Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, streaming, TV | Tagged: Ahsoka, disney, Gandalf, lord of the rings, rosario dawson, star wars

Ahsoka: Rosario Dawson on LOTR's Gandalf Inspiring Her Jedi Journey

Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson on how her character's journey in Disney+'s series is similar to Gandalf's journey in The Lord of the Rings.

To say Rosario Dawson is living a dream as Star Wars character Ahsoka Tano in the upcoming live-action series of the same name would be an understatement. The character's certainly come a long way since her humble beginnings in Dave Filoni's first-created animated series in The Clone Wars, with voice actress Ashley Eckstein helping to lay the foundation. Not only did Ahsoka find herself on a unique path quitting the Jedi Order before the Emperor's (Ian McDiarmid) Order 66 to purge the Jedi from the galaxy. As a ronin, she forged herself a new path, helping those who can't help themselves, making ripples when she can, including those who would make up the Rebel Alliance. Since Dawson's debut in The Mandalorian and subsequent appearance in The Book of Boba Fett, continuing the character's adventures in the Disney+ series.

Ahsoka picks up following the events of Return of the Jedi and the finale of Rebels, which finds the character returning from the ethereal Force dimension known as the World Between Worlds. Dawson broke down her character's evolution and how it was inspired by Gandalf's journey in Lord of the Rings. "In the animation, you saw her go to the white, but what I loved is the idea that there was even another level to her," Dawson explained to Entertainment Weekly in an interview conducted prior to the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike. "Dave and I talked a lot about Gandalf the Gray and Gandalf the White — talking about that transition and how she's someone very capable and excellent and looked up to as a leader, but she still has levels of development to go."

Like her character, Dawson shares Ahsoka's desire to improve herself. "That push for more, that desire for more, that challenge that she pushes herself to is okay — and it's actually remarkable and important," she said. "That's one of the reasons I've been drawn to her over the years, the fact that even with her excellence, she continues to push further." The series reunites her with Rebels characters Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo).

"She seems very lone wolf, and we kind of felt that coming off of 'Rebels,' where she works with all of these different folks, but she's really on her own in a lot of ways," Dawson said. "What I really liked about this [show] is that we get to flesh that out a little bit more. We get to see what that's like for her in this position and the path she's choosing as a sort of ronin, just this warrior on her own. And I really loved that we get to rekindle some of these relationships that she's had from her past." Ahsoka premieres on August 23rd on Disney+.

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