early-to-mid 40s during the time of The Mandalorian. Rosario turns 41 in May.
Filoni, who created Ahsoka, serves as a writer, executive producer, and director on The Mandalorian, which takes place several years after the fall of the Empire in 1983's Return of the Jedi. The series was created by Iron Man director/actor Jon Favreau. Pedro Pascal (Wonder Woman 1984) plays the titular role, but his thunder was stolen the very instant Baby Yoda appeared at the end of the pilot.
In recent years, Dawson became a favorite among viewers of the the core Marvel shows on Netflix for portraying Claire Temple (aka Night Nurse). Temple was one of the common threads tying each of the comic book-inspired series together.
Season 2 of The Mandalorian premieres on Disney+ sometime this fall.
Ahsoka Tano appears in the seventh and final season of Clone Wars, which is now halfway through the rollout of its 10 episodes on Disney+.
/FILM was the first outlet to confirm the news of Dawson's casting.
