Disney+'s upcoming Star Wars series Ahsoka has cast a villain, but perhaps not the one fans were expecting.
According to THR, Vikings, Punisher: War Zone and Thor star Ray Stevenson will play a big bad in the series. It's worth noting, however, that while he'll portray an admiral, he's not playing Grand Admiral Thrawn. Stevenson joins Rosario Dawson's eponymous Jedi, as well as Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker, Natasha Liu Bordizzo's Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ivanna Sakhno.
This isn't Stevenson's first foray into the world of Star Wars. The actor previously voiced Mandalorian Gar Saxon in both The Clone Wars and Rebels, but his death prior to the events of the original trilogy all but confirms Stevenson will be playing a different character in his live-action Star Wars debut.
Though Stevenson will portray a villainous admiral in Ahsoka, fans are still waiting for news on Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was namedropped in Ahsoka's Mandalorian Season 2 appearance. In July 2021, Dawson seemingly confirmed Lars Mikkelsen would reprise the role from Rebels, with Aladdin star Mena Massoud playing Ezra Bridger. Disney has yet to officially announce either actor for the show.
"It’s thrilling, I gotta tell you," Ahsoka executive producer Dave Filoni said in October 2021 about bringing the character he co-created with George Lucas into her own live-action series. "It’s something you imagine doing for a long time. And then it’s kind of startling when you’re sitting there, and now you have to do it.” As you’d imagine, the show is offering him the chance to tell an Ahsoka story he’s always wanted to tell – with some new additions. “I thought of this adventure for Ahsoka for a long time, and it’s interesting to see how it’s evolved,” he says. “Years ago, I never would have imagined that it was sprung from a branch of a tree that had anything to do with a guy [like] Din Djarin, or a child that looks like Yoda. It’s a great lesson for me on how, when you have other creatives like Jon Favreau, they can help lend such dimension and depth to what you’re doing."
Ahsoka has yet to receive a premiere date.
Source: THR