Rosario Dawson Says STAR WARS: REBELS Is Required Viewing Before Watching AHSOKA

I’ve been telling everyone that I know to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels before watching the upcoming live-action series Star Wars: Ahsoka. Those animated shows will help give fans a much better understanding of the character and provide some crucial insight.

I’ve been very surprised by how many Star Wars fans have not watched these animated shows because they’re so damn good! If you haven’t watched them, you’re missing out on some truly great Star Wars storytelling.

Well, now Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson has delivered a message for Star Wars fans who have not watched Star Wars: Rebels. She recently spoke to THR, and when asked if the animated Star Wars series were required viewing before her series premieres, she said:

“Oh my goodness, yes. Natasha [Liu Bordizzo] said something to that effect, and there was some fanfare about it. But it’s important.”

Dawson continued to talk about how Dave Filoni and members of Lucasfilm’s creative team try to keep different groups of Star Wars fans engaged with every new story that comes along, saying:

“With Star Wars fans, there’s folks who really just watch the films, but now and especially with The Mandalorian, more [and more] people are watching the live-action shows. And then there are people who watch the animated shows. There’s even a tier beyond that with all the books and fan fiction. So there’s different levels to the Star Wars family, and it’s always been very highly considered to make sure [everyone can watch it].”

Filoni did previously say that you don’t need to watch the animated shows to understand the Ahsoka series and explained:

"We never want to create a situation where you feel like you have to have seen these things because then you're missing out. I don't know how fans feel, but – do you have to have seen The Clone Wars to understand Ahsoka? No, you don't have to have seen that.”

However, he did go on to explain that watching it will help and it will help you understand it more:

"Does it help, will you know more and understand more? Sure. But it's not – if you haven't checked it out, but you can, thanks to Disney Plus, it's right there. We picked up A New Hope at Episode 4, right? So Star Wars, to us, we came in in the middle of it. So there is a kind of history in Star Wars of just diving right into the story. So I really do dive right into the story with Ahsoka, but I know more about it because of the work of The Mandalorian." 

Then Ahsoka voice actress Ashley Eckstein shared her excitement about the new series, but also hopes fans will watch the animated shows first. She explained:

"I actually recommend to everyone who is excited about the upcoming Ahsoka series, I highly recommend that you take the time to watch Clone Wars, and watch Star Wars Rebels, and even Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. Because if you don't, you're going to miss out on crucial, crucial backstory that you really need to know to fully enjoy the Ahsoka series, which is so exciting.”

I couldn’t agree more. The official logline for Ahsoka reads: “Set after the fall of the Empire, Star Wars: Ahsoka follows the former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.”

The show will pick up where Star Wars Rebels left off and the search for Ezra Bridger begins. The series is set after the fall of the Empire, Ahsoka “follows the former Jedi knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.”

That threat is Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who we get a first look at in the trailer, and Ezra took off with him to an unknown location. Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) joins Ahsoka on her journey, and she is still very much dedicated to finding Ezra. They will be joined by Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), the droid, Chopper, and Zeb will also most likely return.

The series also stars Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, Ivanna Sakhno, Eman Esfandi as Ezra, Ray Stevenson as Baylon, and Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati.

The limited series is written by Dave Filoni who executive produces along with Jon Favreau and Kathleen Kennedy.

Ahsoka will debut on Disney+ on August 23, 2023.