Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson has a message for Star Wars fans who have not watched a single episode of the animated Star Wars: Rebels.
Is Rebels required viewing for Ahsoka?
Dawson spoke to The Hollywood Reporter to promote her latest movie The Haunted Mansion when the subject of the Star Wars spin-off series came up. With Ahsoka being considered the fifth season of Rebels according to series creator Dave Filoni, Dawson was asked if the animated Star Wars series was required viewing before her series premieres on Disney+.
“Oh my goodness, yes. Natasha [Liu Bordizzo] said something to that effect, and there was some fanfare about it. But it’s important,” Dawson said.
Dawson continued by explaining how Filoni and members of Lucasfilm’s creative team try to keep different groups of Star Wars fans engaged with every new story that comes along. “With Star Wars fans, there’s folks who really just watch the films, but now and especially with The Mandalorian, more [and more] people are watching the live-action shows. And then there are people who watch the animated shows. There’s even a tier beyond that with all the books and fan fiction. So there’s different levels to the Star Wars family, and it’s always been very highly considered to make sure [everyone can watch it].”
While the character of Ahsoka Tano made her Star Wars debut in 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, she was not depicted in live-action form until Dawson took on the role in The Mandalorian: Season 2 where she meets the title character and encourages him to take Grogu to seek out the apprenticeship Luke Skywalker. She returned in The Book of Boba Fett to oversee Grogu’s training with Luke. Now in her upcoming series, Ahsoka encounters the emerging threat to the galaxy in the form of Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
Created by Dave Filoni, Ahsoka stars Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, David Tennant, and the late Ray Stevenson. The eight-episode run premieres on August 23rd on Disney+.
