It’s not exactly a secret that the Star Wars fanbase is known for poking fun at pretty much everything, from some questionable Sequel Trilogy dialogue (see, ‘somehow Palpatine returned’) to esteemed Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi smuggling a young Princess Leia out of an Imperial hanger via comically oversized “totally-not-hiding-something” coat. But after the latest trailer for the Disney+ Ahsoka debuted earlier this week, fans might’ve just made the most perplexing observation yet.
The release date of Dave Filoni’s highly-anticipated Ahsoka series is quickly approaching, and fans couldn’t be more excited to see Rosario Dawson’s eponymous ex-Jedi back in action. While story specifics remain kept under tight wraps, the show picks up roughly around the same time as Season 3 of The Mandalorian and will see Ahsoka reuniting with old friends from the animated Star Wars Rebels—as well as a familiar foe.
Rounding out the cast are Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who will play live-action Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren, respectively. The late Ray Stevenson will also play the mysterious, orange lightsaber-wielding Darksider Baylan Skoll, while Ivanna Sakhno will play his apprentice, Shin Hati.
Perhaps most important is fan-favorite Star Wars baddie Grand Admiral Thrawn, who will be brought to life in live-action by his Rebels voice actor, Lars Mikkelsen. His casting was confirmed during April’s Star Wars Celebration Europe, with his role as Ahsoka‘s overarching villain, and potentially, the primary antagonist of Filoni’s “Mando-Verse” crossover movie, being one of the most eagerly awaited elements of the upcoming series.
We finally got a first glimpse at the character in live-action when Lucasfilm released the first teaser trailer for Ahsoka to the public following its premiere at Celebration. In it, fans saw a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of the back of Thrawn’s head, complete with his signature white admiralty jacket and vibrant blue skin.
Now, we have a better sense of the character’s live-action redesign thanks to the recently-unveiled full-length Ahsoka trailer, which shows a head-on shot of Mikkelsen’s Thrawn. The clip also gave us new insights into the tumultuous relationship between Ahsoka and Sabine, as well as a brief holo visual of Eman Esfandi’s Ezra Bridger, who’s been missing in the Unknown Regions of space since the Rebels finale.
Check out the official trailer for Lucasfilm’s Ahsoka below:
To fans’ delight, Thrawn looks great. Visual effects artists managed to adapt most of his classic animated features to real life for Ahsoka, including his bright red eyes and sinister sneer—though the latter can be chalked up to Mikkelsen’s spot-on embodiment of the Chiss admiral.
But even though the consensus was generally positive regarding Thrawn’s new look, others were quick to point out one truly eyebrow-raising thing: he vaguely resembles billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
This unexpected comparison made its rounds across social media platforms shortly after the trailer dropped Monday morning, with some even dubbing Mikkelsen’s villain “Smurf Musk.” And the funny thing is, they’re not wrong. The blue-skinned Thrawn does indeed bear a striking resemblance to the controversial Twitter boss, as observed by many users online.
On the social media service, this individual joked, “Why does Grand Admiral Thrawn look like a Smurf version of Elon Musk,” accompanied by a photo of Mikkelsen’s character:
Why does Grand Admiral Thrawn look like a Smurf version of Elon Musk pic.twitter.com/ImUASN2g83
— I Am Blue (@Iam8lu3) July 11, 2023
Meanwhile, this outraged user made the same comparison, turning on all-caps to write, “HAVE WE NOT SUFFERED ENOUGH????”
WHY DOES THRAWN LOOK LIKE ELON MUSK?????? HAVE WE NOT SUFFERED ENOUGH????
MOREOVER, ICE MUST BE DESTROYED pic.twitter.com/tkParMBHPi
— ICE must be destroyed 🏴🏳️⚧️ (@Itmechr3) July 11, 2023
This fan went as far as to speculate that Star Wars had actually secretly cast Elon Musk in the role, tweeting “oh wow they got elon musk to play thrawn:”
oh wow they got elon musk to play thrawn pic.twitter.com/OYf7epJ5Ri
— agentcodybanks ._/ (@_cilantru) July 11, 2023
An acting gig on Star Wars does, for better or worse, seem like typical Elon Musk behavior, and he’d probably jump at the chance to be on the show purely to get a reaction out of fans. However, a guest actor role does seem a little below his pay grade, and considering his strong opinions of the Walt Disney Company, it seems unlikely he’d sign onto a project supervised by the House of Mouse anytime soon.
In addition to their uncanny resemblance, there are some…pretty ironic similarities between the two in terms of personality, from their obsession with the color blue to their nit-picking managerial tendencies, to the mistreatment of their subordinates. They also just so happen to lead sprawling, all-powerful organizations that have the potential to irreversibly damage society as we know it. So yes, it’s safe to say that both Thrawn and Musk aren’t exactly winning “Boss of the Year” anytime soon.
The arrival of a Star Wars trailer is always good for a bit of Twitter trolling from fans, and it seems like Ahsoka is no exception, no matter how highly-regarded the series already is. Elon Musk or not, fans can look forward to seeing Grand Admiral Thrawn grace their screens in live-action when the new series lands on Disney+ this fall.
Ahsoka will be available for streaming exclusively on Disney+ beginning August 23, 2023.
Be honest—do you see a resemblance between Elon Musk and Lars Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn? Let us know in the comments below.