It’s no exaggeration to say that The Mandalorian likely saved the entire Star Wars franchise—or, at least, kept it from sitting on ice for years. Mando’s journey with Grogu not only completely entertained audiences but tapped into lore which had long been dormant. One of those storylines was that of Ahsoka Tano. First introduced in Season 2 of Din Djarin's journey, the character went on to make a cameo in The Book of Boba Fett. Played by Rosario Dawson, the former Jedi Palawan finally had the chance to have her story told in live-action.
Lucasfilm then went on to announce how Ahsoka would be getting her own Disney+ series. Having first been introduced in The Clone Wars animated film back in 2008, it’s taken fifteen years for the character to make her way into live-action.
Now, during a recent conversation with The Mandalorian director Bryce Dallas Howard, the character’s series has not only been teased, but fans of her original appearances in The Clone Wars were promised that they would be rewarded in a big way.
Mandalorian Director Teases Ahsoka
In an interview covered by Romper, The Mandalorian director Bryce Dallas Howard talked about Star Wars and also teased the upcoming Ahsoka series.
Starting off, the actress was asked how she knew about the franchise before jumping aboard the Disney+ series. She revealed that her father was "very good friends with George Lucas,” and how she herself met “a woman named Natalie [Portman]” at a summer camp when she was young:
“Growing up, our dad was, and still is to this day, very good friends with George Lucas who created Star Wars. We’re close in age to his kids. Last time I saw him, George was like, 'I have a picture of all of you all in the bathtub together… ‘awesome, George.’ And so, every single year for Christmas, we would get Star Wars figurines. Before I was even old enough to know who the characters were and what the stories were, I was getting these little figurines, and I was very curious about it, and I was really into it. I learned about Star Wars first through the toys. And when I was old enough to watch the movies, of course we watched the movies. And then I got even luckier, because when I was 15 years old, I went to a summer camp, and one of my friends at that summer camp is a woman named Natalie…”
Howard went on to mention that when Portman was filming the prequels, “she wanted to have a friend come out and visit” and how she “didn’t realize how well I knew Star Wars” when boarding The Mandalorian:
“… and right after we were at this camp together, she went and filmed the prequels. Since I knew George and I was friends with Natalie, and she was pretty young, she wanted to have a friend come out and visit. And so I got to go out to the set. So when I actually got to direct on Mandalorian, I didn’t realize how well I knew Star Wars, but I knew it pretty well. Of course there’s always more to learn. And there’s this guy, Dave Filoni…”
The director went on to name drop fellow director Dave Filoni, who she claimed “knows Star Wars better than anyone other than George [Lucas]:”
“Yeah. So, Dave Filoni, he knows Star Wars better than anyone other than George, and he was taught by George when he was doing all of the Clone Wars because they did that together. And we worked together on Mandalorian.”
As a final tease, Howard confidently stated that “fan[s] of the Clone Wars will be greatly rewarded” when it comes to watching the upcoming Disney+ series Ahsoka:
"Without giving anything away, you are going to love the Ahsoka show that’s coming up. I cannot tell you anything, but what I can say is that you being a fan of the Clone Wars will be greatly rewarded."
Ahsoka & Clone Wars Connections
The first question that Bryce Dallas Howard’s quotes bring up is: could her teases indicate direct involvement with the series? Or is she simply privy to the information given her work on The Mandalorian?
Looking at her work on both Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, it seems almost a given that she would be involved in at least one episode of Ahsoka—maybe even an episode where Mando himself makes an appearance, like her most recent directing gig.
As for those Clone Wars teases, what could those possibly be? Well, there’s a plethora of answers to that.
Hayden Christensen has already been announced, so fans know they’ll be getting their first live-action Anakin and Ahsoka interactions; hopefully, some of those are flashbacks to The Clone Wars. There’s also a high chance that fans will be able to see the first live-action appearance of Captain Rex, seeing as the two have a close bond during their time in animation.
With Ewan McGregor back as Obi-Wan Kenobi in his own Disney+ series on May 27, maybe he’ll even return for an appearance alongside Rosario Dawson’s hero when she gets the spotlight.
Ahsoka is set to go into production soon, with a probable release in 2023.
