Dave Filoni Talks Casting Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn
While Episode 5 of Ahsoka dove into the former Jedi’s past and explored her complex relationship with her former master Anakin Skywalker, the overarching story in Disney’s latest Star Wars show revolves around the whereabouts of Grad Admiral Thrawn.
Originally introduced in Star Wars Rebels as a cunning Imperial tactician, Thrawn was eventually defeated when Ezra Bridger sacrificed himself to whisk the would-be-tyrant away to a distant galaxy.
Bringing Thrawn To Live Action
Going into the making of Ahsoka, Dave Filoni knew that he needed to find the perfect actor to portray Thrawn — however, the casting was difficult.
Not only had Thrawn only appeared in animation, but the Imperial villain was a fan-favorite from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Luckily, Filoni found his man in Lars Mikkelsen, the man who voiced Thrawn in Rebels.
“It’s a very considered decision. He was in Rebels, obviously. And I loved working with Lars. He’s very fun. It was a very big challenge to cast a voice. How do you find a voice for a character that everyone who read it pictured [Thrawn’s voice] in a different, unique way?
“Eventually, that led me to Lars, and we were all very happy with his performance in Rebels. Coming to this, talking to Jon [Favreau], I was like, ‘It’s going to be very hard to beat Lars.’ Because Lars is in my head. The sound of his voice is kind of what I write to.”
“But we do our due diligence and we ask ourselves, ‘Who else?’ But I always do come back to Lars … You gotta ask yourself honestly. This is it. You get one shot at this,” Filoni remembered.
Mikkelsen Was The Man For The Job
While we have yet to see Mikkelsen’s first appearance in Ahsoka, Filoni for one, was thrilled with the result.
“But I couldn’t be happier … He looks wonderful in blue. Not everyone does, so that’s a factor … It’s a unique thing to bring this character to life … Just his presence and stature — there are many factors he’s able to deliver on, and I couldn’t be happier,” he continued.
For his part, Mikkelsen called the reception to his casting “emotional.” I for one, can’t wait to see Thrawn in live action.
Ahsoka is streaming now on Disney+.
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