Once in a while a rumour comes up that you want to write about but you hold off. When a second comes up that seems intricately linked to the first, it’s too big an opportunity to not write about.
So a few days ago a new rumour appeared online that Disney/Lucasfilm were on the hunt to find a young actor to play Star Wars Rebels character Ezra Bridger.
Then a few days later another, separate rumour appeared that Disney/Lucasfilm were looking to bring iconic character Grand Admiral Thrawn to the live-action arena.
Now neither of these are new news, as it’s been reported for a while that both characters were destined for live-action at some point and now it seems it may actually happen.
Fans of Star Wars: Rebels will remember that the last time we saw Ezra was on the bridge of Thrawn’s ship before the two of them were lost in space and we’ve known for a while that that story was set to be continued with a new animated series still rumoured for later this year which would continue the Rebels story in a way.
However, with us recently learning that Ahsoka Tano – who appeared in Rebels and Clone Wars – was set for The Mandalorian season 2 this October played by Rosario Dawson and both Sabine Wren and Commander Rex also both rumoured to appear, the idea of a live-action Ezra appearing shouldn’t real come as that big of a surprise.
Word is the casting for Ezra started in March and looking for “someone fitting to the character and build, aged between 30 to 40, [preferably] Asian [or] of a particular colour. [They] also have an open mind for Indian, Middle East or Latino actors.”
It is also clear that this casting is NOT for The Mandalorian, but a future Disney+ Star Wars series, although Ezra appearing in The Mandalorian’s future is not out of the question along with Ahsoka and Rex.
Rebels and Clone Wars showrunner Dave Filoni has previously assured fans that Ezra is still alive and his story will be returned to.
As for Thrawn, all that is known at the minute is that a live-action version is planned.
Personally I’d imagine Ezra and Thrawn’s stories are intertwined and would imagine that the two will share onscreen time again together.
Thrawn was of course created by Timothy Zahn in his Heir To The Empire trilogy of books long before Disney took over. The character was then revived in Rebels and became, once more, a favourite with the fans.
Thrawn is the perfect Star Wars character and would be perfect in either movie or TV form, as his is a master tactician and a cunning warrior and would be a wonderful nemesis for anyone put in front of him.
We previously reported that Mandalorian showrunner Jon Favreau had said of the crossover and deep-dive potential of the show: “part of what’s fun to see if we could merge the worlds of the original trilogy, the prequels, the sequels, The Clone Wars, and what’s been considered canon up to this point and what’s been considered part of Legends. I think this show offers an opportunity to bring all those elements so no matter what your flavour of Star Wars ice cream you like there will be something to enjoy.”
It looks like Disney in general are applying this notion to the wider Star Wars universe.
I cannot wait to see what’s next for Ezra and Thrawn.
What say you all?
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
Nerd Comments