I know this is an old video now, but one thing I will say is that screen acting and voice acting are indeed different beasts, but one is not elevated above the other. There have been many actors who try to voice act and are just terrible at it. They sound emotionless and boring because they're used to using their body language, their face and their movements in combination with their voice, where voice actors have to provide that same range from just their voice alone. Its a different skillset for sure, with some transferrable skills here and there, but still tough

She should have played Ahsoka. I think the actress playing Ahsoka has always done a good job in other films but is miscast as Ahsoka.

George Lucas hating Mara Jade, but she is way better than 50-100 Jedi! Lmfao

yeah.. the dawson cant screen act ahsoka to save her life. totally bombed the role she did.

While I normally like Rosario Dawson, I did not like her one bit in Ahsoka. She came off as smug and absolutely slow in any action scenes.

Kathleen kennedy probably thought she wasnt gay lame or diverse enough

This is very valid criticism if Rosario Dawson didn't have the emotional range of a cardboard box. Even though screen acting is a whole different ball park than voice acting, Ahsoka in the animated series is a very emotional and generally upbeat character. Even if she went into exile and had to suffer through a lot of stress, she woudn't just morph into the emotional equivalent of a Home Depot 20 inch piece of 2 by 4.

1:37 i mean rosario doesn't look like ahsoka either

Anyone could of done Ahsoka with her hands crossed the whole show. I think Ashley Eckstein would not of allowed how lame Ahsoka was in most of the show.

Spot on. As much as we all would have loved to see Ashley play Ahsoka live action, she lacks the screen acting experience to have made it work. Even she has said she has no allusions about playing Ahsoka live action.

Because it wouldn’t suffice the diversity quotas, duh.

I respectfully disagree with a couple things in this assessment. The look: It’s only because of the clone wars animation style of using exaggerated polygons for face shapes and body features that Ahsoka’s character model does not resemble Ashley as much as it could. Ahsoka’s features were actually closely modeled after Ashley originally in clone wars. She looks more like the clone wars version than Rosario does. The rebels look was a noticeable departure from the way she should have looked. Again, animation style changing is what made her look so different. Using the same exact facial structures and shapes made her look super weird with the different texturing they were using in rebels so it made her look way different but if you adapted the original look to the screen Ashley is super close. Ashley’s experience: The idea that Ashley was not equipped for the screen adaptation, while I understand the argument, is ultimately not a major issue. Plenty of relatively “inexperienced” screen actors began superstar careers with a huge bang on the screen after a few minor roles much like Ashley. Examples like Steve Carrell, Emma Watson, John Krasinski, Millie Bobbie Brown, Jennifer Lawrence are all examples of people who were legit “nobodies” in Hollywood until the thing you first remember them from. The truth is that from the outside it may seem highly significant that an actor be experienced on screen and “have chops” as they say but the reality is that the casting director picks who they think will accomplish the goal of whoever is in charge of paying them. And when you work with Disney, lore integrity, accuracy, compelling storytelling, and being in touch with the audience that is fanatically loyal to the source material, ALL take a back seat to the almighty dollar. The fact is that Disney is a merchandising and media company not a storytelling company like they used to be. So they ordered an actress who was the most likely to be liked by the most amount of people so that everyone would watch and buy. Rosario vs Ashley: Lastly, Rosario and Ashley both would have face obstacles in the live action version of the character. Ashley’s would have been adapting to the screen for an extended role. As we have said it’s not actually a huge obstacle once the casting director has chosen you. You’d get all the coaching, time, and resources you’d need to do it justice, if that was the goal (more about that in a moment). However that fact that Ashley IS Ahsoka, would have heavily guided and aided the process and made any learning curve much more manageable because she knows the character inside and out. Rosario’s obstacle was Ashley’s exact strength. Unfortunately, the entire time I watched the recent Ahsoka series I just kept on thinking “I don’t ever remember Ahsoka being so inexpressive and aloof” she was the opposite of that. She felt deeply for other people much like her master did, but she had learned how to temper her deeply felt emotions with a little self control. Rosario lacked the emotional depth and vulnerability of the character in almost every scene. I’m not saying Rosario is bad, she just is not like the character of Ahsoka. She’s a different Ahsoka that is very far from the original personality and emotional connection of Ashely’s version. I think she failed to understand the character’s personality. She used only the emotional context of Ahsoka’s most difficult times to develop the character and forgot about the wise cracking, lightly sarcastic, and animated side of the character. Which is only part of Ahsoka. That’s why every thing she said felt so dry. The painful truth is that Filoni and Faveau allowed Disney to move forward without Ashley for financial reasons and also personal reasons which I won’t go into. It was an unfortunate decision and the character suffered for it.

The original actor was probably not picked for the live action, because she would have acted like a human being, instead of acting with the charisma of a living wet rag. Now don't get me wrong. Dawson is a good actor, and could have acted very well in the Ahsoka series if Disney would have let her, instead of glaring and frowning constantly. The only reason they had her do that, is because girls have to act like men in modern movies, and since they don't know what it is like to be or act like a man, they just try to have no emotion, because they think we have none.

Simple answer DEI

(considering the Ahsoka series) even not having Ashley int hat role, Rosario Dawson WAS/IS HORRIBLE. every character she plays is the same character, speech cadence, inflection, gestures, mannerisms... its always the same... and its NOT Ahsoka. its just looks like Ahsoka (sorta) when not moving or talking. I spent all the episodes thus far trying to adjust to it but I couldn't, it was always jarring pulling me out of the story line and universe. there is a LOT of bad writing in this series as well which would take a small book to point out all those flaws. it just doesn't work on so many levels, and to have the TITLE CHARACTER to be so badly portrayed just makes it unwatchable.

Rosario Dawson DID NOT pull off the fight choreography. She looked stiff, unsure, and unathletic. I also didn't like her acting as well but that's another story.

Because it would’ve been black face

...yeah im ngl i don't like dawson being the role for ahsoka it honestly doesn't even make any sense to me..she doesn't look like or sound like ahsoka at all and i know the other ahsoka obviously was not real she was CGI but still would make more sense if it was somebody else also lets be real here the real ahsoka in terms of real life fighting would be quick dawsons choreography is so ridid and slow im surprised the storm troopers who are known for not being able to shoot haven't shot her several times by now 🤣

Kind of funny watching this video in retrospect having watched (some of) the Ahsoka series. I've gotten more excitement out of watching wet cardboard wilt than I got out of Dawson's portrayal of Ahsoka. What an absolute snoozefest! I've also seen wet cardboard move faster than Dawson. She looked like she was in one of those dreams people have where they just can't move fast enough.

I’ll simplify it for you. South Park is about to do an entire episode on why they swapped her character.

Well, it's not like Rosario did any good acting or physicality in the Ahsoka show... And calling her an experienced swordsman is a joke 😂

Rosario was a cardboard box in the series.

She’s white…

It could be me, but not like Rosario Dawson showed that much emotion as Ashoka.This could be because of the writing, but I did not like her Ashoke one bit.

Sadly, I have to disagree with most points on this video. Rosario didn't have any emotional range in the series and was criticized for being very stiff in all her fighting scenes. I think Rosario was only a good pick due to her looks, otherwise maybe Ashley would have been the better call because she is already so in tune with the characters mannerisms.

I hope that they at least gave Ashley a chance to be the live-action. I really don't buy the argument that she "doesn't look like her", maybe not a teen version, but definitely all grown up she's very passible. Plus, we saw Ahsoka get re-designed for Rebels, and I thought that was a pretty drastic shift. Dawson looks fine, but I don't think that she looks MORE like Ahsoka than Ashley, and people need to remember that each art-style is an interpretation, so she doesn't need to be EXACT. I understand the physicality and that may have been an issue for Ashley, but I think that should have been up to her, in that if she wanted to train for the role she could.

because she's white

Asoka is a character of colour, so has to be played by an actor of colour. Or people will call black face racism if they put a white actor in the character. Also Ray Park didn't voice Darth Maul, Peter Serafinowicz voiced Maul in the Phantom Menace

Because

As great as Rosario is and how well she did. The way Disney has been lately, I'd ultimately say they wanted to meet their ESG Diversity quota.

Because she's a voice actress, not a screen actress.

she can't play ashoka live action because she has a big ass lightbulb head

Because she’s not black

Watching just after finishing Ahsoka series. Makes you miss Ashley.

bcs she iis to young end

Because she a voice actor. Not an actor.

She’s missing something that Disney requires these days.

Oh yeah she definitely didn't have the acting chops to cross her arms and tilt her head constantly and try to look stoic.

because she white? we cant have that

Because they needed a cinematic actor and not a voice actor. Rosario Dawson is physically capable of doing stunts, delivering lines and developing chemistry with other actors. Ashley is a voice actor. That's it. That's the whole reason.

She voices a child, She would be playing a grown woman. That’s a major change.

Because she’s white

I'm sorry still would have been better casting than Rosario to old and to bland. It ruins all the work she did developing the character. Rosario saber scenes are embarrassing you can tell she's old and the action scenes aren't her strong suit.

Would it be allowed in the US that a Caucasian White actor might play an alien of color?

I think Rosario is doing a great job as Ashoka

She's also not black

For one they chose Rosario because she is more famous, visually she looks the part better, and because she is black.

She Wasn’t black enough, or diverse enough…

Seeing Ashley in Cosplay, she looks more like Ahsoka than Dawson does imo.

Christopher Lee had a stunt double for any scene that required him to do anything more than just stand there, lol. Bottom line: Ashley Eckstein was too white for Disney.