Star Wars: Mads Mikkelsen looks spectacular as Thrawn in new image

The name Grand Admiral Thrawn has been mentioned in the Star Wars universe for many years now. First, he appeared as the Legends character in the novels. Then, he was brought into the Disney canon via Star Wars Rebels and a new set of novels titled Thrawn Ascendancy. And now, there might be one more way Thrawn will come into the Star Wars universe.

In season 2 of The Mandalorian, it’s Ahsoka Tano who mentions she’s looking for the Chiss. And fans of Star Wars Rebels know what that potentially connects to: Thrawn was last seen with Ezra Bridger before they both mysteriously disappeared. And if Ahsoka is on the hunt for Thrawn, it means the search for Ezra is the reason why.

Rumors now have it that this search will be the basis of The Mandalorian spinoff series Ahsoka. And that means they’ll eventually need someone to play a live-action version of Thrawn himself when the series premieres.

Of course, right now, Star Wars has not officially announced that there will be a live-action Thrawn. With that, it means they’ve made no casting announcements so far. But the high possibility of him appearing means fans are wondering who’s going to play him in a live-action capacity. And now, with one of the latest fan art illustrations from artist @genezhine on Instagram, we have an idea of what he would look like if he were played by Mads Mikkelsen.

What Mads Mikkelsen could look like as Thrawn in Star Wars

You can check out the illustration of Mikkelsen as Thrawn here on Instagram, and it truly is an impressive mock-up of what could be if Mikkelsen fulfilled the role. Of course, we have to address the elephant in the room, which is the fact that Mads Mikkelsen has already had a role in Star Wars.

The actor appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as Galen Erso, who was recruited to help with the creation of the Death Star. And given it was such a prominent role, we doubt that Mikkelsen would come back again to play yet another character who’ll have a big (if not bigger) role on screen for Star Wars.

That being said, thanks to Mikkelsen’s dastardly turn as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal, we know he would have been able to pull off the villainous character. But then again… there’s someone who is connected to Mikkelsen and Star Wars who could also pull off the role: his own brother!

Yes, Lars Mikkelsen is the voice of Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels, so he’s no stranger to the character. And the Danish actor has some great live-action roles under his belt, appearing in shows like House of Cards, Sherlock and The Witcher. Honestly, the door is wide open for who could play Thrawn, and we’re hoping to see more announcements from Star Wars about the character in the future.

Would you want Mads Mikkelsen to return to Star Wars as Thrawn? Let us know in the comments!