The Dave Filoni Star Wars Universe is still going quite strong with the positive reception of Ahsoka boosted by the grand introduction of Lars Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn. The series has been received fairly well by audiences and critics compared to the underwhelming reception of previous projects including The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and The Mandalorian Season 3. The introduction of Mikkelsen’s live-action version of Grand Admiral Thrawn was a widely anticipated aspect of the show since the character was a beloved figure in Star Wars Rebels.
The series aired its penultimate episode on September 26, 2023, and the story points that are addressed in the show are slowly being resolved as audiences brace themselves for a grand finale next week. Mikkelsen’s compelling portrait of his character translated well in live-action and the actor recently talked about reprising his role, this time in person.
Lars Mikkelsen Says Playing Grand Admiral Thrawn Is Not A Walk in the Park
Actor Lars Mikkelsen made his much-anticipated transition in playing the live-action version of Grand Admiral Thrawn in Ahsoka, a role which he voiced in the animated show Star Wars Rebels. The actor recently talked about making the transition and how there was a huge pressure in delivering for the audience. He also acknowledged the difficulty and challenges he faced in playing a character like Grand Admiral Thrawn. He told Entertainment Weekly,
“My biggest challenge is always the language. There’s a barrier because I’m not English; I’m Danish. And it’s quite elaborate English. He’s so poised, and he’s so calm in what he’s doing, this character. So, the challenge is to believe in what you’re doing. He’s not a man who goes for a cup of coffee. He’s in the room giving orders but in a very calm, rational way.”
Mikkelsen was also concerned about how he would look with all the heavy prosthetics that were required for the role, and that he “really wanted to see it in the camera”. In the end, it all worked out and he was quite amazed by the resulting look that proved to be menacing and intimidating.
Also read: Who is Grand Admiral Thrawn – Meet Lars Mikkelsen’s Star Wars Newest Villain Set to Appear in Ahsoka
Creating an Interconnected Universe Within The Shows Was Exciting for Jon Favreau
The Star Wars shows were first linked together when Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka and Temeura Morrison’s Boba Fett appeared in The Mandalorian season 2. Since then, Din Djarin and Ahsoka have appeared in The Book of Boba Fett, thus creating an interconnected universe. Jon Favreau who is the executive producer of all the shows recently talked about the excitement and challenges of building an interconnected universe within the different shows. He told IGN,
“We have to keep checking between our shows as I’m watching and we’re looking at scripts. Sometimes it’s not as obvious in the script until you start to see it. The writing process always continues all the way till you’re done, because you always have insights that the story tells you. And so as we’re laying the stuff out, because then we have what exists in canon. And we also have stuff we love to pull in from Extended Universe…Legends.
There are certain stories and characters that people have connected very, very much with over the years that might not officially be part of what is considered official Star Wars, but because it’s so much a part of the Star Wars community, and as Dave did with Clone Wars, bringing those elements in because they already feel like they’re running parallel to it…And again, trying to bring together Star Wars as much as we can and make it all align in a way that feels satisfying and decisive.”
Audiences can catch up on the latest happenings in the Dave Filoni Star Wars Universe as Ahsoka nears its conclusion. All the released seven episodes of Ahsoka can be streamed on Disney+.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, IGN
