‘Ahsoka’ Looks like Dave Filoni has a force unlike any other in the ‘Star Wars’ Galaxy – Hollywood Reporter

The animated Star Wars franchise created by Dave Filoni is being translated into live action with the Disney + Lucasfilm series Ahsoka.

This was the point that was hammered home Ahsoka The panel held Saturday’s Star Wars Celebration, which climaxed when it revealed Lars Mikkelsen, the Danish actor who voiced the popular villain Thrawn of the Grand Admiralty from the series Filoni in 2014; Star Wars: Rebelstake the turn of the new series.

Ahsoka you are there Star Wars series debuts in August and stars Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s protégé who turns her on to the ways of the Jedi. One through the lines of the show is to look for Thrawn.

The revelation was made during the celebration of the celebration only Ahsoka trailer, which shows a blue-white, red-eyed emperor, and then Mikkelsen’s entrance scene. I now see a fan at the top of my lungs; Mikkelsen’s walk on stage had the 4,500 strong crowd on their feet and the roof ringing with cheers.

Thrawn was actually created by author Timothy Zahn for his Star Wars adventures in the 1990s, but like many non-animated works, the character and story were rendered non-canon after Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. Filoni brought the character into the mainstream and back. in canon making him the big bad guy rebelswhich aired four seasons on Disney Channel and Disney XD.

In the film, Filoni describes the character as a villain in the form of Holmes’s adversary Sherlock Moriarty: “He doesn’t have power, but it doesn’t matter. He will deceive you and make you a snare. And he said that he and fellow Ahsoka exec producer Jon Favreau have been in touch with Zahn and the project in subsequent meetings because it’s his business. And I really feel that I am the most important person to bring him to life in this way. Make sure we get it right. “

This is the right way to get a twin sword. The new show captures many of the elements that Filoni, George Lucas protégé and Star Wars guru have woven into one great series over the years. Filoni Tano was created, and in rebels Co-created characters such as Wrennus Sabinus, Hera Syndulla and the droid Chopper. Those characters are all now making their acting debuts in the high-profile series, with Ahsoka enjoying an almost mainstream level of recognition that rivals most other Star Wars characters. (Maria Elizabeth Winstead and Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who were also on stage for the panel, sing the live-action versions of Wren and Syndulla, respectively).

Taking popular animated elements into live action and compressing them into bigger ones Star Wars it can shake the myth because of fan pressure and can also offer big payoffs.

“The audience has to interact with the characters,” Favreau noted, saying it’s a balance of pleasing existing fans while inviting a new audience.

Favreau acknowledged that bringing Filo’s worlds to life wasn’t so much a long-term plan as it was a “long-term hope.”

“I knew it was part of Dave’s plans when he dipped his toe into life,” Favreau said. “The main goal was to bring the characters to live action.”

But fandom profiles can be real. In retirement, Dawson mentioned how after Ahsoka’s first live-action appearance in an episode of ” Mandalorianfans are known to have a unique character look including a helmet, not a line for an animated look.

“We’ve heard it,” Dawson said of the complaints. She explained how the first look involved foam clothing that was heavier and a challenge to work with. For the new series, the technology was developed where the artists could offer the flexibility and lightness of the 3D printing display.

To which Dawson said, the appearance of accessible behavior was not a hindrance but a help. “It feels like I’m reflecting back on my actual visual memory,” Dawson said.

Filoni, who will direct the live-action feature that tied the threads from the TV show and Favreau worked together, reflected on how he lost his thoughts in a series of conversations with Dawson on Ahsoka’s gear. And how strange it was to see the characters in life-action form.

He said to Philo: “It is strange. I mean, great. I don’t know what to think about it. I saw these in my head, the ones I wrote, I drew them, and they were just there.