In Empire Magazine’s July 2023 issue, which features Ahsoka played by Rosario Dawson on the cover, showrunner Dave Filoni likens the show to turning in a term paper and he’s waiting for George Lucas, and all of us, to grade it.
With Ahsoka as the headline character, and several Rebels favourites becoming flesh-and-blood for the first time, the Star Wars animated series feel more vital than ever. And part of Filoni’s test is to occupy a middle-ground, with viewers who may know Ahsoka’s past adventures more closely than others. “The biggest challenge was, there’s a whole bunch of audience that know her, and a whole bunch that don’t,” he says. But there’s plenty of potential in that. “She has one foot in the Star Wars that a lot of people know because of her connection to Anakin, and yet she’s all new and can go in her own direction, in her own way. I think that makes her an interesting bridge between what came before and what’s really possible.” It’s not just whether the uninitiated will connect to it as much as Clone Wars and Rebels fans – the bigger question is, what will Ahsoka’s co-creator, George Lucas, think? “It’s almost like when you turn in a big paper at school,” laughs Filoni. “It’s like, ‘Here it is!’” Fingers crossed it makes the grade.
Read more in July’s Empire Magazine when it goes on sale on Thursday, June 8th. Become an Empire member to access the digital edition in full on launch day, or pre-order a print copy online now here.
