DUBAI: When Ahsoka made her debut in the Star Wars universe in animated series “The Clone Wars” way back in 2008, she was just a young padawan to rising Jedi master Anakin Skywalker, whom we better knew as Darth Vader. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @arabnews.lifestyle But as she gets her first live-action titular series — premiering on Disney+ in the Middle East on Aug. 23 — we find a seasoned warrior with a padawan of her own. For creator Dave Filoni, the almost two-decade-long journey with the iconic character has been bittersweet. “It’s weird because Ahsoka’s story and her journey and growth has mirrored my own as a filmmaker. As I was less sure and less confident, the stories that she was involved in reflected that and were executed that way. I had a lot to learn, so as I’ve grown, the stories got more complex, and the friends I’m working with also got more formidable in their skills, so the story gets better as we challenge ourselves and go deeper with the character,” said Filoni in a written interview conducted ahead of the writers union strike in the US. Brought to life by the inimitable Rosario Dawson (“Luke Cage,” “Dopesick” and “The Haunted Mansion”), “Ahsoka” follows the titular character as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy and teams up with “Star Wars: Rebels” character Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) to search for the latter’s old teammate, Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). For those who may not be familiar with Ahsoka Tano, Filoni explains that prior knowledge of her story is not necessary. “If you don’t know anything about Star Wars, it doesn’t really matter,” said Filoni. “You just need to know that this is a teacher; Ahsoka is like a mentor. She’s a samurai and she is trying to figure out if she is even capable of teaching Sabine. Is she going to be a good teacher? Is Sabine going to be a good student? The struggle between master and apprentice is very central to the show.” While die-hard Star Wars fans are mostly familiar with Ahsoka in animated format, Filoni is excited for the audience to be reacquainted with the character through Dawson. “Going into live-action was a big shift, because in animation you can control every detail and even change things late in the game if you want a different look or expression. In live action, you can’t tweak things. So, I was very fortunate that Rosario Dawson had an interest in playing Ahsoka. That someone of her caliber and talents wanted to step into her Jedi shoes was quite incredible. It is pretty amazing to watch her work,” he said. -ADVERTISEMENT-