Now I’m trying to noodle through who might do a decent job of a live action Thrawn. Michael Fassbender immediately comes to mind but then I pull back. I am at a serious loss as to who would have the gravitas to leverage that role. John Hamm maybe... I don’t know yet...
Lars Mikkelson. He did Thrawn's voice in Rebels, and I think if we colored him blue he'd look the part. No guarantees, given the situation with Ahsoka's casting, but I think it's more likely with Thrawn.
Now, if they go another way, or Mikkelson says no, then things get interesting. But as long as they get someone who can do the role justice, I really don't care. Casting has been pretty on point for this project so far (and even for the ST, wasted as several of them were).
It would be a huge mistake for this show to delve any deeper into obscure characters or to pick up storylines from animation. While Bo-Katan and Ahsoka are great for super fans, this show should NOT be a sequel series to the animated shows.
This show has a very broad fan base of SW die hards and more casual viewers. Everyone can get on board with a cute "baby yoda", but if they keep taking deep dives and resurrecting what are basically EU characters, it's just going to confuse and alienate those casual viewers.
Plus this show desperately needs its own identity and needs to keep building up its own roster of recurring characters instead of leaning on other parts of the franchise.
Let's hope the Thrawn shoutout was just for the fans and that the character isn't going to appear. We just don't need it.
Yeah, because all those obscure characters and deep lore dives have hurt the MCU so badly. Star-Lord? Ant-Man? Rocket Raccoon? Freaking Ego the Living Planet?
Same rules apply. Make it relevant, make it cool, and people won't care where it comes from, or what it's been used in before. You are vastly underestimating the average viewer, and overstating how much they will care as long as the show they are currently watching is fun and/or good.