Why Live-Action Ahsoka’s Head Tails Are So Much Shorter Than In Star Wars Cartoons
The Mandalorian season 2, episode 5 "The Jedi" marks Ahsoka's live-action debut. She's
portrayed by Rosario Dawson who, thanks to her own features and an alien make-up job, makes for a convincing live-action Ahsoka. The problem, however, is in the lekku. The last time audiences saw Ahsoka, albeit in animation, her head tails were longer. On
The Mandalorian, Ahsoka's head tails look almost as short as they did when she was a young Padawan, reaching past her shoulders to about mid-chest. During
Rebels, her lekku are already nearing her waist, which would suggest that by the time of
The Mandalorian, they'd be even longer. Instead, the complete opposite has happened, and the reason why is likely tied to the character's transition from animation to live-action.
Originally conceived for animation, Ahsoka's head tails are not necessarily bound by physics in the same way real lekku would be. When she moves and especially when she fights, her lekku move as a natural extension of her body. There's not much concern for how heavy her head tails would actually be, or if they would get in the way by being so long. Ahsoka's lekku move as much or as little as they need to, it's whatever the animator chooses.
Transitioning into live-action, however, means having lekku conceived through make-up and practical effects and thus affected by real world physics.
In previous live-action Star Wars movies, characters with lekku like Shaak Ti or Twi'leks Aayla Secura and Bib Fortuna — all of whom are shown with longer head tails than Ahsoka — aren't seen engaging in the kinds of acrobatics and martial arts as Ahsoka is in The Mandalorian. This is likely because the weight of their head tails would make any such stunt work very difficult.
As such, in order for Dawson and her stunt team to be able to fight while wearing the prosthetic lekku, the head tails need to be light. If the headpiece is too heavy, it'd be a difficult piece to wear for long periods — especially while performing complicated fight choreography. To help reduce the weight of the prosthetic, some length was clearly sacrificed. It's a decision likely made for practical reasons, but it creates a continuity error all the same. If it truly was for reasons relating to filming and performer comfort, then surely a solution could have been found by combining practical with digital effects. Instead, the live-action debut of Ahsoka on The Mandalorian is left slightly marred by her confusingly short head tails.
Why are live-action Ahsoka's head tails so short?
screenrant.com
