The debate over who should play live-action Thrawn in ‘Star Wars’ gets ended in an instant

A slew of Star Wars shows are bringing long-beloved characters to live action for the first time.

Upcoming shows plan to shift characters like Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren from animation to live-action, following in the footsteps of other favorites like Ahsoka Tano and Cad Bane, who made their live-action debuts in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. As hype for several upcoming storylines ramps up online, Star Wars fans are naming their picks for some of the most anticipated characters.

A conversation about which actor could best bring Grand Admiral Thrawn to live action was ended before it truly began after it was revealed that Thrawn’s perfect actor was identified years ago.

The conversation started with a post to Reddit’s Star Wars sub and ended just a few hours later with a second, far more popular response post. The first asked viewers to identify their “top actor pick to play Thrawn,” and included a range of screenshots overlaying the character’s blue skin and crisp white uniform on several potential actors. These include two members of the Mikkelsen family, Christian Bale, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hiddleston, to name a few, and several of the options look surprisingly like the vicious Chiss officer.

Fans were soon laying out their votes in the post’s comment section, and pitching a few alternatives of their own. The top pick appears to be Lars Mikkelsen, brother of Mads Mikkelsen and an already-established part of the Star Wars family. The older Mikkelsen brother played Thrawn in the Rebels television show, and many fans believe he should simply make the switch to live-action, and remain in the role.

A far more popular option was pitched by user ChemicalAu, who noted that there’s no point in debating, as “the perfect Thrawn was cast years ago.” Attached was a picture of one of media’s favorite blue men, and a uniquely terrible — but hilarious — pick for the Empire’s intimidating Admiral.

An image of Tobias Fünke, David Cross’s character in Arrested Development, quickly overtook the range of Thrawn alternatives. The character paints himself blue in “The One Where Michael Leaves,” in an attempt to gain attention from the Blue Man Group. Cross pulls off the blue look spectacularly and prompted Star Wars fans to make jokes about a Fünke-esque Thrawn performance.

The idea of Cross as Thrawn tickled fans, and forced many to imagine an eye bleach-worthy scenario in which a pair of itty bitty shorts are worked into the ruthless Admiral’s uniform. We might prefer Mikkelsen’s harshly intelligent portrayal, but a Cross-portrayed Thrawn might just be the scarier option.