UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has mentioned that rumors are circulating about how Rosario Dawson's appearance as Ahsoka in The Mandalorian's second season may act as a backdoor pilot for a potential live-action Ahsoka-focused series.
Not much is known about Season 2 of The Mandalorian (set to debut on Disney+ in October of this year), but a new report suggests that the series could be connecting more to the wider Star Wars universe, specifically the animated shows. Up to this point , these connections have only been small Easter Eggs as well as one minor character, Saw Gerrera (played by actor Forest Whitaker) appearing in Star Wars Rebels.
REPORT
According to sources from /Film, actress Rosario Dawson has reportedly been cast as Ahsoka Tano in Season 2 of The Mandalorian. Additionally, Clayton Sandell, a correspondant of ABC, also confirms that Ahsoka Tano will appear in the second season, but not that she will be played by Rosario Dawson. But, he does specify that she will not be played by Ashley Eckstein.
It should be noted that Ahsoka's creator, Dave Filoni, is an executive producer, writer, and director on The Mandalorian; this makes her appearance a bit less of a surprise. Besides the character's reported appearance in the seriesand Rosario Dawson potentially playing her, nothing else is known about her role in the show.
Variety is now reporting that Dawson's portrayal of Ahsoka will be a "guest starring role" in Season 2, while
WHAT THIS MEANS
For readers who haven't caught up with Rebels or The Mandalorian, there are going to be some spoilers in this explanation of why Ahsoka may be showing up in the second season of The Mandalorian...
In the upcoming second season of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka could be after the Darksaber, now in possession of Moff Gideon. Fans saw Gideon wield the Darlsaber at the very end of the first season when escaping his crashed ship and have been speculating how he had gotten this ancient weapon. The weapon's previous owner was Bo-Katan, who received it from another Mandalorian, Sabine. So, could Ahsoka be here to retrieve it in order to help the Mandalorians? If so, she could be accompanied by Sabine, another Mandalorian who, at the end of Rebels, went with Ahsoka in search of Ezra.
Regardless, Rosario Dawson has been enthusiastic about the role since 2017, when fans when fans began campaigning for her to be cast for the role.
"There's a whole campaign that's going on online to try and get me in Star Wars to play Ahsoka. Ahsoka Tano. Which would be amazing."
