Fans were thrilled to see Ahsoka Tano make her live-action debut in The Mandalorian, and the way her introduction was handled was perfection. It couldn’t have been any better, and Rosario Dawson is a perfect fit for the role! “The Jedi” was one of the best episodes of The Mandalorian yet, and I can’t wait to see how her star arc continues as she is hunting down Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Ashley Eckstein is the actress who played Ashoka in The Clone Wars and Rebels. She is the one who initially brought this character life and gave her a soul. A lot of fans might wonder what she thought on Ahsoka’s live-action debut, and she shared her reaction on Instagram saying:

To understand Ahsoka Tano, is to understand what she means to people.

Millions of people are meeting Ahsoka for the first time after watching her in The Mandalorian and I’m excited for them to hopefully go back and watch her journey in The Clone Wars and Rebels. Millions of fans already know Ahsoka and her presence has come to mean more to them than words in a script.

In Star Wars The Clone Wars, Ahsoka became the eyes of the audience. Viewers experienced the show through Ahsoka, and even though these stories happened in a galaxy far, far away, her feelings and emotions are very relatable to our everyday lives. Ahsoka’s strength has inspired, changed and literally saved millions of lives all over the world.

In turn, Ahsoka has become a beacon of hope, light and genuine goodness. Everyone’s relationship with Ahsoka is very different because she triggers the memory of a certain point in a person’s life where she’s inspired them. Even in the darkest of times, Ahsoka brings people joy and that’s what truly matters.

Ahsoka taught us that, “You don’t need to carry a sword to be powerful…” and Dave Filoni reminded me that kindness is powerful. After 12 years (and hopefully many more to come!) of having Ahsoka in our lives, #AhsokaLivesInAllOfUs now. I am blown away by everyone’s kindness. I’ve read all of your messages, DM’s, comments, text messages and emails and to say “thank you” does not even feel adequate enough to express what your kind words mean to me.

It’s my wish that Ahsoka continues to bring people joy, light and most importantly hope. This is the way of Ahsoka Tano.

A lot of fans thought that Eckstein should be the one to play the live-action version of Ahsoka. While I’m sure she would have been great, things just didn’t play out that way. Eckstein doesn’t touch on Dawson’s portrayal of the character at all, but judging from the reaction from the fans, Dawson killed it in the role, and we can’t wait to see more fo her!

What was your initial reaction to seeing Ahsoka brought to life in The Mandalorian?