The Mandalorian Ahsoka Grand Admiral Thrawn

Good I am glad. Lars here we come

 

I don't know if this has been brought up yet, but does anyone think there's a chance live action Thrawn could have his traditional pupil-less red eyes? I know the pupils help to show where he's looking, but for me he doesn't quite feel like Thrawn to me unless he has the solid red eyes.

I actually think there's a chance. For one thing, we've seen with Ahsoka's montrals and lekku that they aren't beholden to recreating animated characters exactly as they are in their animated appearances. And for another, The Mandalorian took a risk by having its protagonist keep his helmet on for most of the show and I think it's safe to say it paid off. In comparison, having a villain without pupils isn't that big of a deal.

 

It has nothing to do with the style of animation, it's all about convenience and disassembly.

 

I do agree that they are not obligated to replicate Thrawn’s look from animation. Some aspects could ultimately be considered stylistic choice. Certainly I would say that might be the case for his facial ridges, especially because of how prevalent facial prosthetics were historically among aliens in TV shows. Will they go so far as to change his eyes? Possibly, though somehow that feels more dramatic. And I do think it would be taking away from the actor’s toolset.

And yet, you’re right. They made something similar work with Mando. But helmets/masks might be their own thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did consider it and perhaps even tried it our during pre-production. I do think a few changes would be helpful as they bring him into live action.

And for example, looking at the artwork that was included with the Collector’s Edition of the Thrawn Ascendancy book, I can see the appeal of recreating something closer to his original look, as it seems much more realistic:

 

I think Thrawn with red eyes pupils will be in live action as well, his art work in books and comics still have them.

 

I prefer the pupil look.

Though in general I’m just curious how they’ll pull the red eyes off. Contacts like that make it very hard for one to see, so perhaps it’ll be CG additions.

 

With the tech they have now...I'm sure it will look great whatever they decide to do.

 

I think they did something similar with Christoph Waltz’ Blofeld in the new Bond films.

The first glimpse of Thrawn in live action is going to be something. There’s enough of a distinct look that I think the character can really become an iconic visual not unlike Maul.

 

We also to have to remember that Rebels is a stylized cartoon...so this is gonna be more the "What if he was real" look.

Because no matter who they cast I don't think they are gonna die the actor who plays Ezra's hair Blue.

Same with Thrawn who in rebels has more a blue tint to his hair, when normally it's black.

 

I think the covers for the new Thrawn novels have a pretty good basis for how the character would look in a realistic aesthetic.

 

Yeah, going back to Heir to the Empire.

 

It seems to vary visually.

 

He’s had visible pupils consistently in canon. I think that first art piece from Treason is edited, or at least not the final version. He’s also consistently had his facial ridges, though those I suspect could be eliminated because of the associations with Star Trek or budget alien makeup on TV. I also think they might be there for stylistic purposes in Rebels, to match Lars’s facial structure.

 

I believe it's worth bringing up Pierce Brosnan. What would you guys think of Brosnan playing Thrawn?

 

Lars or bust for me until they make a official announcement

 

Now I see that young Thrawn from Legends look like Henry Cavill

 

I imagine he’s going to be a bit busy now that he’s signed on to play Dr Fate in the DC films.

But as to his suitability for the role of Thrawn? I don’t think he’d do well. He’s too theatrical in his performances for a character that is really supposed to be quite stoic and subtle. If they were to cast a 007 to play Thrawn, I think Daniel Craig would probably be more appropriate playing that kind of cold character.

 

It's why I like Lars Mickelson over Cummberbatch

Cummberbatch also comes off as a bit too theatrical

 

I was sold on Mickelson being the obvious choice by someone on here - I wasn't all too aware of his live action work, although I had seen him in things without realising he was the guy who voiced Thrawn.

I've seen some brilliantly bad suggestions whenever casting Thrawn is mentioned, I think it's got to be Mickelson really.

...him or Zac Effron, obviously.

 

If for some reason this did not end up being played by Mikkelsen, I do think Jason Isaacs fits the overall tone and look of the character. The main issue would be that it would be a very different tone from what was set up by Mikkelsen in Rebels and emulates by the Thrawn audio book narrator (is it Marc Thompson?). But, I do sort of like the idea of there being different takes to characters.

Unrelated to casting, and based on what we’ve seen, do we think he’s also the true power behind Moff Gideon? The experiments with Grogu would suggest the Sith Eternal rather than Thrawn, as would the self-destruct protocol that seems to be in place for higher-ranked officers. It doesn’t seem very Thrawn-like to me to have something like that in place. I wonder what that means for Thrawn’s faction, and whether they really operate in the same sector as Gideon’s or are in fact somewhere else altogether.

 

Maybe Thrawn is fighting the Yuuzhan Vong.

 

More likely to be Grisk related activity as the Grisk are essentially the defacto Yuuzhsan Vong.