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When she is introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars she is 14 years old, and she is 17 when the war ends. During this time, she has short(ish) headtails:

14 year old Ahsoka 17 year old Ahsoka

After that, she is shown with medium/long headtails when she is 32 years old in the show Star Wars Rebels:

enter image description here

So WHY are her headtails are so sort in The Mandalorian? (in which she is 45 years old)

enter image description here

I will remind you that Togrutas' headtails continue to grow longer as they get older, and an adult of Ahsoka's age should have much longer headtails than she does in The Mandalorian. Shaak Ti, another female Togruta and Jedi who worked at the cloning facility on Kamino during the Clone Wars, has very long headtails in comparison to Ahsoka's, and she is 40 years old (in this picture)!

40-year-old Shaak Ti

This was not an unknowing mistake on the part of the director of the episode. In fact, the director of Chapter 13, "The Jedi" was Dave Filoni himself! Dave Filoni practically created both shows mentioned above, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. So it's not like he didn't know how a Togruta should look. He, of all people, should know what Ahsoka looks like!

So, having examined all this, Why does Ahsoka have short headtails?

enter image description here

Is there a canon explanation?

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  • Maybe they got chopped off in a fight at one point, and are still in the process of regrowing. Maybe Togruta head-tails are like orangutan cheek pouches, where the size is determined by social dominance.
    – nick012000
    Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 13:03
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    You could as easily ask why her eyes don't take up half her face like they did in Clone Wars. It was animated and stylized. Certain things just aren't practical to reproduce in live action.
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 14:27
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    n.b. the canonical name for these organs is lekku.
    – Tom W
    Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 15:17
  • You mention Shaak Ti; she had a scene in Star Wars episode III: Revenge of the Sith, where she was Grievous' hostage at the beginning of the film. That scene was finally removed and did not make it to the theatre version, but it can still be found and you can compare Shaak Ti's live-action head tails with her animated counterpart as well.
    – Stef
    Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 20:59

2 Answers 2

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The simple answer is that its just easier in live action stunts/action for them to be shorter. ScreenRant has an article where they highlight a tweet from a Lucasfilm character designer agreeing with a fan asking the same thing.

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    Thank you! I guess it was just a technical thing after all. I'm still a little disappointed that Dave Filoni would put convenience ahead of a canon, but I guess you get what you get.
    – Just another Star Wars geek
    Commented Dec 16, 2020 at 23:12
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    @JustanotherStarWarsgeek: It can also be an aesthetic decision, not just “convenience” — different things look good in live-action than in animation, and different parts of the franchise are going for different aesthetic atmospheres. For a detail like this, you don’t have to see it as “breaking canon” — just artistic differences in how these parts of the universe are being shown.
    – PLL
    Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 9:34
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    @JustanotherStarWarsgeek, it's not "convenience", it's "We have to film this on a budget".
    – Keith Morrison
    Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 15:41
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    @KeithMorrison Doesn't help that they spent half the season's budget on the Krait Dragon in episode 1 😉
    – Bitsplease
    Commented Dec 17, 2020 at 21:49
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    Experience from previous shooting also comes in. Orli Shoshan, who played Shaak Ti in Attack of the Clones, commented that shooting the Geonosis battle scenes were difficult because the bulk of the head prosthetics made it difficult to move. They weren't a problem when she was in the background sitting or standing, but trying to move was a pain. With a character who isn't someone briefly visible for a few seconds in the background but who is the focus with closeups of action, that sort of difficulty is much more visible.
    – Keith Morrison
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 5:55
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The length of the lekku and montrals atop Ahsoka Tano's head are quite a disappointment when it comes to the famous star Wars show: The Mandalorian. But you have to keep in mind that the mobility of an actor is restricted by the amount of weight an object or multiple objects put on them, Rosario Dawson was not going to be able to move properly if the lekku was going to be at full length. I'm pretty sure that no one would want to see a fan favorite character just stand still like a statue for the whole moment she has a cameo for. I understand that it is disappointing to see a noticeably shorter lekku on Ahsoka, but it is for the well being and movement for Rosario. I have no doubt that her lekku will continue to stay this short for the rest of her time on Disney+, especially in her upcoming series: Ahsoka. Please ask me if you have any further questions on the matter of Ahsoka's lekku. -Alisia.C.Martinez

Evidence: 'Yea pretty much that was the chief concern. From animation to live action I did a ton of design exploration for her and their appropriate size for the actor with consideration for stunts and movement. I'm sure I'll get to discuss at greater length in the near future!'

— Brian Matyas (@brianmatyasart)

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  • Hi, welcome to SF&F. Can you cite any official sources for this? Based on the other answer (which does have a source) this is likely broadly correct, but an answer with evidence is better than one that doesn't have any. You might want to take the tour to learn how to use the site effectively.
    – DavidW
    Commented May 10, 2022 at 1:47
  • @cookedtights69 - When providing a quote, it's good to also provide a link or citation indicating where the quote was sourced from, so that other users can tell that the quote is authentic and accurate.
    – LogicDictates
    Commented May 10, 2022 at 2:05

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