Excitement has been ramping up for the upcoming Disney+ series Ashoka, which will star the beloved Star Wars: The Clone Wars character. In a recent interview with actress and director, Bryce Dallas Howard, who directed episodes of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, has made it clear that fans have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming series, and that those who love the animated series will be "greatly rewarded."
The quote comes from an interview done with Howard by Romper, which saw the interviewer, Elizabeth Angell, and her son and daughter sit down with the actress-director and discussed a variety of topics, from Easter traditions to acting. The conversation eventually made its way to Star Wars, which opened with Angell asking how much work went into research into the series before Howard got into the director's seat for The Mandalorian.
Howard discussed her father's friendship with George Lucas from when she was a child and how she would get figures of characters from the series before she even saw the films. She would go on to watch the films as she grew up and was also friends with Natalie Portman from her teenage years, who played Padmé Amidala in the prequel films. When she did finally come on board for a Star Wars project she "didn't realize how well I knew Star Wars, but I knew it pretty well."
She did say there was one person that was even better than her, a master of the source material, that person being Dave Filoni, Clone Wars director and writer as well as a writer and producer on The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. It was during this point about Filoni that Howard spoke on how fans of the animated series that he helmed with have a lot to look forward to in Ahsoka.
In talking to Angell's children, Howard said that Filoni "knows Star Wars better than anyone other than George, and he was taught by George when he was doing all of the Clone Wars." When Angell's son chimed in that The Clone Wars was his favorite, Howard assured him that he would love the upcoming Ahsoka "you being a fan of the Clone Wars will be greatly rewarded."
The character of Ahsoka Tano first appeared in the 2008 animated movie Star Wars The Clone Wars and was a primary character in the television series of the same that followed its release. While the character was divisive upon her debut, her strong development over the course of the show's seven seasons turned her into one of the series' most popular and famous characters and someone that fans have been excited to see be the focus of a series.
Her first live-action appearance was in season 2 of The Mandalorian , where she was portrayed by Rosario Dawson, who will be reprising her role in the upcoming series. Along with Dawson, Hayden Christensen will also be appearing in the series, reprising his prequel role as Ahsoka's former master, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, a role he will also return to in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series set to arrive on Disney+ in May.
Other cast members for the Ahsoka series include Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Star Wars Rebels character Sabine Wren as well as Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ray Stevenson, who have also been cast in undisclosed roles.
Ahsoka is set to premiere on Disney+ in 2023.