Star Wars: Vanity Fair profiles Ahsoka; Here’s what we learned

Ahsoka Tano has become a beloved character in the Star Wars world. Vanity Fair spoke to several key people in the development of the character and here’s what we learned.

With the final episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on the way, Vanity Fair dug into one of the characters that made the show what it is today.

Ahsoka Tano was introduced in The Clone Wars, but became an enduring character that so many Star Wars fans were able to connect with over the years. From being a young, sarcastic teenager to growing into a person who was able to make her own heartbreaking choices, there has been something there for everyone.

Vanity Fair spoke to Ahsoka’s co-creator Dave Filoni; voice of Ahsoka, Ashley Eckstein; E.K. Johnston, author of the novel Ahsoka; and Amy Richau, writer at 365StarWars.com, about Ahsoka’s journey.

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Here are the four moments that stood out to us in the article.

Her name was originally Ashla

We have come to know the Togruta as Ahsoka, but originally her name was Ashla. At the time, The Clone Wars was still in pre-production – long before we ever got to meet her.

Filoni told Vanity Fair there was a young Jedi in Attack of the Clones with the name and they considered it being the same person. However, the timing didn’t work out.

Why Ahsoka connects to so many

Star Wars always had strong female leads in Princess Leia and Padme Amidala, but it wasn’t until Ahsoka did one of those female leads wield a lightsaber.

Ahsoka connected with so many different fans and there are a few reasons for that.

Eckstein looks as it partly due to the fact that she didn’t look like anyone in particular. Here was an orange alien with blue and white “hair.” Anyone could imagine being her.

Johnston considers all the young girls who had someone to connect with before Rey ever graced our screens. Ahsoka gave a whole new generation something to aspire to.

The fan backlash was strong

Even considering the current climate of the Star Wars fandom, it was no different in 2005. Eckstein recalled many of the negative headlines around her casting news saying she would ruin Star Wars because she was a Disney Channel actress.

Those claims seem silly now, but we know there is a faction of the fandom that seems resistant to any sort of change. Yet, all these years later, Ahsoka Tano is one of the most beloved characters.

The novel was an experiment

When E.K. Johnston published the Ahsoka novel in 2016, it was done in part because Filoni wanted to see if Ahsoka could live outside of the animated world.

"“We should explore it because it will help show people that maybe aren’t as aware of Clone Wars or Rebels that this character has a bigger fan base.”"

Not only has her character endured but now there are nearly confirmed rumors Ahsoka will appear in The Mandalorian as a live-action character.

What do you love most about Ahsoka? Let us know in the comments.