Ashley Eckstein Loved That Tales Of The Jedi Finally Explored More Of Ahsoka's Relationship With Padme - Exclusive
Ahsoka Tano may not have appeared in any of the prequel trilogy films, but she had a very large presence to play in the Clone Wars, as evidenced from the TV series of the same name. She was Anakin Skywalker's Padawan and studied the ways of the Jedi under him. Naturally, this gave her prominent placement amongst some other recognizable "Star Wars" characters, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Padme Amidala.
Through her interactions with these characters, Ahsoka became a more well-rounded character, to the point where she's now one of the most beloved in the franchise. And the character isn't done yet. She'll soon lead her own "Star Wars" series with the upcoming "Ahsoka," and she just got another batch of episodes to flesh out her character more with "Tales of the Jedi," which recently premiered on Disney+.
She may only appear in another three episodes, but that's more than enough to gain greater insight into this fascinating character. Looper sat down for an exclusive interview with Ashley Eckstein, the voice actor behind Ahsoka for "The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars: Rebels," amongst other properties. During this chat, we naturally had to dive into what it meant for her to be part of such an important moment within "Revenge of the Sith."
Ahsoka cared about Padme deeply
"Tales of the Jedi" confirms that Ahsoka Tano was, in fact, at Padme's funeral. While we saw the sequence play out in "Revenge of the Sith," we never really got a good glimpse of who was in the crowd. "Tales of the Jedi" shows that Ahsoka was there, despite the danger that was still present from Order 66. She risked her life and well-being just to pay respects to a dearly departed friend, and according to Ashley Eckstein, that really sums up the characters' relationship well.
As Eckstein said, "I was so happy to hear that [Ahsoka] was [at the funeral] because I feel like [that was] one thing that never got explored enough, and we did have some amazing moments with Ahsoka and Padme between 'Clone Wars' and then 'Forces of Destiny,' but Ahsoka and Padme were very close. They did have a beautiful friendship, so Ahsoka would want to be at Padme's funeral. That would be important for her to be there." Eckstein then went on to discuss how vital it is for media to depict women supporting women, and the funeral from "Tales of the Jedi" really exemplifies that mission statement.
"I'm such a huge proponent of women supporting women," Eckstein went on to say. "I love when we got to see the female characters come together. I was honored that we got to share that moment and to see that Ahsoka was there." Now, when you go back to rewatch "Revenge of the Sith," you may feel even more emotional during that sequence knowing Ahsoka is in the crowd giving her friend a final goodbye.
"Tales of the Jedi" is now available on Disney+.