When Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) mentioned Thrawn by name in The Mandalorian Season 2, the question arose as to whether we would see the Chiss Grand Admiral in live-action. Today the answer went from "perhaps" to an emphatic "yes" as it was announced at Star Wars Celebration Europe that actor Lars Mikkelsen has been cast as Thrawn in the upcoming Disney+ series Ahsoka.
This will not be Mikkelsen's first foray into Star Wars, as the actor also played the character of Grand Admiral Thrawn for two seasons of Star Wars: Rebels, where he often faced off against both Imperial bureaucracy and the ragtag rebel crew of The Ghost, in addition to Ahsoka herself. The series is shaping up to be something of a Rebels reunion, with Natasha Liu Bordizzo taking on the role of rebel and artist Sabine Wren. It was also recently announced that Eman Esfandi will appear in the series as Ezra Bridger, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead also joining the cast reportedly playing Hera Syndulla.
From Animation to Live-Action Star Wars
Mikkelsen is also not the first actor to follow their character in making the jump from animation to live action. Season 2 of The Mandalorian saw the character of Bo-Katan Kryze brought back into the story, played by actress Katee Sackhoff, who also voiced the character in Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
In addition to Mikkelsen, Dawson, Bordizzo, and Esfandi the cast of Ahsoka also includes Ivanna Sakhno and Ray Stevenson in mystery roles. Also returning is Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, a role he originated in the Star Wars prequels, and reprised to great acclaim in Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. While in that series, he primarily played present-day Darth Vader, with where Ahsoka falls in the timeline, the character is long dead, meaning he will probably appear as Anakin Skywalker in flashback. Given how well those scenes went in Obi-Wan Kenobi, one can only hope.
Star Wars is also a bit of a family affair for Mikkelsen, as his younger brother Mads Mikkelsen is also no stranger to the galaxy far, far away. The latter stars in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as Imperial architect (and designer of that Death Star failsafe) Galen Erso. Disney+ will revisit the world of Rogue One with the second season of hit series Andor, which premiered last fall to great success.
Ahsoka will arrive on Disney+ in August 2023.