Dave Filoni explains why Lars Mikkelsen had to reprise his role as Grand Admiral Thrawn in AHSOKA

Grand Admiral Thrawn has yet to make his big live-action debut Star Wars: Ahsoka, but it’s coming! It was in the trailer for the series! This character has had an interesting journey in the Star Wars universe since he was first introduced in Timothy Zahn’s 1991 book Heir to the Empire. He was then introduced by Filoni in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, where he is was voiced by Lars Mikkelsen.

It was really cool to know that Mikkelsen would also be playing the live-action version of the character in Ahsoka. The cast is pretty perfect as she not only had the voice, but the look as well. There are two episodes left in the Ahsoka series, and one of those episodes will introduce the character, who will play a major role in future Star Wars projects set during the post-Return of the Jedi period. His story will lead to the big movie that Dave Filoni is developing.

During a recent interview with Star Wars Celebration’s Entertainment Tonight, Filoni revealed why bringing Mikkelsen back as the live-action Thrawn after voicing the character in Rebels was the only casting decision he considered:

“It was a big challenge to choose the voice. You know, how do you find a voice for a character that everyone who read him probably imagined him in a different and unique way?”

“Eventually, that led me to Lars, and we were all very happy with his performance in Rebels. [Jon Favreau said to me] “It will be very difficult to beat Lars.” Because Lars is in my head. The sound of his voice is pretty much what I write to.”

“[I thought] “Now it’s Lars’ turn,” and Jon says, “Okay.” It looks great in blue. Not everyone does, so that’s a factor and we worked on the eyes so… it’s a unique thing to bring this character to life.”

Filoni then praised Mikkelsen’s “presence”. [and] his stature,” and added, “There are a lot of factors that he delivers on, and I couldn’t be happier.” When previously asked if Thrawn was the “big bad of this New Republic era “, Filoni responded, saying, “Definitely, in my eyes.” He went on to say:

“Thrawn became a truly iconic villain, because he was unlike anything we’d seen before. He wasn’t another villain who wore a helmet and wielded a lightsaber.”

Thrawn is “a leader, a military strategist, a Moriarty archetype, someone who will surpass you in terms of thinking and strategy.” These are all the reasons why fans love Thrawn and what makes him such an interesting and unique Star Wars villain. The “Heir to the Empire” is coming and is “a key player in this time period.”

Mikkelsen previously teased Thrawn’s final schedule and how it might not become apparent until the end of the show:

“[Filoni’s] writing is very good. It’s very strong. And all the characters have their own drive, and you probably won’t know what it is until the last scene and I like that. I like that writing, which takes its audience so seriously, that you can see for yourself that we drag them to the revelation. What was it about?”

Speaking about playing the live-action version of Thrawn, Mikkelsen assured fans that they’ll get the same evil character they’ve grown to love over the years:

“It’s hard to get into this without getting into the narrative, you know, because obviously some time has passed between the rebels and where we get into the story here. So, and that time what happened at that time left the mark on him.”, but overall he’s still the same person, man. You see, you see it’s like this, you know, what do you hope for?”

Mikkelsen also shared what makes Thrawn such an interesting villain, saying that his mind is what makes him a formidable foe to Ahsoka and all the other characters in the New Republic era. He explained:

“That guy, he doesn’t have strength. He’s not a Jedi, he’s not a superhero of any kind, but he has brains. He’s got all that in that sense. How does he deal with characters like Ahsoka, Sabine, and all these other people that we’ll see and maybe antagonize us in the live-action series? I think, I mean, what I mean, his superpower is his mind, which is really always like seven steps ahead of everyone. And in that sense they’re even ahead of everyone. of you as an audience, I think. So that’s what you expect.”

Filoni also talked about Thrawn and explained what distinguishes him from the iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader, comparing him to the Sherlock Holmes character Moriarty:

“The genius of Thrawn is that he’s not Darth Vader. He doesn’t even try to be. He doesn’t have the Force. But he’s intelligent and calculating. He’s like a Moriarty, he’ll out-think you and make a chess move.” you, so these are the things I really liked.”

Filoni’s big events planned will lead to the film bringing together all the Star Wars shows set in The Mandalorian. That film will “close” the interconnected stories being told The Mandalorian, The Boba Fett bookAND Ahsoka. It is also said to follow “the escalating war between the Imperials and the nascent New Republic.”

Ahsoka is set after the fall of the Empire. Ahsoka “follows former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) as he investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.