According to Star Wars: The Clone Wars director Dave Filoni, Ahsoka Tano was nearly retconned into 2002's Attack of the Clones. Voiced by Ashley Eckstein, Anakin Skywalker's rambunctious Padawan - or, as he calls her, "Snips" - was introduced to a galaxy far, far away in 2008's animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and went on to play a leading role in the subsequent Clone Wars TV series (including the soon to be completed season 7 on Disney+). Along the way, she's gone from being ridiculed early on to becoming, easily, the biggest fan-favorite character from the animated side of the Star Wars universe and, really, the franchise in general.
In addition to her role on Clone Wars, Ahsoka has popped up in canon Star Wars novels and played a recurring part on the animated Star Wars Rebels TV series set between the events of the prequel and original trilogies. Most recently, it was reported the character will finally make her long-awaited debut in live-action in The Mandalorian season 2, with Rosario Dawson (a longtime fan pick for the role) bringing her to life. Dawson, for her part, says her casting isn't "confirmed" just yet "but when that happens, I will be very happy."
Speaking to Vanity Fair for their feature "Ahsoka Tano - A Star Wars Oral History" (which Eckstein also participated in), Filoni revealed the character was called Ashla in the beginning because "I think it was the name given to one of the [young Jedis Yoda was training] in Attack of the Clones. There was a little Togruta girl." He went on to explain he and his creative team "kicked around the idea" of Ashla really being Ahsoka but decided against the retcon because "the age didn’t really work out for it to be the same character. She was too young in the film."
As entertaining as this retcon might have been, it's probably best it didn't happen. Like Filoni said, Ahsoka's age doesn't fit the Star Wars timeline; she's meant to be fourteen years old in the Clone Wars film and wouldn't have been much younger when Attack of the Clones takes place, making her too old to be one of the younglings seen training with Yoda in that movie. Instead, Ahsoka would go on to appear in the Star Wars sequel trilogy as a voice only, with the character (once again voiced by Eckstein) being among the many Jedi who Rey hears during her climactic battle with Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker.
Speaking of Eckstein, the longtime voice actor has already responded to the news of Dawson's (again, for now, unconfirmed) casting as Ahsoka in The Mandalorian season 2, saying she's not involved with the show, but appreciates the outpouring of support she's received from fans for her work on The Clone Wars and Rebels over the years. She has fair reason to be proud, too, with Ahsoka having become a key part of the Star Wars mythology during the past twelve years under her guidance. And while she didn't get to make an official cameo in Attack of the Clones (or any of the Star Wars prequels, for that matter), Ahsoka's beefed-up role in both The Clone Wars' final episodes and the Star Wars franchise at large of late more than makes up the difference.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars continues next week with "Shattered" on Disney+.
Source: Vanity Fair