In news that’s sure to set the cat amongst the pigeons in the Star Wars fandom, Brie Larson remains Disney and Lucasfilm’s top choice to play a live-action Ahsoka Tano. At least, that’s according to sources close to WGTC, the same ones who’ve given us several scoops related to that galaxy far, far away which turned out to be correct. Including, [SPOILERS] is a traitor in The Rise of Skywalker, Rey’s parents are related to [SPOILERS] and [SPOILERS] dies in the aforementioned Rise of Skywalker.
Of course, the former Jedi is one of the most beloved characters from the animated shows, books and comics and has just made her big screen debut in Rise (albeit as a brief part of the ‘Jedi chorus’ urging Rey on in the finale). As the fan choice for the role has long been Rosario Dawson, Disney going with Brie Larson would mean that certain corners of the Star Wars fandom are guaranteed to go ballistic. After all, Larson became the target of an avalanche of misogynist criticism after she made some pretty mild pro-feminist remarks on the press tour for Captain Marvel, and since then she’s emerged as a figurehead for diversity.
Given all that, it’s nice that Disney seems to be firmly behind her (Captain Marvel grossing $1.1 billion probably didn’t hurt). Despite a suspicious fan petition to remove her from the role, she’s set to star in Captain Marvel 2 and Kevin Feige has previously indicated that she’s his top pick for his mysterious Star Wars project. This neatly ties in with the producer reportedly being interested in Ahsoka as well, so it makes sense that Larson would take the role.
And you know what? Despite everything else going on, she’d be a great Ahsoka. Larson’s an excellent actor, has proven she’s capable of some strong physical work and would definitely do the part justice. All Disney and Lucasfilm have to do is not buckle under the weight of fan outrage. The Rise of Skywalker being a disjointed mess feels like a result of them paying too much attention to The Last Jedi haters. Let’s hope they don’t make the same mistake twice, have some confidence in their creative decisions and choose Brie Larson to bring Ahsoka Tano to life in live-action.
