As part of their cover feature on the upcoming Disney+ series, Ahsoka, Empire Magazine has unveiled a new image of the title character, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) as her creator, Dave Filoni, has been talking about the path that she has taken which has brought her to this point.

As was previously established in the animated canon, Ahsoka Tano actually left the Jedi Order in its waning years, after she fell victim to a dreadful conspiracy which was depicted in The Clone Wars animated series. It’s unknown how much she continued her Jedi training in the intervening years, and she was never knighted nor reached the rank of master, remaining a Padawan by doing so.

Her appearances in Star Wars Rebels and The Book of Boba Fett – where she worked with Mark Hamill‘s Luke Skywalker – indicated she still considered herself connected in some way to the Jedi. Emotionally, however, Filoni feels that it’s definitely not on a spiritual or emotional level, choosing to isolate herself because of the dangers any large group can find themselves in from outside influences and corruption.

“She’s a wanderer at this point and is in a lot of ways wary of any organisation as such because of the power that comes with it as a group. She walks a path that basically died out a long time ago. And there aren’t many like her left, if any. So that’s a lonely thing. What is that life like? If you are a loner, you have a very small circle of friends. What is it like, then, when you try to open back up?”

Ahsoka Tano Will Be a Bridge Between the Past and Limitless Possilbilities

With Ahsoka as the headline character, and several Rebels favourites becoming flesh-and-blood for the first time, the Star Wars animated series feel more vital than ever. And part of Filoni’s test is to occupy a middle-ground, with viewers who may know Ahsoka’s past adventures more closely than others.

Under Filoni, the Star Wars animated universe now feels indispensable, with the introduction of not just Ahsoka as the headliner, but several big names from the Rebels canon becoming full flesh-and-blood. For Filoni, his biggest hurdle is finding a balance of pleasing those who already know these characters intimately, with those who are in the dark.

“The biggest challenge was, there’s a whole bunch of audience that know her, and a whole bunch that don’t,” he said. “She has one foot in the Star Wars that a lot of people know because of her connection to Anakin, and yet she’s all new and can go in her own direction, in her own way. I think that makes her an interesting bridge between what came before and what’s really possible.”

Ahsoka premieres on Disney+ in August 2023.

via Collider