The fun thing about the word “confirmed” is that anybody can say it even if they have nothing to back it up. It’s like corporations claiming they’re “going green.” Since there’s no legal restriction on how the word can be used, it literally doesn’t have to mean anything, and any CEO can pretend they’re all environmentally friendly now because they got new coffee filters or something. The same may apply to recentStar Warsreports regarding two fan-favorite characters.
A news site claims thatStar Warshas confirmed the actors who will bring 2 fan-favorite characters into upcoming live-action projects. They assert that Lars Mikkelsen will be playing Grand Admiral Thrawn whileMena Massoud will take up the role of Ezra Bridger. There’s no source behind their claims, the outlet simply adds that they “can confirm” these two monumental casting announcements that curiously haven’t been announced anywhere. So any eager fans should fill up a jug of water to compensate for the gigantic grain of salt they’ll be taking with this news.
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The site, known as LRM Online, does provide some reasoning behind its announcements. Mikkelsen recently served as the voice of Thrawn in the animated seriesStar Wars Rebels, allowing for a plausible move to live-action, especially after Katee Sackhoff set a precedent by making the same progression from voice to screen asBo Katan inThe Mandalorian. Meanwhile, rumors have already been swirling around for a while concerningAladdinstar Massoud portraying Ezra (also fromRebels) in the upcoming Disney Plus seriesAhsoka. But once again, nothing has been announced by Disney orStar Warsto suggest anything has officially moved forward with either character beyond simple speculation.
Dubious source aside, the casting choices do make sense. Mikkelsen (yes, he’s the brother of fellowStar Warsalum andupcomingIndiana Jonesstar Mads Mikkelsen) not only voiced Thrawn inStar Wars Rebels, but he’s also an accomplished screen actor as well, even recently appearing in Netflix’s popularThe Witcherseries as Stregobor. Meanwhile, Massoud made an Instagram post back in March featuring a quote from Ezra, sparking lots of talk from fans about him possibly taking on the role.
Both Thrawn and Ezra were last seen blasting off into hyperspace on Thrawn’s ship to an unknown destination in theStar Wars Rebelsseries finale, and fans have wondered about their fates ever since. The series ended with former Jedi Ahsoka Tano and Mandalorian Sabine Wren setting off in search of Ezra, while Ahsoka’s live-action appearance (played by Rosario Dawson) inThe Mandalorianrevealed that she was still searching for Thrawn by that time. This suggests that both characters will likelyshow up in Ahsoka’s upcoming standalone series.
But again, this is all speculation at best. As much as it makes sense, that’s all there is to go by until Disney makes an official announcement. Don’t let the dubiousness of the source dampen that spirit of excitement. There’s nothing wrong with getting excited, after all. Besides, in a universe where midichlorians are still canon, maybe hoping for a casting announcement isn’t all that strange in the grand scheme of things.
