Last week’s episode of The Mandalorian was a major one, as it saw the debut of Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano. Not only that, but it teased the arrival of another fan favorite character from the animated side of the Star Wars universe, too.
Ahsoka was revealed to be on the tail of Grand Admiral Thrawn, the blue-skinned imperial villain who played a major role on Star Wars Rebels. The foe got a name-check, so it stands to reason that we’ll eventually see him on the show, but who could bring him to life?
Well, an epic piece of fan art imagines Doctor Strange star Benedict Cumberbatch inhabiting the part. The design, which you can see below, comes from digital artist ApexForm, who wrote in his Instagram caption:
“With recent revelations in @themandalorian chapter 13, it’s only a matter of time before we see the live action debut of Admiral Thrawn. But the real question? Who will play him? My choice is Benedict Cumberbatch. He has the look, and the acting ability to play calculated and sinister.”
Of course, it would be ironic if Cumberbatch played Thrawn on The Mandalorian, as the last actor to bring him to life – Rebels’ Lars Mikkelsen – appeared opposite the MCU regular in the BBC’s Sherlock. But is this a casting that’s likely to happen? Well, Cumberbatch’s known to be a big Star Wars fan and he was routinely rumored to be up for roles in the Sequel Trilogy. He might be too busy to commit to a supporting part in the Disney Plus show, though, as he’s doubling up as Stephen Strange in both Spider-Man 3 and Doctor Strange 2.
Thrawn was last seen in the Rebels series finale, with both him and enemy Jedi Ezra Bridger going missing. We can assume that Ahsoka is after the big bad on The Mandalorian as part of her ongoing search to locate Ezra and it seems like this plotline will either be of greater importance in season 3 or else it’ll be the thrust of a spinoff show for Dawson’s heroine.
But tell us, would you like to see Cumberbatch as Thrawn? Sound off in the usual place below.
Published: Dec 2, 2020 02:39 pm