Grand Admiral Thrawn is back in the Star Wars news. Don’t get too excited though; this does not signal the early release of the next book of the Ascendency series from Timothy Zahn. Nor does the news confirm that the fan-favorite villain will appear in the upcoming Ahsoka live-action series. (Although, let’s be honest; that’s pretty much a foregone conclusion.) Instead, he’s back in the news for a couple of very different, and interesting reasons. One, believe it or not, is tied to American politics.
The first bit of news does indeed stems from recent political events. (And NO, not the violent insurrection at the US Capitol.) We’re talking about the runoff election for Georgia’s two Senate seats. Proving that the Internet is forever, an old tweet from 2012 has resurfaced. In it, Senator-elect Jon Ossoff posits on the subject of the then-upcoming, new Star Wars trilogy, and whether or not it will feature Thrawn:
Thrawn and a Star Wars loving Senator
Whatever your politics, it’s always nice to hear to that there are those in the public realm (be it actors, politicians or otherwise) are just as big of Star Wars fans as we are. Among those fans now, however, is a movement to fan-cast Thrawn for the aforementioned Ahsoka series. At Disney’s Investor Day several weeks ago Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced the series together with a slew of others. As much as folks are excited to see Rosario Dawson back as Ahsoka Tano, they are even more so to see Thrawn in live-action, as well.
But…. Can you imaging Robert Downey, Jr. as Thrawn? If some fans have their way, it could be possible (even if it’s not particularly likely). Downey, Jr. is a phenomenal actor, granted. But is he right for the calm, calculating, blue-skinned, red-eyed Chiss? Stay tuned here to That Hashtag Show later this morning for a discussion on just that topic.
