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Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Ahsoka
After receiving a widely celebrated mention inThe Mandalorianseason 3,Star Warsfans are waiting on tenterhooks to see the first live-action appearance of the notorious villain in the galaxy far, far away—and it’s happening in Ahsoka.
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The eight-issue miniseries debuted on the streaming platform Disney+ on Aug 18, 2025, with a double-bill premiere, and thetension around Thrawn’s appearance is already growing. Here’s everything you need to know about Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Ahsoka Premiere Recap
Within the first episode of Ahsoka, titledPart One: Master and Apprentice, we’re introduced to antagonists Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) who break former Nightsister and Witch of Dathomir Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) out of a New Republic cruiser after being captured by Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson).
Morgan informs Baylan that Ahsoka is now searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn, and the Jedi can be seen elsewhere discovering astar mapthat willreveal Thrawn’s locationin the galaxy. Ahsoka’s apprentice, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), manages to unlock the star map, but it’s stolen by Shin and her droids before she can obtain a location.
In the second episode, titledPart Two: Toil and Trouble, Sabine traces the droids that attacked her back to one of Morgan’s old shipyards on Corellia, and Ahoska and General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) travel there to discover that the place is run by Imperials. Before a hyperdrive intended for Morgan’s ship to reach Thrawn’s hiding place escapes the shipyard, General Hera and her droidChoppermanage to attach atracking device on the ship,which Ahsoka and Sabine follow.
Who Is Grand Admiral Thrawn?
Grand Admiral Thrawn, also known by his full name Mitth’raw’nuruodo, is notorious across the galaxy for being aGrand Admiral in the Imperial Navy, a military leader, and amaster strategistbelonging to the Chiss race, which gives him his iconic blue skin, red eyes, and sharp features. Thrawn’s unique approach to conquering his enemies was to study their culture and philosophy in order to better understand their character, and therefore, discover their weaknesses.
Hailing from his titular role in theThrawn novels by Timothy Zahn, the admiral helmed remnants of the Galactic Empire and led a campaign against Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and more within the literary trilogy. The villain then appeared in the 3D animated seriesStar Wars Rebels. Disney came up with the Canon/Legends split in order to identify which material was considered canon in Disney’s universe and which wasn’t. The Star Wars content told through unofficial stories has been filed under Legends, including some of the original Thrawn books.
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With a number of unofficial stories filling in Thrawn’s origin and tenure as a Grand Admiral, the antagonist has become one of themost notable characters in the Legends continuity, expanding the ruthless villain’s reign. Thrawn is known for thriving on creativity and working with his subordinates to achieve goals, which contrasts with other Imperial leaders like Darth Vader. Since Ahsoka is serving as a sequel to Star Wars Rebels, the Disney+ arc will be following the series finale of the animated series when Thrawn’s Star Destroyer was propelled out of Lothal’s orbit by a Purrgil.
Meet Lars Mikkelsen, Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Actor
Danish actor Lars Mikkelsen will be playing Grand Admiral Thrawn in upcoming episodes of Ahsoka, and it’s a celebrated return to the actor who actuallyvoiced Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels. Fans have relentlessly championed for the actor to return to the character in live-action, and their wishes were answered.
Mikkelsen’s acting career began back in the mid-90s, and the actor has appeared in a number of Danish productions including Edderkoppen, Nikolaj og Julie, and TV movie Afgrunden. Mikkelsen’s notable roles include his performance as Viktor Petrov in House of Cards, Daniel Duval in Devils, and more recently, Stregobor inNetflix’s The Witcher.
Speaking toEntertainment Weekly, Mikkelsen said that he wanted to create “something new” in this live-action portrayal of Thrawn:
“He’s a top strategist. He’s always seven paces ahead of anybody else, and ruthless, of course. But only when it’s needed, actually. I think he thrives also with the creativity of the surroundings. I mean, he’s not using people in a bad way. He’s using their creativity to reach his goals.”
Within the same interview, Mikkelsen also revealed that he struggled “keeping [his] tears back” when the Star Wars Celebration announcement confirmed he would be returning to the character in Ahsoka:
“When David finally asked me if I wanted to do it, there were no doubts. Of course, I wanted to do that, so I’m very excited. But [as far as] the transition between Rebels and the actual live-action character? I hope it works!”
