After six years off the air, the acclaimed animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars is back for its seventh and final season on Disney+. As the Jedi led the Galactic Republic in a galaxy-spanning war against the Separatists, Anakin Skywalker's Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano left the Jedi Order, and Season 7 shows a new side to the fan-favorite character as she finds her own way.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, actor Ashley Eckstein reflected on voicing the character across The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, what to expect in the last episodes of The Clone Wars and writing the new Star Wars children's book Star Wars: I Am Padawan, now available to order through Penguin Random House, with art by Shane Clester.
CBR: How has it been coming back to the character of Ahsoka Tano after all these years away?
Ashley Eckstein: I have to say, it felt really good to jump back into Ashoka in The Clone Wars; that's where I spent the most time with Asoka. And it wasn't actually super easy at first because it took awhile for me to find Ashoka's voice in Rebels because she was so much older and her attitude was different. She was much more like Obi-Wan, she was less of the snippy Padawan and more of the quiet leader, so it took awhile for me to get into Ashoka in Rebels.
And then once I mastered that sound in Rebels, then it was like, okay, forget everything you learned and go back to Ashoka in Clone Wars. So it took a minute to jump back into younger Ahsoka. But Ahsoka in this final season is kind of like at a halfway point between the Ahsoka we know in Clone Wars and the Ahsoka we know in Rebels and it just felt so good to go back and finish these episodes.
There was a big cliffhanger moment before this final season for Ahsoka. She's fallen in with the criminal underworld of Coruscant and everything. She's always been linked to the Jedi Order and so how has it been exploring her life outside of that association?
Well, the eight episodes you're going to see are going to be very important and the first four are really important to Ahsoka's overall storyline because it's the first time that we really see her out of her element. I mean, she's just walked away from everything that she knew and all she knew was the Jedi way; all she knew was what she learned in the Jedi Temple. [Jedi Master] Plo Koon had found her at such a young age and all she knew was what they taught her. So now she's out on her own and she's seen how other people live and getting a different perspective.
I've read a lot of people's comments online and they like these four episodes, sure, but they can't wait to get to the Siege of Mandalore. But I will tell you these four episodes are so important because [Ahsoka] has to go through that before she can jump into the Siege of Mandalore, we need to see that part of her journey. And I said that to the fans back in the beginning of Season 1 of Clone Wars -- in the beginning, people felt that she was bratty and she was annoying and she was too snippy and how dare she say all these things. We were always a season ahead [in production] from what the fans were seeing and so I knew how much she evolved season by season. And so I asked fans for their patience and I asked them to go on this journey with her because no character's perfect from the beginning and, if they were, they wouldn't be that interesting.
This is a long way of saying I just watched the Siege of Mandalore and those episodes are mind-blowing, I mean, truly some of the best Star Wars, in my opinion, that has ever been created. I feel like everyone brought their best on these episodes and so they really are worth the wait. But these first four episodes are going to be very important because it's going to make the last four episodes so much more impactful when you understand Ahsoka's entire journey.
You were mentioning you guys worked so far ahead; that's what made that sixth season on Netflix possible. Did the initial cancellation news come as a shock to you?
It was definitely a surprise. I mean, we were well into [working on] Season 6 when we got the news and we were planning on making several more episodes, so it was definitely a shock. It was definitely sad, I'm not going to lie; we all felt that the series did not get the finale that it deserved. I have to give credit to the fans because the fans created the hashtag #SaveTheCloneWars and, I have to be honest, I'm usually very hopeful, very positive, very optimistic but I thought it would never happen. I kind of tucked Clone Wars away into a special place in my heart and locked the key and said, "Okay, I need to protect this because it was so hurtful when it went away."
And I have to give credit to the fans because whereas we, I think, had given up on the notion that Clone Wars would ever come back, the fans never did. And their persistence over all these years... a lot of credit goes to the fans and I'm not the only one that says that. I've heard that a lot from a lot of people at Disney and Lucasfilm that said it was the fans' persistence that truly helped make the show come back. So I'm forever grateful to the fans and that was such a cool thing to flip the hashtag to go from #SaveTheCloneWars to #CloneWarsSaved.
One of the cool things is you made it to the big screen last year in a vocal cameo as Ahsoka in The Rise of Skywalker. How did all that come about?
Yeah, talk about mind-blowing, that was one of the top moments of my career, for sure. I've got to give credit to Matthew Wood who is the voice of General Grievous but also [a sound engineer] at Skywalker Sound -- he's critically acclaimed not just for the Star Wars movies but for all sorts of movies. And Matthew Wood reached out to me one day and, from what I've been told, he had this idea of bringing the voices of past Jedi to Rey and he wanted Ahsoka to be included, which I thought was just so incredible. And I didn't believe it because I was told that it was a "maybe" until I was literally in the studio with J.J Abrams at Bad Robot recording the lines.
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.
Even beyond the big screen and animation, you've got a children's book that's focused on Ahsoka that's being published by Penguin Random House. How did that all come about in writing stories for the character?
I'm just forever grateful, and what I didn't realize until I was immersed in the Star Wars Universe as the voice of Ahsoka was all of the other opportunities being the voice of Ahsoka has provided me over the years, from getting to write a book to action figures to being the voice in toys and video games and trading cards. It's just kind of opened up this incredible world of other opportunities that I've only kind of contributed to; it feels like you've won the lottery. And I feel so lucky that I got chosen to be the voice of Ahsoka that I want to do good with it and I want to give back in any way that I possibly can.
And so I had the opportunity to write a book for Disney called It's Your Universe: You Have the Power to Make It Happen and that was a nonfiction book. And it was one that was completely unexpected -- I actually said I would never write a book! But once I actually wrote one, then it's so infectious and you're like, "Gosh, I want to do it again!" And so I expressed that to Disney and Lucasfilm and I said, "Hey, I had such a great time writing this book, if you ever have another one, I would love to be considered."
Well, Lucasfilm called one day and they asked if I would write a [children's publishing imprint] Little Golden book for Ahsoka as part of the I Am series. And I think it was the fastest time I've said yes in my entire life because I grew up on Little Golden books -- I literally learned to read on Little Golden books -- so I know how important they are. And I just had a blast writing it. I actually binged The Clone Wars, I went back and I rewatched a lot of my favorite episodes, and I picked out my favorite moments and my favorite lessons that Ahsoka learned because the book is teaching kids how to be a Padawan, which is really just a student, and so it applies to any kid -- whether they're in a galaxy far, far away or whether they're just in their local elementary school. So I picked out my favorite lessons and whether it's the first time these kids are hearing about these lessons, or even if it's as adults as we're reading it, they're good reminders as adults. So I had a great time writing it and just, again, it's one of those things that I pinch myself that Star Wars has provided so many opportunities other than just voicing the character.
Was that drive to pay it forward really what launched the Her Universe fashion brand?
That is exactly the reason and thank you for asking that because I quickly realized when I was cast as the voice of Ahsoka that this opportunity was way bigger than me. I've been a lifelong Star Wars fan but it wasn't until I was really on the frontlines of it that I realized Star Wars is a way of life for people, it's not just a trend. It's something you proclaim proudly about yourself, "Hi, I'm Ashley. I'm a Virgo, I like pizza and I'm a Star Wars fan." It's literally how you would describe yourself. And I realized how important it was to people, how Star Wars not only changes lives, Star Wars saves lives.
It just gives me an overwhelming sense that I want to pay it forward and how I want to give back because Star Wars has given me such a tremendous platform to do that. And George Lucas always wanted to do good with Star Wars, he wanted to help kids, and he was always teaming up with the Boys and Girls Club or Make-A-Wish Foundation, and so I wanted to continue that legacy and do good with it. So Her Universe was just that.
I had read story after story of how women and girls were being bullied, and being bullied terribly, just for liking Star Wars and I saw that there was a stereotype that wasn't true: The stereotype was that this world of science fiction and fantasy was just for men and boys, but that wasn't the case. This world that we love so much is not just for men and boys, it's not just for women and girls, it's for everyone.
So I started Her Universe as a way to break the stigma, to break the stereotype, and say just that: This world is for everyone. And I felt that if I created merchandise just for female fans, they would feel more comfortable to wear a Star Wars shirt and proudly proclaim: "Hi, I'm a girl and I'm a Star Wars fan." So Her Universe was my answer to anti-bullying to say we were going to stop bullying and break the stigma. And I continue to do that today; I've actually been working very closely with Disney and Lucasfilm on a new program for children's hospitals and we also hope to take it out to children's schools. It's all about the mental aspect of being a Jedi and doing Jedi training but more focused on mindfulness rather than the physical aspect of being a Jedi. So Star Wars has given me the platform and the opportunity to pay it forward and it's something I'm so grateful for.
As we're entering this final stretch of Clone Wars episodes, what has Clone Wars and, more specifically, Ahsoka Tano meant to you?
That's a great question... Ahsoka, to me, means hope; Star Wars has always meant hope to me. But now, when I really need hope, I think of Ahsoka and I've asked myself, "What would Ahsoka do?" Because I feel like Ahsoka would always make the right decision. Personally, I feel like Ahsoka represents the Light Side of the Force and she represents all that is good and all that is good in all of us. And Ahsoka, in more ways than one when it comes to Clone Wars and Order 66, survives it; thanks to Star Wars Rebels, we know she survives Order 66. So Ahsoka is the story of a survivor, to me, when I think of one word that represents Ahsoka, I think of survivor. No matter what, she survives and I think we can all draw inspiration from that, especially in dark and scary times. No matter what, we'll do whatever it takes to survive but by being good and hopeful and making the right decisions and allowing the light to guide us. So that's what Ahsoka means to me and I do think of Ahsoka daily and ask what would she do.
I have to piggyback off that and ask one last question: Does that mean, in your mind, that Ahsoka survives Star Wars Rebels?
Oh goodness, I have no clue. As voice actors, we work on a need-to-know basis so I truly don't know. But I hope, I hope so. I think there are so many more Ahsoka stories left to tell and I hope we have the opportunity to continue to tell them.
Streaming on Disney+, the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars stars Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker, Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano, Dee Bradley Baker as Captain Rex and the clone troopers, James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan and Sam Witwer as Maul. A new episode arrives each Friday.