At the convention center in Washington DC, the stars of Star Wars The Clone Wars took the stage at Awesome Con 2023 to reflect on how 15 years of The Clone Wars and the Star Wars universe have changed their lives.
CELEBRATING 15 YEARS of THE CLONE WARS at AWESOME CON 2023
In 2008, Dave Filoni directed an animated film that changed the landscape of the Star Wars universe: The Clone Wars.
In the film, fans are reintroduced to prequel characters including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, and Count Dooku. However, Filoni also introduced a new Jedi apprentice to Anakin—Ahsoka Tano.
This Togruta instantly became a fan favorite as she helped to expand the story of the prequels and offered insight into Anakin’s character history. Ahsoka quickly became my favorite character, along with that of many others.
During the “Celebrating 15 Years of the Clone Wars” panel at Awesome Con 2023, Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), and James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) sat down to discuss all things Star Wars, including how Ashley was cast to play Ahsoka.
What Makes The Clone Wars Special?
Ashley: “I’ve been a Star Wars fan ever since I could remember. I was a toddler watching A New Hope, it was on VHS. When I was cast as Ahsoka I felt like I won the lottery. Especially getting the chance to create and originate a new character. But I also realized it was a responsibility and a responsibility that I did not take lightly because I know that as a Star Wars fan, it’s not just like a trend. It’s not something you’re into one day and then you’re out of, it’s a way of life. It’s a lifestyle. When I really fell in love with Ahsoka I discovered how powerful and incredible she was. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just hope that one day Star Wars fans learn to love Ahsoka like I do’.”
Matt: “Star Wars television. There really wasn’t television…’Clone Wars’ was the first kind of television Star Wars content. I think the success of the Clone Wars is feeding all this amazing Star Wars television we have nowadays and I don’t know what would have happened without the Clone Wars. From a character standpoint, for Anakin, I think it really helped develop that character. We saw Anakin as the hero that we heard he was but didn’t really get to see in the films.”
James: “The coolest part is we were creating something that I think we all kind of hoped would become something special. And once those fortune cookies, as we call them, came out, you realized the parents that grew up with Star Wars [were there] watching that with their kids. There are lessons that can be learned, so it’s meaningful. It’s Star Wars on a weekly basis. We get to do what Star Trek had done all those years ago—go into people’s homes every weekend. It was also when social media was brand new so we were able to interact with all of you in a way that nobody else had ever gotten to do. And I think that’s what’s really special.”
How Ashley Eckstein Was Cast as Ahsoka
Ashley: “Well, a lot of people might not realize that I was cast as Ahsoka to just be myself because they didn’t know what they wanted for Ahsoka. Originally, David Filoni thought that Ahsoka should have an Icelandic accent. He didn’t tell anyone this but he wanted her to sound like Björk.”
“When I went into the audition, I originally auditioned for Padme, and I was super bummed because I love Padme, but I sounded nothing like Padme. I thought I had no chance and I almost left the audition—I went in and said the first line as Padme and sure enough, Dave Filoni stopped me and said, ‘No you sound nothing like Padme. But there’s this new character, she’s a 14-year-old girl, and we think you might be right for her’.”
“But then they told me that they wanted her to sound Icelandic, and that’s not an accent that I just have in my pocket, and so I did my best. But it was awful. Somehow I got a callback and they told me to practice my Icelandic, so I did. I went to a dialect coach, and I thought I had mastered Icelandic. Then I go back in and I say the first line in Icelandic and Dave Filoni stops me again. ‘No. Can you make it sound more Icelandic?’ I was so frustrated I did something I would normally never do, I talked back to the director. I said, ‘I’m sorry, but I am doing Icelandic. I don’t know what you want?’ And that got me the part.”
“When I showed up on the first day of work, I was so shocked because I couldn’t do Icelandic and they’re like, ‘No, no, no, we don’t want you to do Icelandic, we just want you to be yourself.’ And I feel very blessed because Dave Filoni [and I] very much collaborated. He did all the writing, and he and his writing staff created the story and what she looks like. But I had a huge say in how she sounded, her personality, her humor and her sarcasm and her wit. And all of us, they filmed our faces when we recorded and so a lot of our expressions are on the characters.”
“So a lot of Ahsoka’s expressions are actually my own expressions. In many ways, Ahsoka is me because I was asked to bring myself to Ahsoka. But now I would say Ahsoka has grown so much, I’m more like Ahsoka because she’s inspired me.”
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