Star Wars recently confirmed that Lars Mikkelsen’s Thrawn will be receiving a character redesign in Ahsoka Season 2, which will be released on Disney+ on January 20, 2027. Ahsoka Season 1 premiered on Disney+ back in 2023, so fans are more than excited to get to return to the world of Star Wars and catch up with Ahsoka and the Rebels crew when the show finally returns in 2027. Most of the main characters who were in Season 1 are returning for Season 2, including Lars Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn, who will be receiving an official redesign.
Lucasfilm officially released the first trailer for Ahsoka Season 2, teasing what fans can expect from the upcoming chapter of the MandoVerse Disney+ series. While many of the show’s most notable characters were highlighted and given ample screen time in the footage, it was made clear, based on the shots he was featured in, that Grand Admiral Thrawn went through a full redesign for Season 2.
In the shots of Thrawn that were included in the Ahsoka Season 2 trailer, his character had features that were not present in the design for Thrawn in Season 1. For instance, when Thrawn was showcased in a close-up in the trailer, the Lucasfilm makeup department had clearly put more prosthetics on Lars Mikkelsen’s forehead to give it a bit of a different shape. Most notably, Season 2 Thrawn has lines and exaggerated places on the front of his forehead that were not there in Season 1.
It is important to note that this is consistent with other members of Thrawn’s species (Chiss). In Star Wars canon and in Star Wars Legends, Chiss have foreheads that are shaped a bit differently from humans’. Essentially, this redesign for Thrawn is making his Season 2 version of the character look more accurate to what has been established about his species in Star Wars lore.
It is also worth noting that, because those prosthetics were placed the way they were, it makes Thrawn look more menacing than he did in Season 1. For some reason, it also gives his eyebrows a bit of a different shape and causes him to look extremely intimidating.
While Thrawn’s forehead shape is different, it is also worth mentioning that his skin color appears to be a bit lighter in the Ahsoka Season 2 trailer. It could just be the lighting in the shots he was featured in, but when a Season 1 shot of Thrawn is compared to one of the shots from the trailer, his skin doesn’t appear to be as saturated and blue as it was in the first installment.
Additionally, it is clear that Thrawn was given a redesign for Ahsoka Season 2 because his hair is also different. In Season 1, Lars Mikkelsen’s hair as Thrawn was quite thick and voluminous. In the Season 2 trailer, Thrawn’s hair looks much thinner, and it clearly has more volume, not to mention the gray strands of hair on the side of his head just below his temples.
So, it is clear that Thrawn has gone through an official redesign for Ahsoka Season 2. Many fans will likely enjoy it, while others prefer the Season 1 design, but Star Wars felt that it was important to make the character look a bit different for the upcoming episodes.
The full trailer for Ahsoka Season 2 can be viewed below:
What Will Thrawn’s Role in Ahsoka Season 2 Be?
Thrawn is undoubtedly going to be one of the main antagonists of Ahsoka Season 2. Based on what has been revealed about the upcoming season of the Disney+ show, it seems as though it is going to follow two major plotlines. One of those storylines is going to take place on Peridea with Ahsoka, Sabine, Shin, Baylan, and Anakin, with the other plotline featuring Thrawn, Ezra, Zeb, and the New Republic.
Thrawn is most definitely going to be the main villain of the New Republic plotline. He will be waging war against the New Republic by bringing the Imperial remnants back together while also working with the witches of Dathomir.
Essentially, it seems as though Ahsoka Season 2 could be loosely adapting Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire novel. If that is the case, he will be trying to bring the Empire back into power following the destruction of the second Death Star and the death of the Emperor.
