Maybe It’s Time To Start Dreaming Up That Ahsoka Tano Star Wars Spin-Off

Your favorite former padawan is back on the final season of The Clone Wars, and, according to a new report from Slash Film, Ahsoka is heading live action in The Mandalorian season 2. And while that rumor would be a seriously fantastic start, we need an Ahsoka Tano Star Wars spin-off, too. The world needs her energy right now.

In case you're unfamiliar, the character was introduced in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars as Anakin Skywalker’s padawan apprentice (and low-key the hero of the film). She then went on to become one of the main characters in the Clone Wars animated series. That show is set between Star Wars Episodes II and III. Ahsoka and Anakin have a sibling dynamic that’s super fun to watch, and heartbreaking to think about when you consider the path her master takes in Revenge of the Sith. 

Years old spoiler alert: After she was framed for a crime she didn't commit, Ahsoka Tano left the Jedi Order at the end of The Clone Wars season 5. Now, two seasons later, we learn that she has gone off on her own, which got my wheels spinning: Please let this mean a spin-off is coming.

But let's start with the first piece of this Ahsoka dream: The Mandalorian.

SlashFilm broke the story on March 20 that Rosario Dawson has reportedly been cast to play Ahsoka Tano in season 2 of The Mandalorian, which started filming last year. (Lucasfilm's parent company, Disney, did not immediately respond to Refinery29's request for comment.)

If this casting rumor is true, it should come as no surprise. Dave Filoni, the showrunner of The Mandalorian and man who brought us Baby Yoda, was also the showrunner of Clone Wars. He created Ahsoka — her backstory, her hero's journey. Of course he'd want his beloved character to find her way into his newest project within the same universe.

The casting may be shocking to some, but there's good reason for not casting the character's original voice actor Ashley Eckstein, who even voiced Ahsoka in Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. Many fans see Ahsoka joining the live action world as an opportunity to cast a woman of color in the role — and in 2017, after seeing a fan suggestion, Dawson expressed interest in playing the role herself. It's quite possible that this dream is finally coming true.

And while we're talking about her, I'll just put this out there: The easiest way to set up a live-action Ahsoka spin-off would be to introduce the character on The Mandalorian. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. There have been rumors about a live-action Ahsoka series or stand-alone film for ages. Among the rumblings and theories and rumors are even hopes that Ahsoka will team with Sabine Wren, another popular female character (and a Mandalorian warrior) in a potential spin-off series.

And while we don't know for sure that Ahsoka is coming to the live action world or how much of her we could see on The Mandalorian, the mere possibility just gets me thinking about how essential Ahsoka's story is in this universe. She is living proof that that there are ways to leave the Jedi Order that don’t mean turning to the Dark Side. Not everybody is Anakin Skywalker or Ben Solo (Adam Driver). It is possible to find fault in Jedi practices without becoming a villain. It's a pretty important lesson for Star Wars fans and characters within the Star Wars universe.

Plus, Ahsoka is an established fan favorite from action figure collectors to cosplayers. And for good reason: She’s snarky, reckless, and has been just slightly outside of the spotlight for far too long. It’s time for her to have a series that’s all about her for a change, not about her involvement with male heroes like Anakin and Obi-Wan, and potentially, now, the Mandalorian. While Ahsoka's missions with Padme on Clone Wars totally pass the Bechdel Test and as a female character in the Star Wars universe, she is rarely done dirty, her fans still deserve more time with her — especially in a live-action capacity.

As her return in Disney+'s final season of Clone Wars (currently streaming new episodes every Friday) shows, Ahsoka's solo journey is fascinating on its own. Furthermore, we know Ahsoka's timeline is important to great universe because the character also appeared in several episodes of another animated series, Star Wars Rebels. The final season of Clone Wars could fill in that gap and explain how Ahsoka went from Clone Wars to her pursuits in Star Wars Rebels, but I'm not the only one wondering what happened to her next.

There is, of course, one issue with Ahsoka fangirls' dreams: At this moment in 2020, pretty much all film production is on pause to stop the spread of COVID-19 and deal with the global pandemic. We just don’t know when it will be safe to start making films and television again, which means the announcements about new projects are likely far off too. Heck, Disney+'s planned Rogue One and Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-offs haven't even started production yet. It could be months, or years, before there's any confirmed announcement if an Ahsoka series is even in the cards... unless Lucasfilm managed to pull a Beyoncé and produce an entire Ahsoka season without anyone knowing. Maybe I'll just keep telling myself that's the case for now.