The following contains spoilers for Ahsoka Episode 6, "Part Six: Far, Far Away," streaming now on Disney+.
Ahsoka Episode 6, "Part Six: Far, Far Away," just dropped, and it brings with it the long-promised return of fan-favorite Star Wars villain Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
Thrawn makes his live-action debut midway through the episode, arriving in what appears to be the Chimaera, the Imperial Star Destroyer he captained in the Star Wars Rebels animated series. As revealed in promotional materials released prior to Ahsoka's release, the Grand Admiral sports the same distinctive blue skin and red eyes originally described by his creator, author Timothy Zahn, in 1991 novel Heir to the Empire. The live-action Thrawn's voice will also sound familiar to long-time Star Wars fans, as he is once again portrayed by Rebels voice actor Lars Mikkelsen.
Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni addressed Mikkelsen's re-casting as Thrawn in a recent interview, admitting the Danish actor was the only person he could imagine in the role. "[I thought] 'It's going to be very hard to beat Lars,'" he said of his mindset early on in Ahsoka's production. "Because Lars is in my head. The sound of his voice is kind of what I write to." Filoni added that his decision to bring Mikkelsen back into the Star Wars fold ultimately paid off due to Mikkelsen's "presence" on the set, and said he "couldn't be happier" with the star's performance.
Ahsoka Boss Unpacks What Makes Thrawn Tick
This tracks with previous remarks by Filoni regarding Mikkelsen's villainous turn in Ahsoka, where the showrunner described Ahsoka's creative team as "fortunate" to have the Danish actor onboard. In the same interview, Filoni also weighed in on what makes Thrawn such a compelling baddie, attributing his popularity to how unique he is compared to other Star Wars antagonists. "When Timothy Zahn wrote Heir to the Empire, Thrawn became this very iconic villain, because he was different than anything we'd seen before. He wasn't another helmet-wearing, lightsaber-wielding bad guy, you know?" he explained.
Filoni also highlighted Thrawn's tactical genius as another part of his appeal, a sentiment that Mikkelsen himself echoed in a more recent interview. "He's brutal to a certain point, but he's not stupid," Mikkelsen said of Thrawn. "He utilizes the creativity around him, and I like that. He doesn't just kill people off for the fun of it. He's sort of seven pages ahead of everybody else."
New episodes of Ahsoka premiere on Disney+ on Tuesdays.
Source: Disney+