Is 'The Mandalorian' Ahsoka Tano's first live-action appearance?
By: Kelvin Pough
Tags: Anakin Skywalker, Movies, Star Wars, Star Wars The Clone Wars, Ahsoka Tano

Ahsoka Tano, since appearing in the 2008 animated film and series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” has become one of the most popular and well-liked “Star Wars” characters in the franchise.

Ahsoka’s first live-action appearance came in “The Mandalorian,” where Rosario Dawson portrayed the fan-favorite character.

Since her official debut, some people have wondered what she was doing during the prequel trilogy, and whether she appeared, even in the background at some point. Notably, there is a scene in “Attack of the Clones” when Obi-Wan Kenobi is conducting an investigation, when he goes to the Jedi library to seek answers. In the background, there is a character who looks similar to Ahsoka.

So, is that Ahsoka? Does she actually appear at any point in Episodes I-III?

The answer is no.

Regarding the library scene, there are a few ways to tell that the Togruta character in the background is not Anakin Skywalker’s padawan Ahsoka.

Source: Lucasfllm/Disney

Ahsoka is 14 when she is first introduced in the 2008 animated film “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” which began the animated Cartoon Network series of the same name. Which means she is 14 or about to turn 14 during “Attack of the Clones” which is when the scene in question occurs.

This is what Ahsoka looked like during that time:

Source: Lucasfilm/Disney

The hollow horns atop Ahsoka’s head, called montrals, are short, indicating her young age. The head-tails which fall to her chest and back are lekku, and they are also short due to her age.

[Note: Twi’lek characters also possess head-tails, and that is the most common use for the term lekku. There were multiple places which used the term for the Togruta species online, and it was the only name I found referring to Togruta head-tails. It’s possible that the term was only used for them in non-canon or unofficial source material.]

In the scene referred to in the question, here is where the Togruta female in the background appears:

Source: Lucasfilm/Disney

In the image, the character’s montrals are taller than Ahsoka’s, indicating that this character is older. Her lekku reach seemingly to at least her waist in this image as well.

This character also has round white shapes around her eyes, which Ahsoka lacks.

There is also one huge factor which tell us that this is not Ahsoka: she was not created yet. Ahsoka was a character created for “The Clone Wars” series, which came six years after “Attack of the Clones.”

There is no mention of her in any of the live-action films by the characters she interacts with, so even though it seems the idea for her had been thought of by then, she was not in any way included in the films.

Source: Lucasfilm

So, the character in question is not Ahsoka Tano. Who is it?

Jedi Master Shaak Ti.

Source: Lucasfilm/Disney

Source: Lucasfilm/Disney

Shaak Ti is a Togruta character who possesses all the physical characteristics of the character in the scene in the library. She is also seen otherwise during the film, so we know that, unlike Ahsoka, she was a character at the time of the film.