According to actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, the previous animation helps bring the live-action Hera to life. As you likely know, MEW plays the first live-action version of animated Rebels character Hera Syndulla in Ahsoka. Given all the returning characters, Ahsoka really does feel like a live-action sequel to Rebels, and that’s no bad thing. As for the casting, it’s hard to say until we see Hera on screen. One man who seems very happy with the casting choice is Hera’s creator and writer and director of Ahsoka, Dave Filoni.

As others before her know bringing an animated character to live action can be a tricky task. However, Winstead says that having all that animated history is really useful for her as an actor. Speaking with EW recently, about the upcoming Ahsoka show, here is what Winstead had to say.

“Having a character who’s already existed and has such a rich history on something like Rebels, as an actor, it’s incredible,” Winstead told Dagobah Dispatch. “Because sometimes we’re tasked with creating our own backstories or trying to flesh out a character that doesn’t really have that much on the page. And so to play a character that has season after season of storylines and complex histories with everyone in their life and relationships and experiences was really something I’ve never experienced quite like that.”

It was a resource Winstead took advantage of throughout filming on Ahsoka. “To have Rebels to refer to, and to have [Rebels and Ahsoka creator Dave Filoni] to speak to about it every day on set, was a real luxury for sure.”

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Winstead went on to describe who Hera is as a character to her in Ahsoka.

“I see Hera as an incredibly strong but complicated person,” Winstead sats. “She is very maternal, but also she’s this leader of this crew. And as we see, she continues and becomes a general. And so she’s leading quite a lot of people and she’s become something of a legend in her own right.”

“She’s also very soft and warm, and people come to her for advice and solace and comfort,” Winstead explains. “Seeing those things combined is very unusual, and something that I really wanted to play on screen, because that’s such a aspirational thing, I think, as a woman — or just a person — to be able to be all of those things in one.”

“She’s certainly not perfect, but she does have all of those qualities that make her somebody that you can really look up to in a way. And I like to try to be that on film. I don’t know that I quite live up to it in reality, but it’s someone to try and try and reach for.”

I agree Hera must be something of a legend at this point in the timeline. Hera was a General in the Rebel Alliance before the OT, and one of the earliest Rebels in general. I’m also very interested to see what is going to happen with Hera’s son, Jacen. Jacen’s father was Jedi Kanan Jarrus who was killed during Rebels before he was born. It’s also been hinted already that he got some of his father’s genes aka, he’s Force sensitive.

It will be interesting to see how Hera is now that the rest of the Ghost crew has grown up. Sabine is an adult who loved through the Civil War, probably fighting in it, and Ezra when they eventually find him will be a different person than the boy who left. Hera was always the mother figure of the group, but now she is a other herself the the kids have grown up.

I have a good feeling about Ahsoka, let’s hope it comes to fruition.

What do you think as Mary Elizabeth Winstead says the previous animation helps bring the live-action Hera to life. Are you hyped for Ahsoka and seeing this all move into live-action? Do you think it’s kinda funny that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hera Syndulla’s actors are married in real life? Whatever you think, post it below.

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