ST Allegiant General Pryde/Richard E. Grant in Episode IX

Yeah it's there, but that's too good to be true haha

 

He also has a great accent, immaculate pronunciation, and the mannerisms of Thrawn. Look at this completely unrelated clip from a completely different genre and you can even see shades of it and he's not even trying to channel Thrawn here at all obviously.

 

He reminds me of Tom as Loki. Remember when Loki turned into his true form? He looked a bit like Thrawn too.

 

That's the best demonstration yet.

That said, I really don't think they'll be suddenly throwing Thrawn into the mix. Unless we get a big battle with the FO at the end, that brings in wings of the FO we haven't seen before, and Thrawn is one of the leaders of those wings. Kind of a smallish "bad guy version of Raddus" role. Small but memorable. Could be fine, but not likely, IMO.

 

I love this guy already!

 

Dang he seems so nice in that video. I don't know what I want him to be lol. He could either play a really evil Imperial or a really kind old man like LST. I heard someone mention him playing Lobot. It would be unexpected but not upsetting that's for sure.

 

Lobot? I never thought of that! I could see it. Just looking at his eyes, this is a man in his childhood again. So much joy and gleefulness! So rare to see these days.

 

He’s a real gem. Love this guy.

 

He could definitely play thrawn very well. I dunno whether JJ would bring Thrawn in though.

The first order does need someone with some strategy.

 

Not to forget that he could play a royal in a Stormtrooper suit that gets cut from the final version.
Amazing.

 

Grant will likely play a high ranking military officer or elder statesman of some kind. I'm not sure that there's room for Thrawn in Episode 9. That said, if anyone could pull it off, Grant could do it.

I suppose that Grant could play the role of Rey's father. Grant played a magnificent drunk in Withnail and I. This experience may stand him in good stead to play a sozzled junk trader who sold his progeny for beer money.

 

I"ll admit I don't know jack about Thrawn but my understanding is that he's a big deal, so much so that were he to appear in a movie it seems like he would be the main villain but Ep. IX already has a main villain, Kylo Ren. Also I get the impression that the people that are fans of Thrawn have been hoping for the character to appear on the silver screen for a very long time. After all this anticipation it seems like it would be giving Thrawn short shrift to have him share the spotlight with Kylo Ren. Seems like Thrawn should have his own story and that story should be front and center in whatever movie he's in and shouldn't be a side story in a movie about the Skywalkers.

 

For me, it would feel like Thrawn were being shoehorned into Ep. IX. Because Thrawn carries so much EU baggage, his presence could serve as something of a distraction and detract from the focus on Kylo Ren as the central villain. I have always liked Thrawn as a character, but I don't think that Ep. IX would benefit from his inclusion.

Furthermore, the last two saga movies have established Hux as the military commander of the First Order. Thrawn is an expectionally gifted officer and tactician and he would outshine Hux at every turn. Hux and Kylo Ren also have an established relationship and rivalry. Throwing Thrawn into the mix would detract from this.

 

Isn't Thrawn a bit old during the sequel era?

 

Yes he's like in his 40s around ANH so he'd be in his 70s or 80s. Also the average Chiss lifespan is around 80 years.

 

This. Him, along with Mon Mothma, are likely characters I'd imagine we won't be seeing anymore in the saga timeline, simply due to their age.

That's nothing to say they mightn't appear in some spinoff or other...

"In MY day, we still used a damaged Imperial Star Destroyer to attack the Rebel fleet, even if it was missing half its bridge from an attack-and we LIKED it!!"

 

It could look silly if done with makeup; but I think if they use CGI, to digitally color his skin blue, it would look real. And once they add in the glowing red eyes, it would help give you the sense that Thrawn is an alien, not a human.

I know I am setting myself up for disappointment (after Episode VIII, I am used to it), but I still think Richard Grant is playing Thrawn. It does seem too crowded for another villain; but if Kylo Ren does end up getting redeemed, another villain to cause him to turn back to the light, would help.

 

The key to making it work as Thrawn would be to not have him represent the Empire any longer but exclusively the Chiss Ascendency and make the Chiss as this new race is antagonists for both sides to have to deal with who are coming in after both sides have been weakened.

The great thing about that, and genius-level intellect (and blue skin & red eyes while we’re at it) is that an older (think McKellen Magneto) Thrawn could function to new/casual audiences the same way any new Marvel villain does to casual/new audiences and get my on a basic setup and through screen presence and a display of intelligence. Trek movies also do this kind of thing well. Something J.J. has experience with via Khan.

All of the backstory and Rebels and history of Thrawn would benefit all of us who want it but there are ways to bring him to the screen with presence and to function as the military leader of a vast army and still have him steal scenes even for those who are meeting him for the first time. That’s what’s always made Thrawn work. No matter when or when any of us first heard or saw or him he captivated. He always will. The combination of visual design and character traits gives him that Marvel super villain/ Trek super villain feel. Casuals will then look him up and find out more. Take him out of his Empire uniform and give him a Chiss one and he’d still command the screen. Their uniforms were always visually interesting anyway.

 

Could the Rebels at the start of IX have reached some sort of shaky alliance with a different Imperial remnant than the FO in order to take down Kylo's empire?

Could this other smaller Imperial remnant be led by...Thrawn???

That would certainly be a surprise for IX...and if Thrawn dies in the final space battle, then there's not the question of what happens afterward with the Republic...Thrawn served his purpose in bringing a few big ships and muscle to the fight to take town the First Order, and the Rebels emerge victorious and ready to rebuild.

 

Could you "Heath Ledger" Thrawn?
Thrawn turns out to be Human who just really likes wearing blue makeup.

 

He's a Smurf.

 

I’m not sure emulating Marvel villains is a good approach. Marvel is widely recognized to have really undercooked villains. They are often cited as the weakest element of those films.

 

Thrawn has always felt closer to a Trek villain to me who just so happens to look like a Marvel character was what I was going for more than just Marvel exclusively there. If he’s older and representing the Chiss race and wearing their unique clothing it would feel even more like that.

We always talk about how things are too close to Empire vs Rebels but once you move to Vong / Chiss / Grik it is always going to have slightly more of a Trek feel, IMO. I’m okay with that for growth.