Ahsoka Tano’s Voice Cameo In ‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ Doesn’t Mean She’s Dead, According To Dave Filoni
Ahsoka Tanois one of the most popular new characters to emerge from theStar Warsanimated universe — with one of the coolest character designs. So why hasn’t she made it to the big screen? Well, shesort-ofhas with a sight unseen cameo inStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but in a way that devastated fans of the character. However,Dave Filoni, Ahsoka’s creator and the mastermind behind the acclaimedStar Warsanimated series likeThe Clone WarsandStar Wars Rebels, suggests that Ahsoka’s apparent fate as hinted by her voice cameo inThe Rise of Skywalkerdoesn’t spell out her doom, as many had assumed.
Toward the end ofThe Rise of Skywalker, just as Rey is about to defeat Palpatine, she reaches out to the Force and hears the voices of several Jedi. The voices she hears are Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura, Yoda, Adi Gallia, Kanan Jarrus, and Qui-Gon Jinn — all of whom we know to be dead. But then another voice unexpectedly turns up: that of Ahsoka Tano, voiced byAshley Eckstein. This led fans to conclude that Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice was dead, like the Jedi whose voices spoke to Rey. But in an interview withio9, Dave Filoni suggested that may not be the case.
“It doesn’t really have any big implications to what I’m doing with the character, to be honest. I just thought it was a really fun thing. I thought J.J. [Abrams]’s instinct to be so inclusive with all these various elements ofStar Warsand characters [was great]. And I thought it would be a great thing for the actors involved to be a part of something that was just really this celebrating moment of theStar Warssaga. So I didn’t think of it in a literal story [way]. The film, to me, is like a different area.”
Basically, you’re reading too deep into it, Filoni says. Filoni still has stories in store for Ahsoka, who appeared in Filoni’sStar Wars Rebels, which takes place five years before the events ofA New Hope. She will appear inThe Clone Warsagain as well when it returns on Disney+ this Friday.
Filoni also suggested that all the characters who make a voice cameo inThe Rise of Skywalkerscene aren’t necessarily dead. “I have to wonder withStar Warsfans,” Filoni added. “They seem to watch the movies but they don’t take all the lessons. They deal a lot in absolutes, which is very much a Sith thing. I remember inThe Empire Strikes BackLuke speaking out through the force to Leia. Vader also does this at the end ofEmpire Strikes Back. There’s no absoluteness that these people are dead. I mean, some of them we know are dead.”
Star Wars: The Clone Warsreturns for its final season on Disney+ onFebruary 21, 2020.
