Reports broke recently that Grand Admiral Thrawn will be the villain of the upcoming Disney+ series Ahsoka, and while unconfirmed these reports further fuelled rumours that have circulated since Rosario Dawson spoke the big bad’s name in season two of The Mandalorian. Since many of the Star Wars series under the control of the crack writing team of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have been shrouded in secrecy, it’s no guarantee we’ll get actual confirmation of Thrawn’s appearance. It’s even less likely we’ll get a casting announcement before the show and the character’s potential live action on-screen reveal.
Introduced by author Timothy Zahn in the “Heir to the Empire” book trilogy in the early 1990s, Thrawn has become an iconic legend in Star Wars lore, finally appearing on-screen in the Star Wars: Rebels animated series in 2016. Mitth’raw’nuruodo (his full name) is a tall, blue-skinned, red-eyed Chiss who rose rapidly through the ranks of the Empire and despite his alien status, became very close to Emperor Palpatine himself. In Zahn’s novels, Thrawn is a military genius who develops groundbreaking, diabolical strategies from studying his enemies’ cultures, and while exacting ruthlessness over his enemies, has a great deal of charisma and an astounding level of loyalty from his men.
Whoever plays Thrawn needs to possess the appropriate levels of charisma, brilliant intelligence, and ruthlessness while being able to maintain a great level of intimidation and even-keeled coolness without being robotic. There are a handful of actors who could play this character to his full potential, and as someone who has read almost every novel Thrawn has appeared in (which are all well worth the read, by the way…there’s an entire book where he is on a mission with Darth Vader), here are my top ten picks for actors who could (and should) play Grand Admiral Thrawn.
*Writer’s note: These are pure fan-castings of my own opinion, and are not based in any reporting or rumours.
10. Lars Mikkelsen
It seems unfair to have a list of actors who could play Thrawn and not include Larks Mikkelsen. The man who voiced Thrawn in the Rebels series, Mikkelsen does possess the right height, intimidation and intelligence to be a good Thrawn in live action. In addition, Filoni and Favreau have pulled from the voices of the animated shows before, as Katee Sackhoff plays Bo-Katan Kryze in both Clone Wars and Mandalorian, while Fennec Shand is voiced and played by Ming-Na Wen in animation and live-action. While not the most shiny, A-listy casting move, this one would make sense and is right out of the Filoni playbook.
9. Charles Dance
Tall, intimidating, and with a voice deep enough to rival the biggest, baddest Star Wars villain of them all, Dance could make a great Thrawn. Not someone who would be intimidated himself, Dance demonstrated how he can take command of a screen in multiple seasons of Game of Thrones as Tywin, the patriarch of the Lannister family and de facto ruler of Westeros. But therein lies the possible problem: Are Tywin and Thrawn too close in similarities? Well, yes and no. But it is the ruthlessness and intelligence of Tywin which make Dance so intriguing as a Thrawn possibility.
8. Ciaran Hinds
Another Game of Thrones alumnus, albeit in a much smaller role, Ciaran Hinds could be a real nice addition to the Star Wars franchise. Hot off an Academy Award nomination for his role in Belfast, Hinds might somehow still be a little too off-the-radar for Filoni and Favreau…but maybe that’s what they could be looking for? Quick to demand respect and with a physically commanding presence, Hinds is someone who has long been a “that guy” in projects from Road to Perdition to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and more, and playing Thrawn could be a great vehicle to thrust him into the mainstream once again.
7. Jason Isaacs
He’s got the villain pedigree as proven in The Patriot and the Harry Potter franchise, and in those same roles he’s been someone of great importance and social/military standing. Isaacs is a really strong case as someone who could be ruthlessly intimidating but also someone who you could find yourself rooting for as an audience member (unless he’s Malfoy…not him). The downside with Isaacs that makes him an extremely unlikely candidate? He currently plays a ship’s commander in a science fiction series (Star Trek: Discovery) so he may want to avoid potential type-casting, and Favreau/Filoni may want to avoid double-dipping actors in similar roles in both franchises. That won’t stop me from celebrating something great that could have been…
6. Vincent D’Onofrio / Tom Hiddleston
Ok, I know this is a 2-for-1, but I break my own rules with these Top Tens all the time. The reason I put these two together is because they are part of the fraternity of badass MCU villains who you still kind of root for. And I don’t know if their existing Disney MCU involvement (D’Onofrio as Kingpin and Hiddleston as villain-turned-hero Loki) makes it more or less far-fetched that they might land a potentially recurring Star Wars arc.
While not as slender as the Thrawn in the books is described, D’Onofrio has one of the more fascinating resumes on the list. And yes, despite his recent thrusting into the spotlight after reprising his role as the Kingpin, D’Onofrio is in a similar situation to Charles Dance in that he’s kind of already played a character who shares several key characteristics as Thrawn.
Meanwhile, Hiddleston absolutely possesses many of the qualities that could make Thrawn great, however again those are the same qualities which led Kenneth Branagh to cast him as Loki back in 2011’s Thor (one of the great underrated moments in MCU pre-production history). He’s almost too charismatic to play Thrawn, which is why he’s not in the top 5.
5. Chris Evans
Yes, I know, I just mentioned Hiddleston is “too charismatic” and here right above him is someone who is Mr. Charisma (or Captain Charisma, if you will). I think this could be a really interesting casting, as Evans is trying to separate himself from the role which made him famous. He has 2019’s Knives Out as the villain, and the upcoming Russo brothers movie The Gray Man in which he also appears to be a villainous character. While diving into another sci-fi franchise may not be what Evans wants right now, I think he could make a case to be a very compelling Thrawn. We know he can play a strategically gifted character, and his good relationship with the Disney machine could make him very appealing to Favreau and Filoni; an on-screen relationship, albeit small, with Favreau may not hurt the cause either.
4. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Ok, hear me out. I know Coster-Waldau doesn’t immediately jump out as a supremely intelligent side, but his role as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones didn’t demand that. He has Against the Ice coming out on Netflix on March 2, and playing Thrawn could be a return to a series leading role that Coster-Waldau is looking for. He has an incredible knack for being both extremely likeable and downright detestable at the same time, which could be exactly the mix the producers are looking for. I know I’d love this casting, but would definitely demand Coster-Waldau to be at the top of his game. Thrawn is also decidely less sarcastic than Jaime Lannister, so this would be a much more serious turn for NCW.
3. Ian McKellen
I don’t really have much to add here because with Sir Ian, you know exactly what you’re getting. This would also probably break nerdism forever, as McKellen would achieve the Holy Trinity of nerd franchises, adding Star Wars to The Lord of the Rings and X-Men. The thing that will ultimately probably keep Sir Ian out of the running here is his age; Thrawn was still a fairly young Chiss when he worked his way through the ranks of the Empire and ran missions with Darth Vader at the behest of Palpatine. However, that won’t stop me from wanting to see this casting.
2. Mark Strong
Maybe the most intriguing (to me) name on the list, Mark Strong might be the perfect “that guy” for the role. Movie fans will recognize him from roles in movies such as Kick-Ass, Robin Hood (the underrated Ridley Scott version), and the first two Kingsman movies. He’s got a good mix of command and likeability, and I think there’s a good ruthlessness there too (he showed a bit of it in Robin Hood). He’s also got a great voice, and I think he would be a really nice pick to play Thrawn. He hasn’t done a ton of physically demanding roles, but he’s done enough that I would totally buy him as someone who had embarked on elite missions with someone like Vader and someone who wouldn’t back down from anything or anyone.
1. Benedict Cumberbatch
I’ll be honest, Benedict is perfect for Thrawn and nobody else can come close to being how perfect he is. He’s literally the dream casting for Grand Admiral Thrawn. That being said, he might be too A-List and too prominent, especially today, for Favreau and Filoni to bring into the Ahsoka series (again, unless that is what they’re looking for). Poised to take home an Academy Award soon for The Power of the Dog and with the Doctor Strange sequel ready to hit theatres in May, this year is already going to be a huge year for Cumberbatch, but I for one hope that seeing him take on the mantle of one of my favourite Star Wars villains ever (yes I said it!) is the cherry on top of his epic year. I don’t know if he’s ready to vault head-first into another franchise while he’s still knee-deep in the MCU, but I really hope this happens because as soon as I saw him play Khan (basically the Thrawn of the Star Trek franchise… which is probably the thing working against him the most) I knew he was the only person who can play Thrawn in live action to 100% accuracy in my mind.
Talking Films 