Last year, a couple of popular rumours were seemingly confirmed when it was reported that Ahsoka had cast Aladdin star Mena Massoud as Ezra Bridger, and that Lars Mikkelsen would reprise his Star Wars Rebels role as the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn. Both seemed like perfect casting decisions, though the latter made fans very happy, especially as Mikkelsen really made Thrawn his own.
Over the weekend, we started hearing online that both Ezra and Thrawn have only just officially been cast, and common sense tells us that's probably been done in time for a big Star Wars Celebration announcement. This contradicts those reports from 2021, as do comments from Jordan Maison.
The trusted Star Wars scooper says he's also heard that Thrawn has been cast, but says it wouldn't be Mikkelson taking on the role. If correct, a lot of fans are going to be understandably disappointed.
However, it's also not a major surprise.
While Jason Isaacs was perfect as The Grand Inquisitor in Star Wars Rebels, Rupert Friend has been chosen to play the live-action version of the villain in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren are also characters who have been re-cast for their jump from animation, and as perfect as Mikkelsen would have been as Thrawn, Lucasfilm clearly feels they've found a better actor for the role (we also can't discount the possibility that the actor simply had no interest in playing Thrawn here).
We'll keep you updated on this one, but hopefully, an official announcement is now imminent.