Dave Filoni on Lars Mikkelsen’s Thrawn Return

Television

Entertainment Tonight just released an interview with Dave Filoni that actually took place at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year. Many questions centered on Ahsoka, like the decision to bring Lars Mikkelsen back as Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ahsoka’s longer lekku. 

Here are Filoni’s thoughts on casting Mikkelsen:

“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.

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.”

And on Ahsoka’s upgraded lekku:

“We had a lot of consideration the first time we did it about the length and how that would affect things, especially when swinging lightsabers and doing stunts …

I talked to the team at Legacy [Effects] and we all agreed we could do better … We like to make things look better and more true to what everybody pictures this to be.

They came up with an incredible design. When I saw it applied, I was like, ‘This makes so much sense.’ It’s lighter for them. It’s flexible in a great way … It’s the most significant leap in lekku that’s happened maybe in Star Wars … They’re actually hollow, but sturdy and flexible.”

I like his response about Mikkelsen because I would have been disappointed if they had recast him. It’s probably a good thing for them to be willing to see other people and try things. But I always want things to be as close to the animation as possible. I’m still not sold on Mary Elizabeth Winstead or even Rosario Dawson, the latter of whom most people seem happy with. She’s not bad, but she doesn’t remind me of Ahsoka from The Clone Wars or even Rebels, which wasn’t long ago in-universe. Mikkelsen has a distinct voice, and I think he also has the right look for Thrawn. I’m thrilled they were able to keep him for the translation to live-action, just like Katee Sackhoff as Bo-Katan. 

As for Ahsoka’s lekku, I don’t have that much to say about them. It’s a big improvement; they’re still not quite as long as they were in Rebels, but the ones in The Mandalorian were nearly as short as when she was a youngling in the Clone Wars premiere movie. They look much better now, given the character’s age in-universe. It’s great to hear about the process behind the scenes. Unlike most people at Lucasfilm, I believe Dave cares about fans and what we want and expect to see. I only hope the strikers’ demands can be met soon, and we can get more live interviews instead of leftovers. 

But what do you think about Mikkelsen’s Thrawn casting, Ahsoka’s lekku, or anything else Star Wars? Let us know in the comments!