Now thatStar WarsCelebration has officially confirmed Lars Mikkelsen as the live-action actor to embody the role of Grand Admiral Thrawn in the upcomingAhsokaseries, fans can finally stop wondering whether or not he’s just been being coy all this time when asked about it. But while it may seem like a recent development, his jump from animation to the screen was planned for longer than some might realize.
Rumors have been swirling about Thrawn’s castingfor years for a good reason. The character is a massively popular entity in theStar Warsuniverse stretching back to Timothy Zahn’s “Thrawn Trilogy” books published in the early ’90s. He proved endearing enough to jump to official canon, even when the books were relegated to Legends, and fans have been grateful ever since. The thing is, those gears were constantly turning ever since Thrawn’s return to canon onStar Wars Rebels.
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During his appearance on theAhsokapanel atStar WarsCelebration 2023 in London (viaStarWars.com), Mikkelsen clarified how his move from the recording booth to the iconic blue makeup happened. It turns out there wasn’t much space for uncertainty. “All of my sessions forRebelswere through Skype,” he explained. “At some point, when we were finishing up that series, [RebelsandAhsokacreator Dave Filoni] asked me, ‘Have you ever been to Los Angeles?’ I said, ‘No, I haven’t.’ And he said, ‘Well, we should make that happen.'” That’s right, it looks like Mikkelsen was all but locked in for the live-action role beforeRebelseven finished.
It’s not surprising that Filoni wanted to keep Mikkelsen on. Thrawn was already a beloved character before his modern debut, and even with those high hopes, the actor managed to satisfy pretty much everybody with his performance. His appearance in severalStar WarsLegends novelsestablished him as a cunning military leader who never fell for the clever tricks employed by the Rebels and, later, the New Republic. His philosophy was that to effectively fight an enemy, one had to know the enemy in more ways than just their military prowess. He famously discerned details about foes through studying the art of their cultures, a penchant he carried over into his appearance onRebels, where he was last seen disappearing into the unknown by way of young Jedi Ezra Bridger and a bunch of space whales. (Star Warsis wild.)
Mikkelsen also expressed his admiration for the love ofStar Warsseen on the set ofAhsoka. “And I have never been on a set with so much passion,” he said, directing his comments at Filoni. “People are so passionate about bringing this to life for you.” This sentiment was shared by Rosario Dawson,who plays the titular Jedi Ahsoka Tano. “We are living and breathingStar Warsregularly. We just really, truly love it. And we’ve put that love into this show. It’s not just a job…it’s joy.” That’s probably something to be expected when Filoni is involved, as his love ofStar Warsis pretty famous by now. But it’s still good to hear.
Sure, that could all be an exaggeration for the audience at aStar Wars-focused event. But given everything that’s led up to now, it’s not difficult to see the potential for genuine passion from those involved. People who grew up loving forStar Warsare in charge of making it now, and that’s kind of a beautiful thing. Sure, not everything can be asuccessful masterpiece likeAndor, but there are many different ways to tell incredible stories.
Ahsokais set to premiere its first of 8 episodes starting August 2023 on Disney Plus.
