Bo-Katan Kryze actress Katee Sackhoff was recently asked about the prospect of Grand Admiral Thrawn appearing in The Mandalorian Season 3.
For those that may be unfamiliar, Thrawn was a strategic genius Grand Admiral, originating from the Chiss species, who served under Palpatine in the Empire. The Star Wars villain became a fan-favorite in the old Expanded Universe stories but has since been brought into canon in the Rebels animated series.
In The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 5, Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano was revealed to be on the hunt for Grand Admiral Thrawn. The villainous name-drop followed the cliffhanger ending of Star Wars Rebels which left Ahsoka and Sabine Wren in pursuit of Thrawn and Ezra Bridger after they jetted off into deep space.
Ahsoka is now set to lead her Mandalorian spin-off later this year which will feature most of the Rebels cast, with reports even pointing toward Thrawn voice actor Lars Mikkelsen bringing the blue Chriss character to live-action.
The Mandalorian Star Responded to Thrawn Questions
During a panel at Emerald City Comic-Con, The Mandalorian's Bo-Katan actress Katee Sackhoff had a blunt response to questions about Grand Admiral Thrawn's potential appearance in Season 3.
As part of a Q&A at the panel, Sackhoff was questioned whether fans should expect a follow-up on the Thrawn tease anytime soon. The actress simply smiled and bluntly answered, "I mean, that's a really good question... Thank you."
The panel moderator followed up with a bold question, asking "what happens in Season 3?" Sackhoff, obviously bound to secrecy, cryptically answered that "Bo is in her emo phase!"
Ahsoka star Rosario Dawson was asked back in August 2022 about Thrawn's current whereabouts, revealing him to be "incognito" and hinting that Tano's search for him may be "what [her] show could potentially be about:"
“That dude, man…incognito. Maybe we get the Scarlet Witch to help us, she can jump through Multiverses, right? Let’s go, girl! Yeah, I mean, that’s a really big key kind of giveaway in Mando about what my show could potentially be about. Obviously, we are really trying to track [Thrawn] down, so we'll see what happens…”
The MandoVerse's Big Thrawn Plans
The Mandalorian has always been incredibly secretive about its new character introductions from Star Wars lore. The Season 2 appearances from Bo-Katan, Boba Fett, Ahsoka, Luke Skywalker, and more, were largely or entirely kept under wraps ahead of their Disney+ series debuts.
With Season 3 going all-in on the lore behind Mandalore, fans aren't expecting quite as many surprise characters, although the trailer did tease some Jedi appearances. But with how well Season 2's secrets were kept under wraps, truly anyone could show up in the upcoming batch of episodes.
The Mandalorian even has two spin-offs on the way this year with Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew, so those may be set up to some extent. With the former having already cast the Rebels crew and seemingly Thrawn for live-action, they could easily pop up in Season 3 ahead of a far larger role in Ahsoka.
But as of now, it appears the story surrounding Thrawn is being saved for Ahsoka, although perhaps he may be part of the "climactic story event" being planned to "culminate" The Mandalorian and its spin-offs. There's even some evidence to indicate Thrawn may be on a collision course with Luke Skywalker.
The first episode of The Mandalorian Season 3 is streaming now, with new episodes debuting every Wednesday on Disney+. Ahsoka will reportedly premiere on the streaming service this fall.
