Face It, Ashley Eckstein’s Ahsoka Is Better Than Rosario Dawson’s

The big picture

• Ahsoka Tano has become a beloved character over the years, with Ashley Eckstein's voice becoming synonymous with the character's identity.
• Ahsoka's growth and journey as a Jedi mirrors the failures of the Jedi Order as a whole, and her decision to leave the Order is justified and a demonstration of her rebellious nature.
• Rosario Dawson's live-action portrayal of Ahsoka lacks the same charm and substance that Eckstein brought to the character, with her fighting style and bewildered personality. However, there is hope for improvement in the coming seasons.

Ahsoka Tano hasn't always been a fan favorite character. In fact, many fans disliked him when he first appeared in the animation Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie But how Star Wars: The Clone Wars As the animated series continued, Ahsoka grew up and became a bright, brave and fascinating character to watch. And now, Ahsoka is beloved enough to get her own self-titled show. She is not just a cut for Anakin, but a way to reflect on the failures of the Jedi Order as a whole. And for more than a decade, Ashley Eckstein it was the definitive voice of the character. From its first appearance in The Clone Wars to the recent Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Eckstein's voice characterized Ahsoka. But now that it has finally made the jump to live action and Eckstein's voice is changed for Rosario Dawson, the character just doesn't sound the same.

Who is Ashley Eckstein and what does she mean to Ahsoka's character?

Eckstein is an actress who found her footing in voice acting. From its first appearance in The Clone Wars animated film, through the ia series Star Wars: Rebels and beyond that, his voice was synonymous with the character. Even in recent years, he reprized the role in the beloved season 7 of The Clone Wars, he told her in a cameo Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalkerand returned for 2022 Tales of the Jedi. Eckstein has been playing this role for nearly two decades and has become a much-loved figure War of the galaxies community for their love and dedication to the character. while War of the galaxies is not the only one that Eckstein has worked on, Ahsoka Tano is by far her most enduring and well-known performance.

Why fans fell in love with Ahsoka Tano

Ahsoka wouldn't be the character we know and love today without Eckstein, as his voice is how fans have known the character for over a decade. We start with a young and enthusiastic Ahsoka, a padawan who always gets in over her head and gives Anakin a headache. She is a funny girl with a good heart but has a lot to learn. And watching her learn is where the audience starts to love her too. As Ahsoka grows as a person and as a Jedi, she begins to understand the world more. He sees how the Jedi have failed, how the people around him have been harmed, and how they are an essential force against the rising tides of war. She is the emotional core of The Clone Wars, which is why most of the final season seems to focus on her. Ahsoka leaves the Jedi Order entirely when she is accused of being a terrorist and realizes that she can no longer follow their teachings. It's a flawed institution, and instead of trying to live with it or fix it, it chooses to do things its own way. And it's always been that way: it's what made her such a problem child. But it's also ultimately what makes her a great leader.

What is Rosario Dawson's version of Ahsoka missing?

There are many changes that come with transitional media. Instead of being created by a team, Ahsoka is now even more based on the performance of a single person and Dawson's portrayal feels different from the character we've come to know and love. She fights some droids in episode 1 of Ahsoka, but the movement feels stiff. It lacks the gameplay and rogue moves that made Ahsoka feel different. She fights seriously, more like a grizzled veteran than someone who is brash and acrobatic. Ahsoka's fights are some of the most fun to watch because of this unique fighting style, but this is not found in Dawson's fight scenes. Of course, it's difficult to portray the same animated fighting style in live action for obvious reasons, but it doesn't seem like Dave Filoni has tried to translate his fencing in the same way.

Ahsoka's vibe has also changed. When we catch up rebels, she definitely acts more mature. She's an adult and a spy at that point, but she always has this air of kindness and wickedness about her, no matter how much she's been through. The struggle was much bleaker in those early days of the Rebellion, but their hope never wavered. Eckstein brought a softness to the character through her voice that made her feel so human. She's a leader, yes, but she's also vulnerable. This vulnerability is not something we see in Dawson's portrayal of Ahsoka. From its first appearance The Mandalorian so far, she seemed calm and competent. Sshe doesn't joke around in the same way we've seen Ahsoka do in the past. She's much grumpier, and while the constant struggle may account for some of that, the drastic change seems to be more than a consequence of the passage of time. Ahsoka almost feels like a different person.

And it seems a conscious choice by Filoni to go for this more distant character because Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) is much closer to its animated counterpart (aside from the whole Jedi thing). She's bombastic, a little childish, and charismatic as hell, so when the two are juxtaposed, Ahsoka comes across as even more rigid. Both are characters with a deep sense of distrust in the institutions that raised them, but at the same time with a desire to see them better. They have a lot of history with each other, with their failed padawan/master relationship. But the awkwardness between them makes Ahsoka feel even more distant, almost ethereal. She feels like a Jedi Master on the council, and a Jedi is the last thing Ahsoka would want to be. His rejection of the Jedi Oder is completely justified and something he has historically been able to accept. She's a rebel first, but Dawson's portrayal of the character seems stuck in those crowded halls of Coruscant.

Ashley Eckstein is the ultimate Ahsoka

Eckstein would always come out with the upper hand over Dawson. In many ways, she is Ahsoka to many people. We don't need Rosario Dawson to be Ashley Eckstein's Ahsoka; we just need her to be Ahsoka. And in Season 1, he just didn't get it. In live action, Ahsoka is too clean, too proper, and too aloof. Ahsoka is your friend – she's been through a lot, but that hasn't changed who she is fundamentally. At her core, Ahsoka is kind, optimistic, and good to a fault. He goes out of his way to help people, even when they don't necessarily deserve it. Dawson plays Ahsoka as an action hero, but that's only a small part of the character. We love her as much at her weakest moments as at her strongest. AhsokaThe first season of has wrapped up, but with more development, hopefully Filoni's writing and Dawson's acting can inject a little more nuance into the character in future seasons. But for many people, Eckstein will forever be the ultimate version of Ahsoka Tano.

Ahsoka airs on Disney+ in the United States

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