‘Ahsoka’ Star Lars Mikkelsen On His Return As Admiral Thrawn

Lars Mikkelsen is set to bring the iconic Admiral Thrawn out from the world of animation into live-action once Ahsoka debuts this August. During a recent interview, Mikkelsen revealed why he decided to reprise his Star Wars Rebels role.

Grand Admiral Thrawn has been a fan-favorite Star Wars villain ever since he debuted in the Legends canon, and even moreso when he was brought into the mainstream as a villain Star Wars Rebels. With the character finally set to debut in live-action with Ahsoka, Star Wars veteran Lars Mikkelsen has revealed that he wanted to do something new with the iconic character:

“In many ways, it’s the same character. He’s based on the same material. But we needed to think: Do this right,” Mikkelsen tells Entertainment Weekly, stating he “wanted to create something new.”

Lars Mikkelsen also revealed that he sees Grand Admiral Thrawn’s greatest strength to be his mind, stating that the Star Wars villain uses people in a creative way to achieve his goals:

“He’s a top strategist. He’s always seven paces ahead of anybody else,” Mikkelsen explains “And ruthless, of course. But only when it’s needed, actually. I think he thrives also with the creativity of the surroundings. I mean, he’s not using people in a bad way. He’s using their creativity to reach his goals.”

The excitement of Admiral Thrawn debuting in a live-action Star Wars project isn’t just contained to the fans. According to Lars Mikkelsen, he struggled “keeping [his] tears back” when it was announced he would return in Ahsoka during the Star Wars Day Celebration, and that he had “no doubts” about returning as the character:

“When David finally asked me if I wanted to do it, there were no doubts,” he continued. “Of course, I wanted to do that, so I’m very excited. But [as far as] the transition between Rebels and the actual live-action character? I hope it works!”

Transitioning a beloved Star Wars character from animation to live-action is always a gamble. While some serve as hits like Rosario Dawson’s debut as Ahsoka in The Mandalorian, it’s just as easy to disappoint fans such as with Cad Bane’s appearance in The Book of Boba-Fett. Luckily for fans, they won’t have to wait long to see which side of the aisle Lars Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn lands on.

The Ahsoka Tano series is being developed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. The latter co-created Ahsoka alongside George Lucas, with the heroine making her first apppearance in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

The cast of the Ahsoka Tano series includes Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger and Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, a.k.a. Darth Vader. Ivanna Sakhno and Ray Stevenson round out the cast.

Ahsoka debuts in August 2023 on Disney Plus. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the Star Wars universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!