Credit: LucasfilmLars Mikkelsen won’t be messing around with Thrawn…
Though it’s been a winding road, fans now know for sure that Lars Mikkelsen will be reprising his role as Grand Admiral Thrawn for the upcoming live-action Ahsoka series on Disney+. The mysterious villain will play a pivotal role, anticipated to be much like his role in the now-defunct Expanded Universe of Star Wars, and fans have only seen the beginning!
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Fans of Dave Filoni’s Star Wars: Rebels and of the old Expanded Universe will already be familiar with Grand Admiral Thrawn (Mikkelsen), an intimidating Chiss with eerie blue skin, black hair, and blood-red eyes. A complicated villain who, much like Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), always seems to be one step ahead of those on the opposing side. He cuts an imposing figure and will definitely be a welcome addition to the live-action canon!
The question remains, however: how will Thrawn (Mikkelsen), who by all accounts has nothing extraordinary about him, compete with protagonists who have The Force, beskar armor, and the entire New Republic? This task would be even more difficult given recent developments in Season 3 of The Mandalorian, in which Moff Gideon (Esposito) and the Shadow Council all but denounced Thrawn (Mikkelsen) for his lack of involvement.
As always, it looks like Thrawn (Mikkelsen) may well be one step ahead. The Direct recently reported on comments made by the actor in which he reveals the key weapon, his “superpower” against the former Jedi and all the heroes of the New Republic:
“How does he stack up against characters like Ahsoka, Sabine, and all these other people we’re going to see and possibly antagonize in the live-action series? I think, I mean, what I mean, his superpower is his mind, which is really and always like seven paces ahead of everybody. And I’m in that sense also ahead of you as an audience, I think. So that’s what you expect.”
Even though he doesn’t have The Force, and the odds are stacked against him, Thrawn (Mikkelsen) is canny, he’s smart, and he’s able to see what others usually don’t. If the live-action Thrawn (Mikkelsen) follows in the footsteps of his Expanded Universe counterpart, he may not be without help against The Force anyway: In the books and comics, that version of the character kept a pet called the Ysalimari, a furry lizard-like creature that had the power to repel the force, rendering a Force User unable to use their powers.
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Could this be one of the ways the Grand Admiral uses his mind to combat Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson)? Viewers will find out soon! Ahsoka will be streaming on Disney+ this August and stars Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger, Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, and Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn. The series is expected to follow Ahsoka (Dawson) as she pursues Thrawn (Mikkelsen) across the Galaxy,
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