Grand Admiral Thrawn reaction at Star Wars Celebration made Lars Mikkelsen cry

Dalton Ross
·3 min read
12
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

There were a lot of exciting reveals that garnered big reactions at Star Wars Celebration. The appearance of Daisy Ridley to help announce a new Rey film was certainly up there, and an advance Mandalorian episode screening was met with a very enthusiastic response.

But perhaps the most overwhelming feedback came during the panel for the upcoming Ahsoka (which premiers this August on Disney+), when a special in-person trailer showed the face of evil. Or at least the face of Grand Admiral Thrawn. And that face then showed up on stage.

Larks Mikkelsen; Thrawn in 'Star Wars Rebels'
Larks Mikkelsen; Thrawn in 'Star Wars Rebels'

Lucasfilm via Getty Images Larks Mikkelsen; Thrawn in 'Star Wars Rebels'

Lars Mikkelsen, who voiced the brilliant and cunning imperial officer in animated form on Star Wars Rebels, took the stage to raucous applause to help announce that he would also be portraying the character in live action on Ahsoka. And the experience was overwhelming for the 59-year-old actor as well, as he relayed when he joined Ahsoka costar villains Diana Lee Inosanto, Ivanna Sakhno, and the late Ray Stevenson as guests on EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast.

"It was a very emotional moment that I didn't expect to have," Mikkelsen says. "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."

How emotional was it for the man playing a character that often appears to have no emotion? "I had a hard time actually keeping my tears back," reveals the actor. "I was really tearing up. I didn't expect that."

Nor did Mikkelsen even expect to be asked to reprise his role, but when creator Dave Filoni came calling (again), the Grand Admiral was more than happy to answer. "When David finally asked me if I wanted to do it, there were no doubts. Of course, I wanted to do that, so I'm very excited. But [as far as] the transition between Rebels and the actual live-action character? I hope it works!"

Thrawn is glimpsed in the 'Ahsoka' trailer
Thrawn is glimpsed in the 'Ahsoka' trailer

Lucasfilm Ltd. Thrawn is glimpsed in the 'Ahsoka' trailer

So do fans, who first started charting the journey of Grand Admiral Thrawn upon his introduction in Timothy Zahn's revered 1995 expanded universe novel, Heir to the Empire, which kicked off the first Thrawn trilogy of books. As for if the Thrawn we meet on Ahsoka will be different from the one introduced on Rebels, Mikkelsen notes, "In many ways, it's the same character. He's based on the same material. But we needed to think: Do this right."

Mikkelsen says he did not go back and watch old Rebels episodes to help refamiliarize himself with the blue-skinned, red-eyed Chiss also known as Mitth'raw'nuruodo, noting that while it's the same character, he also "wanted to create something new." And how does he see that new yet familiar character we will see on Ahsoka? Is he an irredeemable villain, or a military genius merely employing tactics to achieve the ultimate goal of victory? Maybe it's a little bit of both.

"He's a top strategist," says Mikkelsen. "He's always seven paces ahead of anybody else. And ruthless, of course. But only when it's needed, actually. I think he thrives also with the creativity of the surroundings. I mean, he's not using people in a bad way. He's using their creativity to reach his goals."

We'll see if those goals are reached when Ahsoka debuts in August.

To hear our entire interview with Mikkelsen, Diana Lee Inosanto, Ray Stevenson, and Ivanna Sakhno, check out the latest episode of the Dagobah Dispatch.

Related content: