At the Star Wars Celebration in 2022, Lucasfilm announced Jon Watts' Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and nothing else. When Jude Law landed the lead role, fans speculated he might be playing Grand Admiral Thrawn. Though Lucasfilm has since denied this, the live-action introduction of the fan-favorite Chiss character would be a closely guarded secret.
When Disney first announced the suite of spinoffs for The Mandalorian, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy said the shows would "culminate in a climactic story event." Ahsoka will include Star Wars Rebels characters in live action, including a newly cast Ezra Bridger. The other character last seen on Rebels was Thrawn, so it makes sense an adaptation of the Thrawn trilogy could be that event. Still, like the first reveal of Grogu, the arrival of the fan-favorite character created by Timothy Zahn would be a similarly galaxy-shaking moment. It's a role that would go to an actor like Jude Law in live action, so his Skeleton Crew character may be secretly Mitth'raw'nuruodo in disguise. The explanation for why he's not blue already exists in the Star Wars canon.
Jude Law's Casting Might Be a Back Door for Thrawn in Live-Action
From the moment Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, a cottage industry popped of Star Wars obsessives sharing leaks, rumors and set photos of projects in production. Despite the heavy layers of secrecy in Lucasfilm, the plot of every Star Wars film and series has mostly leaked before it premiered. With The Mandalorian, fans knew going in that Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin would be protecting a "child." However, it wasn't until that space egg opened to reveal a little green cutie that fans found out it was a baby Yoda, A.K.A Grogu. If they wanted to keep a similar secret for Thrawn's introduction, they'd need similar "layers" of security. So, Jude Law's character in Skeleton Crew may be a sketchy guy with a ship taking kids on adventures as far as most know. But a scene, perhaps filmed in secret, would reveal that Jude Law's character is Thrawn using a holographic disguise matrix to hide his blue skin and telltale red eyes.
If Thrawn is going to be the Big Bad of the crossover event on Disney+, casual Star Wars fans need an introduction to him. Fans who read the books already know and love the Chiss admiral who uses insight into art to fight his wars. Those who watch the animated series, also know him as the antagonist for much of Star Wars Rebels, his last canonical appearance where he was shunted off into the unknown with young Ezra. While everyone should read and watch these stories, it's a big ask for those folks who just can't handle cartoons. So, casting Jude Law as this affable scoundrel or explorer or both who leads these kids on an adventure will endear him to all fans. When finally revealed as Thrawn, fans who know will cheer and fans who don't will (hopefully) be intrigued to find out what the cheering is about.
Why Skeleton Crew Seems Like a Perfect Show for Thrawn (or Ezra)
As mentioned, the end of Rebels sent both Ezra and Thrawn off into the unknown regions, with Ahsoka and Sabine tasked to go find them. So, a story set after the fall of the Empire about a group of people trying to get across the galaxy? It seems like a perfect way to tell that story that avoids all the "unoriginality" complaints of stories like Solo or Obi-Wan Kenobi. In now three trilogies, one Legends and two canon Expanded Universe tales, Timothy Zahn has told plenty of stories about the character better than most probably could. So, the 1980s Amblin Entertainment addition of a group of kids exploring the galaxy is a way to justify the show's existence before shoehorning in legacy characters.
What makes Thrawn great is that he's a villain fans can't help but root for a little. He's easily the best Imperial officer, and while he can be ruthless, he's never cruel just for cruelty's sake. If Jude Law is playing Thrawn, but as another more "heroic" character in Skeleton Crew, it's the perfect way to get the entire Star Wars fandom to fall in love with Thrawn, right before he breaks their hearts.
Skeleton Crew is still in pre-production, but Andor (which could also feature Thrawn, timeline-wise) debuts new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.