One Star Wars Character In Ahsoka Has A Connection To Bruce Lee
It's no secret that George Lucas' original vision for "Star Wars" was heavily influenced by Japanese cinema, specifically the samurai, or chanbara, sword-fighting films of his youth. "Seven Samurai" and, of course, Akira Kurosawa's "Hidden Fortress" were direct inspirations for "A New Hope" and the misadventures of C-3PO and R2-D2. Any student who has studied martial arts will also be able to see a direct link between the ancient techniques of Japanese swordsmanship and the fighting style of Jedi Knights throughout the entire saga. Beginning with the classic duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader aboard the Death Star, the original film's stunt coordinator Peter Diamond incorporated the basic strikes, parries, and blocks that are taught in kendo. Even the concept of balancing one's internal Qi ("chi") energy became the foundation for the Force.
The bridge between the martial arts world and the "Star Wars" galaxy has been extended with the inclusion of actor and gifted Filipina martial artist Diana Lee Inosanto, who first appeared in "The Mandalorian" as the adversary magistrate Morgan Elsbeth. Her entrance in "Chapter 13: The Jedi" allowed Inosanto to showcase her prowess with a spear in a dust-up with Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) that also happened to be the first time two female characters in "Star Wars" had ever fought each other in live-action (another first just happened in episode one of "Ahsoka").
As the daughter of legendary global martial arts instructor Danny Inosanto, Diana has a direct connection to Bruce Lee. Her father worked closely with Lee for decades, helping the famed actor develop his own hybrid martial art called Jeet Kune Do. "I was named after him as a little girl so I wound up calling him Uncle Bruce," she told World of Martial Arts Television. "He was an honorary uncle in the family." Inosanto would also become known as Lee's symbolic goddaughter.
From Bruce Lee's goddaughter to a Nightsister
Now that the character of Morgan Elsbeth has become one of the prime villains in the first season of "Ahsoka," Inosanto has the chance to honor Lee's legacy and apply her father's teachings each time she springs into action. In her fight with Ahsoka in "The Mandalorian," Inosanto felt a special pride when she performed Filipino martial arts that had been passed down from her Dad over the years. "He would show me books and drawings of Filipino warriors, Filipina warriors, women warriors," she revealed in an interview with ABS-CBN News. "Because that's one of the beautiful things about our Filipino heritage that for thousands of years there have been women warriors." Inosanto is representing Filipino culture in much the same way that actor Temuera Morrison has been able to do by bringing his own Maori culture into the role of Boba Fett in "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett."
After starring in and directing the 2007 martial arts drama "Sensei," Inosanto had unknowingly crafted the perfect calling card and audition reel for her dark turn as Morgan Elsbeth in "Ahsoka." The star map was finally aligning, although she and her father had always felt connected to George Lucas' creation. "I've been a 'Star Wars' fan since I was a little girl. In fact, my Dad and I used to train with these plastic lightsabers."
While "Star Wars" fans will probably never get the chance to see light-chucks in action, knowing that Bruce Lee's own apprentice taught his daughter how to fight with "Star Wars" in mind is undeniably heartwarming.
Carrying on two legacies at once
By the late seventies, Danny Inosanto had already achieved a kind of mythic status in the martial arts world, so much so that potential students would travel from all over the world to be able to study with him. After hosting an international seminar in Aspen, Colorado, Danny and his daughter decided to go to the movies. "It was a Saturday, everybody had finished the seminar, and there was this new movie with an awesome poster that had just come out, called 'Star Wars,'" Diana told StarWars.com. "It was like we were all just part of this orchestra of pure excitement. To this day, I have still never experienced anything like that."
Through her appearances in "The Mandalorian" and "Ahsoka," Inosanto has become a torch-bearer with the privilege of continuing the legacy of both Bruce Lee and her father. She is also part of a select group of martial artists that have enriched the "Star Wars" universe, including Ray Park as Darth Maul and Donnie Yen as Chirrut Îmwe.
When Morgan Elsbeth raises the beskar steel staff in her fight against Ahsoka's duel lightsabers in "The Mandalorian," it feels, in part, like an homage to her father's fabled fight against Lee in "Game of Death." The double sticks Danny Inosanto uses in that scene are the main weapons in the deadly Filipino martial art Escrima. It's a full circle moment for the "Ahsoka" star, and one that her father may have predicted right after they both walked out of the theater back in 1977:
"What was beautiful was that, normally, my dad was kind of a cool, reserved martial arts man. But he came out of the theater excitedly telling us, 'Can you imagine what kind of fighting you could do with Filipino martial arts and a lightsaber?!' Talk about foreshadowing!"