Ahsoka Star Ashley Eckstein Says THE CLONE WARS Helped Save STAR WARS: “We Thought STAR WARS Was Done”
Before Star Wars exploded into an interconnected universe of Disney+ shows, movies, and animated spinoffs, the franchise was in a very different place.
According to Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano, there was a time when the people working on Star Wars: The Clone Wars genuinely believed they were carrying the torch for a franchise that had reached the end of the road.
Speaking during a reunion panel for The Clone Wars cast at MCM Expo, Eckstein reflected on what it was like helping launch the animated series back when Star Wars had far less momentum than it does now.
“For us, it’s easy to forget, but when Clone Wars was on the air, there was no other Star Wars. We thought Star Wars was done. This was before Disney bought it and we were the only thing on the air… Without the success of Clone Wars we might not be seeing Mandalorian, Boba Fett, etcetera.”
She’s got a pretty compelling point. A huge portion of modern Star Wars storytelling has roots planted firmly in The Clone Wars. Characters, lore, and storylines introduced in the animated series continue to ripple through nearly every corner of the franchise.
The Mandalorian leaned heavily into that mythology and shows like Ahsoka, The Bad Batch, and Maul: Shadow Lord are all direct extensions of ideas and characters that grew out of The Clone Wars and Rebels.
Even The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is now playing in theaters, carries DNA from those animated stories. Fan-favorite Zeb Orrelios from Rebels has a supporting role in the film, and future connections to Ahsoka are already being teased.
Whether every fan loves how interconnected things have become is another conversation entirely. The Mandalorian Season 3 drew criticism from viewers who felt the series became too dependent on animated continuity, especially compared to the simpler storytelling approach of earlier seasons.
Still, there’s no denying the influence Dave Filoni’s animated universe now has over the franchise as a whole.
Originally, The Mandalorian Season 4 was reportedly going to help set up Ahsoka Season 2 in a major way. Those plans changed after Jon Favreau shifted focus toward making The Mandalorian and Grogu as a feature film instead. Even so, the movie apparently still includes “subtle stuff that relates to Ahsoka Season 2.”
Fans will have to wait a while to see where those threads lead next, though. Ahsoka Season 2 isn’t expected to arrive on Disney+ until early 2027.
Looking back now, it’s pretty wild to think that The Clone Wars once felt like the final chapter of Star Wars. Instead, it ended up becoming the foundation for the franchise’s modern era.