Star Wars: Ahsoka Reveals First Look at Thrawn

Star Wars: Ahsoka just gave fans their best look at Grand Admiral Thrawn yet. Lucasfilm and Disney+ decided to shock the entire Internet by dropping the trailer for their upcoming series. In the newest clip, the Star Wars Rebels plot threads are humming along as both the villain and multiple elements of the animated favorite are here doing backflips. But, for a lot of fans, getting Lars Mikkelsen as Thrawn in there is the big prize. A lot of people wondered if Lucasfilm, Dave Filoni and the brain trust would be circling back to the animated favorites here. It seems like fans of those TV properties are living out their dreams with live-action Admiral Thrawn in Ahsoka. Take a look down below. 

In a recent Empire Magazine interview, Filoni said that the biggest threat in The New Republic era is Grand Admiral Thrawn. Here’s what he had to say: “Definitely, in my eyes. When Timothy Zahn wrote Heir to the Empire, Thrawn became this very iconic villain, because he was different than anything we’d seen before,” Filoni explained. “He wasn’t another helmet-wearing, lightsaber-wielding bad guy, you know? There’s a lot of pull to make characters that are like Vader, because it is so iconic.”

“But the boldness that Tim had was to make somebody that wasn’t like that, that didn’t have those abilities, but could fight in a different way. In the words ‘Star Wars,’ the ‘war’ part of it — him being a Grand Admiral, a leader, a military strategist, a Moriarty archetype, someone that will out-think you, out-strategize you — that really resonated,” the creative continued. “He’s a critical player in this time period. We’re fortunate to have that character, and fortunate to have Lars [Mikkelsen] playing him.”

Lars Mikkelsen Touched By Fan Response At Star Wars Celebration

When Star Wars: Ahsoka debuted on the stage at Star Wars Celebration, the joy in the room was palpable. It feels like Mikkelsen’s villain just turned the atmosphere up to 11. Ahsoka is a character that people have really taken to. But, having her along with the larger Rebels squad is just a love bomb. Entertainment Weeekly’s Dagobah Dispatch spoke to the actor about his time no that stage and he couldn’t hide the emotion.

“It was a very emotional moment that I didn’t expect to have,” Mikkelsen remembered. “But I think there’s a lot of love to be taken care of from the audience. And I felt enormous gratitude. It was amazing. Never tried anything like that.”

“I had a hard time actually keeping my tears back,” he added. “I was really tearing up. I didn’t expect that.”

Thrawn Is A Little Different For Star Wars: Ahsoka

Some fans picked up on some slight differences in line delivery in what little we’ve heard from Thrawn in live-acton. Mikkelsen says there’s not really reason to worry. It all comes down to the differences between voicing an animated character and delivering the performance in person.

“I’m not losing the voice, but I am tweaking it into live-action,” Mikkelsen told Empire Magazine. “When you do an animated character, there’s a whole melodious approach. When you’re there as a real person, that would be just slightly too much.”

The star mused, “I love the way he rises through the Empire, and the way he carries himself in that environment to become somebody. And then of course, how can you not like a very clever villain? Thrawn takes the time to understand his opponent’s culture, and what they’re about. It’s lovely to be playing that.”

Star Wars: Ahsoka Is Coming Up Quick

Fan-favorite Star Wars hero Ahsoka Tano returns in the brand new series on Disney+. Rosario Dawson stars in Star Wars: Ahsoka, premiering in August on the streamer. The series picks up after the events of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which we saw the former Jedi searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and helping Luke Skywalker train Grogu. Ahsoka will be joined on her new mission alongside longtime allies Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as they attempt to track down Thrawn, who was last seen disappearing to the far reaches of space after a confrontation with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Star Wars: Ahsoka is the latest live-action series from Lucasfilm’s creative duo of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.

Are you hyped to see more of Thrawn? Let us know in the comments down below!