Ashley Eckstein, the long-time voice of Ahsoka Tano, recently came back to play the role again in the Disney Plus series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, and now she's got an insider's perspective on the character's journey. Eckstein has been playing the Togruta Jedi for nearly 2 decades at this point, so her viewpoint is certainly one worth hearing.
While Ahsoka wasn't the only one whose story was told through the bite-sized episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, she did play a major role in it as her episodes offered new insight into her time both in and out of the Jedi Order. When not dealing with the origin story for Palpatine's eventual apprentice Count Dooku, the show offered more context into Ahsoka's upbringing as well as her relationship with her former master, Anakin Skywalker. But it also involved seeing her as an infant, which was certainly a bold choice.
"It was really, really interesting to see Ahsoka's backstory as a baby and to see everyone in her town," Eckstein said when speaking with Gizmodo. "I think that the problem with Tales of the Jedi is that it opened up more questions than we have answers to. Now, I have so, so many questions." This isn't new for Eckstein, however, as she's always been inquisitive about Ahsoka as a character. "I asked about it a lot,” she continued, talking about her conversations with Tales of the Jedi creator and Star Wars show legend Dave Filoni. "I always wanted to know her backstory. And to be honest, I don't fully remember what Dave said. But what I do remember is him always being coy about it. What I always gathered from his answers was that it was a story that he always wanted to tell. So, it's very cool that he finally got the chance to tell it."
Moving on to her next episode, which saw a 14-year-old Ahsoka enduring a grueling training regimen concocted by Anakin, Eckstein marveled at how good it felt to get back into a version of the character she hadn't played in years. But she also revealed that, thanks to some help from her nephew, she now sees Anakin's training as a big part of why Ahsoka started carrying 2 lightsabers. "I actually got to watch the episodes with my nephew last night who’s like a Star Wars expert," she explained, "and we came to the same conclusion. That she got the second lightsaber for her training and because of these exercises." She also offered a poignant perspective on how dodging the Clone Troopers' training blasts ended up serving as invaluable experience for the eventual Jedi massacre by way of Order 66.
Finally, the last episode saw Ahsoka at the funeral for Padmé seen in Revenge of the Sith before setting off on her own. While she eventually found her will to fight again (as seen particularly in live-action appearances with Rosario Dawson playing Ahsoka), this moment appeared to break her resolve, and that emotion carried over into the recording booth for Eckstein. "Ahsoka at Padmé's funeral, for me, I was sobbing during that scene as I was recording it," she revealed. "It was very real where she says, 'She was my friend.' I could hear it because I knew what was happening but I was full-out crying during that scene. So. yeah, the emotions were very, very real in that episode."
Eckstein's perspective on Ahsoka's journey is a unique one, as perhaps not even Filoni himself can claim this sort of relationship with the character he created for The Clone Wars. So hearing what she had to say about her time as the character in the distant and recent past can really offer some new insight into how fans view this beloved character. Here's hoping this isn't the last we hear from Eckstein as the character she helped create.
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi is available to stream on Disney Plus.
Source: Gizmodo