Could Thrawn or Mara Jade appear in The Mandalorian? Jon Favreau weighs in

As the November 12 premiere date for Disney’s The Mandalorian rapidly approaches, the show’s cast and crew are finally starting to speak out. The first-ever live-action Star Wars series is set five years after the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi, and will follow the escapades of the titular Mandalorian (Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal) as he makes his way hunting bounties on the outer reaches of the galaxy.

Jon Favreau, the guy behind Iron Man and the recent live-action Lion King movie, created the show and serves as showrunner, working alongside an impressive list of directors that includes The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels creator Dave Filoni. Just recently, Filoni talked about how excited he was to see a character he wrote show up in The Mandalorian, which set some fans to wondering if he wasn’t talking about someone he created for his animated shows, like Ahsoka Tano. But there are other possibilities.

Earlier this week, Entertainment Weekly asked Favreau if fan-favorite characters from outside the mainline movies could appear in The Mandalorian, characters like Grand Admiral Thrawn or Mara Jade. His answer raised a few eyebrows.

"I don’t want to talk about anything that might be fun for people to discover,” he said. “We do have conversations. Part of what’s fun to see if we could merge the worlds of the original trilogy, the prequels, the sequels, The Clones 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 in all those elements so no matter what your flavor of Star Wars ice cream you like there will be something to enjoy. But you’re asking the right questions."

If you’re unfamiliar with these characters, here’s a quick primer: Thrawn is a blue-skinned alien called a Chiss. He joined Palpatine’s Empire and quickly rose through the ranks to Grand Admiral status. He had his own unique star destroyer called the Chimaera, and he was known and feared throughout the galaxy as a brilliant strategist.

Thrawn first appeared in author Timothy Zahn’s Extended Universe/Legends book Heir to the Empire. He more recently appeared in a new trilogy of books from Zahn, bringing him into the current canon. Finally, Filoni made Thrawn the main villain of the final seasons of Star Wars Rebels, so he’s pretty well fixed in the Star Wars universe by this point.

Mara Jade, meanwhile, was a powerful Dark Side student of Emperor Palpatine who also made her debut appearance in Heir to the Empire. She worked with Thrawn to exact revenge on Luke Skywalker for his role in the death of the Emperor, but was later turned to the Light and actually married Luke and had a son with him named Ben.

Unlike Thrawn, Mara Jade was never brought into the new Disney/Lucasfilm canon, probably because her story is so deeply entwined with that of Luke Skywalker, who never mentioned her before his death in The Last Jedi.

So how would these two characters fit into The Mandalorian? Well, both were tasked with avenging Emperor Palpatine after his death in Return of the Jedi, so the time period is right. Perhaps they could be scouring the Outer Rim, looking for Luke.

As to who might play these characters, EW suggests Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor Ming-Na Wen, who was recently confirmed to have a top-secret role in The Mandalorian. “We take full advantage of her acting and her action ability,” Favreau said. We’re watching you, Favreau.

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The Mandalorian premiere’s on Disney’s new streaming service — Disney+ — on November 12.

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