Ahsoka Tano (; ) is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. She was introduced as the 14-year-old Togruta Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) before appearing in the subsequent animated television series (20082014; 2020); the sequel series Star Wars Rebels (20142018); in the live-action film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as a voiceover cameo; and in the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022), all voiced by Ashley Eckstein. In 2020, Ahsoka made her live-action debut in the second season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Dawson reprised the role in a 2022 episode of the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, and the 2023 series, Ahsoka.
Creation and development Concept
Ahsoka was created by George Lucas and Dave Filoni. The character was developed to illustrate how Anakin Skywalker develops from the brash, undisciplined Padawan apprentice in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) to the more reserved Jedi Knight in Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005).TV Guide Article August 11, 2008 Lucas, who had two daughters, also wanted the character to appeal to girls. Early in development, Ahsoka's name was "Ashla", which was one of the original names for the light side of the Force. Lucas renamed her after the ancient Indian emperor Ashoka; the spelling was then altered by screenwriter Henry Gilroy. She later uses the name "Ashla" in hiding after Order 66.
Filoni, The Clone Wars supervising director and writer, wrote a fable about Ahsoka's early childhood to help develop the character. He imagined the discovery that she has "the right stuff" to become a Jedi would be a cause for celebration in her hometown. Filoni said he is protective of the Ahsoka character.
Ahsoka was originally intended as Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan, but Lucas reassigned her to Anakin to break their repetitive dynamic and emphasize Anakin's growth from apprentice to equal by placing him in a mentoring role. Filoni and Gilroy developed her character as a blend of "Anakin’s brashness and Obi-Wan’s measured judgment," symbolizing "the shift from the Republic to the oncoming Empire." Ahsoka and Anakin's relationship was seen as an essential story arc spanning both the animated film and the Clone Wars television series.
Writing
Filoni initially struggled with writing Ahsoka because he had "zero perspective" on what it was like to be a 14-year-old girl. He, therefore, shifted his focus and instead wrote Ahsoka primarily as a Jedi who just happens to be an adolescent female. Filoni said he "has always had a story in mind" for Ahsoka's overall development. He began thinking about the final confrontation between Ahsoka and Vader ever since he started writing material for Ahsoka; different iterations had different endings, including one in which Vader kills Ahsoka just as she slashes open his helmet to reveal his scarred face.
Ashley Eckstein, who primarily voiced Ahsoka, said she and the writers were aware that audiences initially found the character annoying, and that there was a "fine line" between Ahsoka being bratty and becoming endearing. Because production was a year ahead of what was broadcast, with Ahsoka developing over that time, Eckstein implored fans to be patient with the character's growth.
Although Ahsoka leaves the Jedi Order at the end of The Clone Wars fifth season, the storyline initially had her return to the Order. Filoni said this would be the "normal" arc and suggested to Lucas that she instead remain expelled; Lucas agreed as a compromise as he believed Ahsoka did not survive Order 66, the mass murder of the Jedi portrayed in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
The Fulcrum character introduced early in Star Wars Rebels was always understood to be Ahsoka. Filoni, who served as executive producer and co-creator of Rebels, worked with Lucas on identifying what Ahsoka would know about Anakin's fate. Filoni also collaborated with executive producer Simon Kinberg and season one executive producer Greg Weisman on developing Ahsoka's role as a Rebel agent.
The show's writers were excited for Ahsoka's return in the second season, and Filoni was anxious about Rebels instead becoming "The Ahsoka Tano Show". Consequently, Filoni required that Ahsoka play a role in service of Rebels main characters, Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus; he saw Ahsoka's new role as similar to the one played by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. Although Ahsoka is more mature in Rebels, Filoni wanted "aspects of that kid who was there to shine through". He initially envisioned Ahsoka as a more "passive player" not engaged in combat, but later decided it was more appropriate to see Ahsoka as a warrior during a turbulent time. Ahsoka's presence was necessary to allow Darth Vader to encounter the show's lead characters without the latter being destroyed; Ahsoka can stand toe-to-toe with Vader.
Filoni cites fans' passion for the character as one reason for Ahsoka's prominence in Clone Wars and Rebels.
Voice acting
Eckstein said Filoni wanted her to bring some of her personality into the Ahsoka character; he said her actions and speech between audition takes had earned her the part more than the actual audition. Once production on The Clone Wars began, it took about six months for Eckstein and the writers to understand Ahsoka; consequently, much of the dialogue for the first half of season one was re-recorded to depict the character better. Eckstein also said the Ahsoka character was solidified by the casting of Matt Lanter as Anakin, which occurred halfway through the first season. Eckstein said that initially Ahsoka was said to have an Icelandic accent.
Eckstein reprised the role of Ahsoka for Rebels, although she did not do all of Fulcrum's voice work. She learned about Ahsoka's return about a year before the first season's finale aired and said it was hard to keep it a secret. Eckstein said Ahsoka developed a quiet confidence and quiet strength the younger character does not possess, but sometimes she played Ahsoka too seriously; she pointed out that "snippiness" and determination are still part of Ahsoka's personality. Eckstein pitched her voice down a bit but, because she and Ahsoka were now much closer in age, generally spoke like herself.
Not knowing Ahsoka's experiences between The Clone Wars and Rebels at times presented challenges for Eckstein's performance. Filoni avoids giving the actors plot details that might inappropriately affect their performance; for example, he did not tell Eckstein whether Ahsoka survives her duel with Darth Vader lest Eckstein telegraph something in her performance that the character would not know.
Appearance
Ahsoka's design evolved over three years before her introduction in the Clone Wars film. Her appearance was inspired by San from Princess Mononoke. Originally, she was not intended to be as young as she ended up being. Early maquettes by sculptor Darren Marshall featured more mature facial features, including defined cheekbones, but Lucas felt she resembled a "classic UFO alien," prompting a redesign toward a more youthful look.Parisi & Scheppke, The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, p. 28.
Ahsoka initially appears in what Wired called a "tube-top-and-miniskirt costume." In the third season, Ahsoka and other characters received new costumes. Filoni said the changes were meant to bring the show's aesthetic closer to that of Revenge of the Sith and were made possible by improved animation techniques. For the seventh and final season of Clone Wars, Ahsoka's design was once again tweaked due to improvements in animation technology. Her costume was also changed to a more grayish-blue color, similar to her appearance in Star Wars Rebels, which aired before the season.
Ahsoka often uses a reverse lightsaber grip, similar to that of the Japanese film character Zatoichi. Along with the costume change in the third season of Clone Wars, Ahsoka also received a second lightsaber. In the seventh and final season, she received new blue lightsabers.
Ahsoka's armor in Rebels is based on a "pseudo-samurai look" influenced by photographs of samurai women. The armor is meant to appear as if she found it in an ancient Jedi temple, and her lightsabers' colorless blades indicate she is neither a Jedi nor a Sith. Filoni said the white lightsabers appear much better than he anticipated. Her facial markings were changed to show that she has aged. It was "new ground" for the production team to shift Ahsoka's animation style to reflect her older age.
Depiction Film The Clone Wars (2008)
Ahsoka Tano was introduced in the 2008 Clone Wars animated film (serving as a pilot for the television series of the same name) as a 14-year-old Padawan apprentice, assigned by Yoda to Anakin Skywalker to teach him responsibility. Anakin is initially frustrated by this decision. Their early interactions are "playfully contentious", with Anakin calling her "Snips" for her "snippy" attitude and Ahsoka calling him "Skyguy" as a play on his surname.
The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Ahsoka Tano makes a vocal cameo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as one of the Jedi spirits who help Rey fight the resurrected Darth Sidious, strongly indicating that she will die prior to these events. Eckstein returned to voice the character in the film.
Television Animated series The Clone Wars (2008–2014; 2020)
Ahsoka is a main character in six of the seven seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. She is a padawan-commander of the 501st Legion in the Grand Army of the Republic and continues to learn the ways of the Jedi as Anakin's apprentice. The two develop a mutual fondness, at times taking great risks to protect or save one another. Some of Anakin's actions taken out of concern for Ahsoka expose his darker tendencies, such as his torture of prisoners who may know her location when she goes missing. Ahsoka also finds mentorship from Captain Rex, a clone trooper with whom she and Anakin serve throughout the war. During the final arc of season five, Ahsoka is framed and imprisoned for a deadly explosion and a subsequent murder, both of which were committed by her friend Barriss Offee. Although eventually exonerated, she becomes disillusioned with the Jedi Council and departs from the Jedi Order in the season finale.