Jude Law Secretly Playing Fan-Favorite Star Wars Villain?
There is fan speculation that Jude Law could secretly be playing Grand Admiral Thrawn in The Skeleton Crew.
Could Jude Law be playing the villainous Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew? Fans certainly think so. With Star Wars: Skeleton Crew being shrouded in mystery, fans are inevitably going to go wild with speculation and this guess at Law’s role certainly isn’t far-fetched.
All we know right now is that Jude Law has been cast in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and that the series will center around a group of kids lost in space. We also know that Jon Watts created the series with Chris Ford and that Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau are on as executive producers. Filoni was also a creator of the animated Star Wars: Rebels which is where Thrawn was first introduced into the new Star Wars canon, so the DNA for his introduction into live-action is certainly there.
Grand Admiral Thrawn was introduced in 1991 in the novel Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. Those books have since been categorized into Disney’s non-canon ‘Legends’ content for Star Wars, but Thrawn would eventually enter the official canon when he made his appearance on Star Wars: Rebels voiced by Lars Mikkelson. Jude Law would certainly be a worthwhile candidate to replace the calm and calculated demeanor that Mikkelson brought to the character, but it also wouldn’t be a bad idea to just bring Mikkelson over to live action to take on the role himself and maintain some continuity.
However, Jude Law taking over a role from an animated Star Wars character wouldn’t be unprecedented. Although the fan-favorite Ahsoka was voiced by Ashley Eckstein in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, Rosario Dawson ended up taking the role for live-action. However, Cad Bane, another blue alien with red eyes, was voiced by his original voice actor Corey Burton when he appeared in The Book of Boba Fett.
Of course, if Disney is wanting to set Grand Admiral Thrawn up as the next big threat in the Star Wars universe, Jude Law would bring some name recognition to the role that Lars Mikkelson doesn’t quite have. Casting Law as Thrawn could definitely be a strategic move to get more eyes on their Disney+ Star Wars shows. Whether he’s playing Thrawn in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew or not, his presence alone will certainly help viewership for the series.
It wouldn’t be too surprising if Disney wanted to get Jude Law established as the character in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew if they wanted to build him up as a threat. This would be especially plausible if Thrawn is supposed to appear in the solo Ahsoka series since Ahsoka specifically mentioned him by name when she made her appearance on The Mandalorian. Fans of Star Wars: Rebels will remember that Thrawn’s last on-screen appearance was at the end of the animated series when the fledgling Jedi Ezra Bridger launched himself and Thrawn into hyperspace to parts unknown.
Unfortunately, we’ll likely have to wait until 2023 to find out if Jude Law is playing Thrawn in Star Wars: Skeleton Key. Meanwhile, Disney is keeping us busy with Andor. You can tune into new episodes of that series on Disney+ every Wednesday until November 23.
