The highly-anticipated live-action debut of Grand General Thrawn in Ahsoka is a stark disappointment, lacking the menacing presence and detailing that made him a chilling villain in Star Wars Rebels. Lars Mikkelsen’s portrayal of Thrawn is uncanny and unsettling, with a makeup job that appears almost CGI’d or photoshopped. His menacing demeanor is drowned out by a lack of dimension in his face, faint and thin eyebrows, and a lack of depth and contouring. The result is a Grand Admiral who looks almost as flat as his animation did, which diminishes the impact of his long-awaited live-action debut.
Ahsoka’s insistence on Thrawn’s grand reveal being earth-shattering feels overcompensated, and the underwhelming attempt to match the striking blue complexion of Thrawn’s animated version hints at a worrying trend of struggling to fully translate animated characters into live-action. Thrawn’s look in Ahsoka feels flat, with too little attention given to the makeup and costume design, which leaves him looking like a photocopy of the original. This is emblematic of a larger issue in Ahsoka itself, with scenes often seeming too lackluster or subdued compared to other properties in the franchise.
Thrawn in Ahsoka (Photo: Ahsoka)
The animated version of Thrawn, on the other hand, has a distinguished and fearsome appearance, with a high-cheekboned, heavy-browed, menacing mug that sends a chill down the spine. While it may not be possible to achieve the exact same look in live-action, nailing down Thrawn’s signature red stare could have been a challenge worth undertaking. Thrawn’s lackluster presentation in Ahsoka makes us question whether his appearance was really necessary in the series altogether, or if he may have been shoehorned into this live-action project for the sake of setting up something bigger.
It’s been suggested that Ahsoka may have been better off as an animated feature, but that doesn’t mean that every animated Star Wars character should be brought to live-action. Some concepts are better left untouched, and Thrawn’s unobtrusive stature in Ahsoka is another indication that Lucasfilm and Disney+ may have overestimated the success of translating animated Star Wars Rebels characters in live-action.
