Eckstein fans face a trade-off

If you had told me in 2008 that Star Wars would be casting a live action Ahsoka Tano for a TV series in 2020, I’d say you were out of your mind – and that would even be before you told me that Star Wars fans would be elated about it.

Ahsoka’s come a long way from the rather annoying Togruta teenager depicted in the 2008 animated movie, The Clone Wars. Through the subsequent TV series and follow-up Dave Filoni-led project Rebels, Ahsoka has become a fan favourite character, to the extent that fans have largely been clamouring for a live-action appearance.

But for this to stick the landing, the casting would need to be spot on. It would seem that Disney has backed Rosario Dawson to bring Ahsoka to life in live action, with SlashFilm today reporting that the actor has been hired for season two of Disney+’s The Mandalorian.

Dawson is, theoretically, a damn-near perfect casting. Not only is she a great actor but crucially, she looks like Ahsoka and – dare I say it – could probably pull off a good vocal impression of Ashley Eckstein, the voice actress who has played Ahsoka at every turn since the beginning of time.

But this is where the unease begins in some sections of the fandom. Ashley’s voice is the definitive voice of Ahsoka – she has invested so much into the character over the years and some fans have suggested that Eckstein would be the ONLY choice for the role, or at the very least, would have to provide the vocal performance for the character.

But the fact is, Dawson looks more like Ahsoka and has vastly, vastly more on screen acting experience. And, sure, you could have Eckstein provide a vocal performance for the character, a la Ray Park and Sam Witwer’s team-up to bring Darth Maul to our screens in Solo. While this solution would appease fans on both sides of the fence, the sacrifice would be a big role in The Mandalorian for Ahsoka.

There is no way this kind of merger of separate physical and vocal performances could realistically happen with a character integral to the narrative and with bundles of screen time – particularly in the case of long-form TV.

Fans of Ashley Eckstein might have to bite the bullet on this one. It’s a trade off between whether you truly want a rounded and fulfilling live-action Ahsoka or simply a short cameo appearance – which, by the way, is not something you go to the trouble of casting Rosario Dawson for.

I’m thrilled at this casting. Dawson is indeed the perfect fit for Ahsoka – a believable fit – and it is absolutely compelling to hear that one of the most layered characters in Star Wars is going to be reaching a whole new audience.

Because that, rightly or wrongly, is the power of live-action.