Rosario Dawson reveals George Lucas was on the set of The Mandalorian when she played Ashoka

Ahsoka Tano
(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

Rosario Dawson, who played Ahsoka Tano for her live-action debut in The Mandalorian season 2 episode 5, has shared that George Lucas was on-set at the same time as she played the former Jedi. 

Jon Favreau posted a picture to Twitter of Lucas holding Baby Yoda, real name Grogu, earlier this year, but Dawson has revealed that she was there when the now-iconic photo was taken – and in full costume as the Ahsoka.

“I actually got to be there on the day that there's that photo. Someone took a picture of George Lucas holding Baby Yoda. I'm still calling him Baby Yoda—Grogu! I was there that day. I was all dressed up, I was just off to the side of that photo, all done up as Ahsoka,” Dawson told Vanity Fair. “And I remember it broke the internet when that picture came out. It was just an amazing, amazing moment, and we were all beside ourselves. It was definitely very geek-out.”

As for the experience of meeting Lucas, Dawson commented: "I was definitely nerve-wracked, and it was great to be there with him and Dave [Filoni]. I mean, it's a lot of pressure. But it was also really fun. Both of them were looking at me but they weren't, you know what I mean? They were looking at their imaginations come to life."

Dawson was also very taken with her little green co-star: “You're holding this adorable, unbelievably cute, tiny little creature, and it's blinking, it's looking at you, and its mouth is moving, and its ears are moving, and it's so soft, the little hairs on its head. [Sighs.] I mean, it's unbelievable.”

Among the many reveals of Chapter 13 was a namedrop of the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn – who Ahsoka is hunting down. It’s possible that if Grogu does choose to call out to the Jedi on Tython this season, we could see the return of Star Wars: Rebel’s Ezra Bridger, too.

For now, check out our The Mandalorian season 2 release schedule to make sure you don’t miss the next episode arriving to Disney Plus.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.