Ahsoka Tano Was Nearly In ‘Attack Of The Clones’, According To Dave Filoni
Fan favoriteStar Warscharacter Ahsoka Tano will soon appear in live-action for the first time inThe Mandalorianseason 2. But in a recent interview, writer/producerDave Filonirevealed that the character’s very first appearance almost happened in live-action – and several years earlier than anyone expected.
It turns out Ahsoka nearly appeared inStar Wars: Attack of the Clonesinstead of debuting inStar Wars: The Clone Wars.
Over atVanity Fair, there’s a full-fledged oral history about Ahsoka’s creation. She first appeared to audiences in theStar Wars: The Clone Warsmovie in 2008, but Filoni explained that they nearly retconned Ahsoka’s identity into being one and the same with a young alien who appeared on screen during 2002’sStar Wars: Attack of the Clones:
“We called her Ashla in the beginning. That was 2005, and that worked on several levels for me. I think it was the name given to one of the [young Jedis Yoda was training] inAttack of the Clones.There was a little Togruta girl. We kicked around the idea that maybe that was Ahsoka but then we thought the age didn’t really work out for it to be the same character. She was too young in the film.”
TheStar Warsdatabanksaysthat in the photo below of the “Bear Clan” fromAttack of the Clones, the girl on the far left’s name is “Ahsla,” which may simply be a typo on their part. In any case, that’s the character they were thinking about retconning into being Ahsoka:
It’s fascinating to consider how theStar Warstimeline may have been altered if George Lucas, Filoni, and their storytelling teams had stuck to their guns and pressed ahead with that original idea. Ahsoka has been a pivotal part ofStar Wars: RebelsandStar Wars: The Clone Wars, and /Filmexclusively revealedthat the character will be played byRosario DawsoninThe Mandalorianseason 2 when that show returns to Disney+ this fall. Would she have had a similar impact if her age had been different?
