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Is Grand Admiral Thrawn Coming to Ahsoka? Here's What We Know About The Star Wars Villain's Live-Action Appearance


Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the most iconic antagonists in Star Wars, was voiced by Lars Mikkelsen in the animated series, Star Wars Rebels, and according to recent rumors, the actor will reprise his role in Dave Filoni's upcoming live-action Disney+ series, Ahsoka.

When Rosario Dawson brought Ahsoka Tano into live-action in Disney+'s The Mandalorian, her mission was made clear: she's on the hunt for Grand Admiral Thrawn and likely the Force-sensitive Ezra Bridger.

Since it's confirmed that Natasha Liu Bordizzo will play Sabine Wren in the upcoming Disney+ series, it looks like Ahsoka is shaping up to be a live-action reunion of Star Wars: Rebels. But ever since Dawson's Ahsoka mentioned Thrawn, one of the biggest questions fans have been asking is: "Who will play the iconic villain in Ahsoka?".

Here's everything you need to know about Grand Admiral Thrawn's potential appearance in the upcoming Ashoka series:

Who's playing Thrawn in Ashoka?

Grand Admiral Thrawn
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Credit: Lucasfilm
Grand Admiral Thrawn

According to Bespin Bulletin, several sources to the production (or have contacts with those who are) insist that Mikkelsen will play the live-action incarnation of Grand Admiral Thrawn. One insider claimed that the actor's costume will match the familiar white uniform the villain wore in the Star Wars Rebels animated series.

Rumors surrounding Mikkelsen's involvement with Ahsoka has been circulating online for at least a year now. In July 2021, the Danish star was named alongside Aladdin's Mena Massoud in a casting report that they were officially cast to play Thrawn and Ezra Bridger, respectively. However, this report was later debunked when Eman Esfandi was cast to play Ezra in September 2022, although the villain part remaining open continues to keep hopes for Mikkelsen's reprisal alive.

However, at the time of this writing, neither Disney nor Lucasfilm have officially announced about casting the Thrawn role for Ashoka series, and Mikkelsen is not officially signed to the production at this time. Despite the fact Ahsoka is currently in production, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau still kept Thrawn's casting under wraps throughout Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo.

Will Ahsoka feature any actors from Star Wars Rebels?

Star Wars: Rebels
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Credit: Lucasfilm
Star Wars: Rebels

Ahsoka herself is not played by the voice actor who first brought her to life, as star Rosario Dawson previously took over the role from Ashley Eckstein, the voice actor of Ahsoka in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Rebels. However, Eckstein will still voice Ahsoka for Disney+'s upcoming animated anthology series, Tales of the Jedi.

Natasha Liu Bordizzo will reprise Sabine Wren for the upcoming Ahsoka series. Bordizzo made it clear that viewers don't need to be familiar with the animated show to enjoy the live-action series."It’s great for them to have seen [Rebels], but we’ve got a standalone chapter as it is," she told Empire.

If Lars Mikkelsen ends up reprising the Thrawn role, it will make him one of only a few stars invited to play the live-action version of a Star Wars character they've voiced before.

When will see Thrawn in Ahsoka?

Grand Admiral Thrawn Ahsoka
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Credit: Lucasfilm
Grand Admiral Thrawn Ahsoka

There is currently no release date for Ahsoka but it's expected to premiere in late 2023, as The Mandalorian Season 3 will be taking an early slot for Star Wars content in Disney+. It's likely that Lucasfilm and Disney will confirm an official release date within a few months, and Epicstream will update you in this article once we get an official update. It's still unknown if Thrawn will appear in the first episode of the show, so there's still a possibility that fans will have to wait a week or longer to get their first official look at the live-action Thrawn.

Is Jude Law playing Thrawn?

Thrawn
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Credit: Lucasfilm
Thrawn

At the Star Wars Celebration in 2022, Lucasfilm announced Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, an upcoming Disney+ series helmed by Jon Watts, but details are still being kept under wraps. When Jude Law was cast to play the lead role, fans speculated that he might be playing Thrawn, but Lucasfilm has since denied this.

The live-action debut of the fan-favorite Chiss villain would be a closely guarded secret, but there's a lot of good reasons why Skeleton Crew seems like a perfect series for Thrawn's live-action appearance.

Speaking about Skeleton Crew at Star Wars Celebration, Watts said: "This is a show that we've been working on for a really long time. It's a story of 10-year-old kids from a tiny planet who get lost in the Star Wars galaxy. It's the story of their journey home."

A story set after the fall of the Empire about a group of people exploring the galaxy seems like a perfect way to tell a story that features Thrawn.

There's currently no official confirmation that Jude Law will play Thrawn, but Epicstream will update you with the latest news once Disney and Lucasfilm officially reveal more casting details.

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