One of the most anticipated elements of the upcoming “Star Wars: Ahsoka” TV series is the long-awaited arrival of fan favorite villain character Grand Admiral Thrawn who is heavily rumoured to make an appearance.
The series will partially be a continuation of the popular animated series “Star Wars Rebels” and will introduce familiar characters like Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) in live-action form alongside Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka.
Danish actor Lars Mikkelsen voiced the Thrawn character in the series, a strategic mastermind and high-ranking Imperial officer originally created in the 1990s novels and whose name was dropped in the second season of “The Mandalorian”.
As Mikkelsen’s physical stature is comparable to Thrawn, skin/eye color notwithstanding, there are understandable rumors that he’s playing the live-action Thrawn in the series.
However, the actor won’t confirm it. In fact, he suggests it’s not happening. Recently talking with Express UK, he said he was aware of the ongoing fan campaign for his return: “I am aware of that, yes”. Asked if he would consider playing Thrawn again, he admitted: “Well, I haven’t had the offer. But, yes, sure.”
There’s a lot of confusion regarding this. Whilst the chance of the character’s appearance is high, Lucasfilm has gone both ways when it comes to casting live-action versions of animated characters – sometimes reusing the same actors such as Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan Kryze, sometimes going for a ‘bigger name’ such as with Dawson for Ahsoka.
In recent months various outlets have claimed that Mikkelsen is or isn’t playing the role. Adding to the confusion is actor Ray Stevenson who definitely has a key role in the film as an ‘admiral’, but whether it’s Thrawn or not depends upon which outlet you read and no one has officially confirmed anything.
It’s expected we probably won’t know the truth until the first trailer for the series arrives, which will likely be around the time of this year’s Star Wars Celebration convention which kicks off April 7th.
