Star Wars: The Clone Wars actress Ashley Eckstein was honored to be a part of last year's The Rise of Skywalker, even if it was only for a small cameo. For years now, Eckstein has voiced Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano across multiple projects, with The Clone Wars being her most notable appearance. The Clone Wars recently returned for a seventh and final season on Disney+; the eighth episode, "Together Again," is set to arrive on the streaming service this Friday. Season 7 has shown a new side of Ahsoka, who has become a fan favorite among Star Wars fans.
Those fans were delighted to see Ahsoka be represented in The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment to the Skywalker saga. Technically, though, they didn't see her; they heard her. In a pivotal, climactic moment, Rey (Daisy Ridley) found herself aided in her final stand against Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) by the voices of all the past Jedis. While this included live-action characters like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), fans were happy to catch Ahsoka's voice among the others.
In a new interview with CBR, Eckstein opened up about her The Rise of Skywalker cameo, which she described as "one of the top moments of my career, for sure." As Eckstein explained, she heard about the opportunity through fellow Star Wars voice actor Matthew Wood, who also works as a sound engineer at Skywalker Sound. He told Eckstein about the plan to feature all the Jedi voices, and though she was enthusiastic about it, she didn't actually believe it was happening until she was finally recording her lines. Eckstein then went on to say this:
I actually didn't record the lines until October and, once I recorded them, I still didn't believe it because anything can happen in movies. As they say, it [could have] ended up on the cutting room floor. But it wasn't until I was sitting at the premiere of The Rise of Skywalker and I heard Ahsoka say "as it guided us" and I was like, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe it made it." So it's definitely an honor. Clone Wars is considered canon because it was what George Lucas created, but The Rise of Skywalker is part of the Skywalker Saga of films, and it's really cool, not only professionally, to say that I got to be in it but more so for Ahsoka to be cemented into the Skywalker Saga of films is really special for the character.
Fans have long wanted to see Ahsoka appear in live-action form, and they might finally see their wishes granted with the second season of The Mandalorian. Rosario Dawson was recently cast in a guest-starring role, and while it hasn't been confirmed that she's playing Ahsoka, many have assumed she is. Some were disappointed to learn Eckstein wouldn't be making the jump from animation to live-action alongside her character, but Eckstein responded to the rumors gracefully and reiterated that she is still grateful to have a hand in bringing Ahsoka to life.
Fans can continue to watch Ahsoka's journey unfold throughout the remaining episodes of The Clone Wars, and they might get to see her in live-action form later this year. The reactions to her cameo in The Rise of Skywalker prove there's still a strong desire to see her appear in the greater Star Wars universe. Hopefully they will get the opportunity to as the franchise continues on.
Source: CBR