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We’re seated at the Celebration Stage after briefly talking to Rosario Dawson and Hayden Christensen at Star Wars Celebration’s press line! We can’t wait to see fans react to this exciting panel.
The panel has opened up with a video showcasing Ahsoka‘s viral success with a huge emphasis on fans. Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau and Rosario Dawson have made their way on stage to talk about the series. Dawson got a big standing ovation when she appeared.
Filoni has started the conversation by sharing how the series is inspired by Princess Mononoke. The markings on her face even have a reference to the Hayao Miyazaki movie.
They are talking about George Lucas visiting the set of Ahsoka during a pivotal fight scene between her and Diana Lee Inosanto”s Morgan Elsbeth. It stressed Filoni out big time because he only had one day to shoot it, but of course it was a huge honor for him to be there with them.
Dave Filoni is talking about how he made Ahsoka in a way where audiences can watch it without knowing her past in prior shows. He compared it to A New Hope, which started things off at Episode 4 Filoni recalled being a kid seeing the first Star Wars for the first time and being confused about there not yet being episodes 1-3, which we wouldn’t get for thirty more years.
Hayden Christensen has made his way to the stage to an eruption of applause from audiences. He too got a standing ovation, and tons of fans were yelling their love for him in the audience.
They are taking about Ariana Greenblatt playing a young Ahsoka in Season 1. Her presence on set made Filoni “question” his “reality” because he got to see young Ahsoka Tano in the flesh.
Christensen spoke to returning for Ahsoka being a really “compelling” time in his life, and he found it to be “too much fun” to return to the part in this era of his life. Christensten also really liked having a “new look” during his return. Filoni said “no one” swings like a lightsaber like him.
Rosario Dawson is talking about when she learned Sabine would be Ahsoka’s padawan, and the importance of her character getting to pass on knowledge herself. She said the arc on the series makes her reflect more on Ahsoka’s time on Clone Wars, and the trend of “spunky” padawans in other Star Wars mentorship dynamics,
Hayden Christensen says he always has George Lucas voice in the back of his head telling him things about his character like “faster, more intense”. He also gushed about working with Dave Filoni after they both went the “school of George Lucas.”
Now they are moving on to talking about the upcoming Season 2 of Ahsoka, Rosario Dawson shared they are going to shoot the series next week.
Filoni getting a little teary-eyed talking about the loss of Ray Stevenson, and how his loss made the process of developing Season 2 very challenging. After speaking to Stevenson’s family, Filoni said he’s “very confident” Stevenson would be “happy” with the direction they went with Baylan. He said the “character was meant to be important” and the “parallel to Ahsoka in every way.” They are excited to welcome the new actor Rory McCann!
Filoni has announced Admiral Akbar is going to be part of Season 2, and he’ll go head-to-head with General Thrawn. He also showed pictures of some new Star Wars cute creatures called Loth Kittens. They are adorable!
Filoni has shared that General Thrawn is absolutely going to be a big part of Season 2. He called him the “right villain” for this era of Star Wars.
Hayden Christensen says there’s “not much he can share” but Anakin will indeed be back for Season 2 of Ahsoka. But wait, there’s one more thing! Filoni is showing a “retro look” at Season 2, even though filming has not started. We are being asked to put our phones away.
And that’s a wrap!
