The Expanse's Wes Chatham teases Captain Enoch's future in Star Wars and Ahsoka

Star Wars: Ahsoka brought beloved characters from the Star Wars Rebels animated series like Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) to life in live-action for the first time, along with one of the franchise's most iconic villains: Grand Admiral Thrawn. Played by Lars Mikkelson in both Rebels and Ahsoka, the blue-skinned Thrawn is a chillingly intelligent strategist who always stays one step ahead of the heroes.

In Ahsoka, we learned that Thrawn had been bolstering his forces in a distant galaxy since his disappearance at the end of Rebels. Helping him lead his crack team of Storm Troopers was a stoic, gold-masked soldier named Captain Enoch. Who is this man? Enoch remained silent throughout Ahsoka, retaining an air of mystery.

But we do know a little about the actor who played him. That would be Wes Chatham, the same actor who played the charming and dangerous mechanic Amos Burton on The Expanse. Burton recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly about his time on Ahsoka, teasing the character's potential future in the Star Wars universe. "There has to be a reason that that character is there."

Wes Chatham recalls doing a blind suit test for Captain Enoch

Chatham has been on the rise since his time on The Expanse, but when it came to auditioning for Star Wars, it didn't win him any special treatment. Franchises like Star Wars and Marvel are renowned for their secrecy. Fortunately, Chatham is such an enormous fan that he was more than willing to try out for the role without knowing any details about it.

“When we found out that it was an audition forStar Wars and they wanted me to go do a suit test in L.A, we asked all the questions that you ask,” Chatham said on EW's Dagobah Dispatch podcast. “It's like, ‘What is the role? What is this? What is the time commitment?’ And they're like, ‘Sorry, we can't give you any of that. Do you want to come out and test or not?’ [Laughs] And I was like ‘Yeah, I'm coming out.’ And I told my team, ‘Listen, don't count on me to be a tough negotiator because as soon as I show up and as soon as I see stormtroopers and things like that, they have me. I'm not coming home.’”

Clearly, that suit test went well. EW points to Chatham's previous real-world military experience as a key factor in how well he fit the role — he was serving in the U.S. Navy when he was cast in the Denzel Washington movie Antwone Fisher, which was filming on his ship — but Chatham's nerd knowledge also made it obvious he was the right person for the job. He recalled bonding on set with showrunner Dave Filoni over the origins of Enoch's distinctive costuming. “When I saw the Captain Enoch uniform for the first time, it reminded me of Excalibur,” says Chatham. “And I remember having a conversation with [showrunner] Dave Filoni and he was excited that I picked up that detail.”

Chatham's enthusiasm and willingness to take the leap is pretty understandable. Like so many others who were captured at a young age by Star Wars, the galaxy far, far away was an early movie-going experience for him; Return of the Jedi was the first movie he ever saw in theaters back in 1983. Working on a Star Wars project was a dream come true. “You're standing in the hangar bay of a star destroyer that you've watched your whole life and stormtroopers are walking by, so it was walking into a dream that I got to be a part of the thing. And it was exhilarating. It was some of the most fun I've ever had.”

What is Captain Enoch's future in Star Wars?

Chatham also did a fair amount of teasing about whether we'd ever see Enoch again. “I think the potential of this character is exciting,” he said. “There are some vague hints. There has to be a reason that that character is there. Thrawn introduced one person.”

From the sounds of things, Filoni has been pretty open with Chatham about Enoch as a character, and where things could go for him. “Once you start working with him, he is very open in explaining to you what his thoughts are and what the potentials are and what the things to focus on. And he gives you a lot of context and a good picture of what his purpose was," Chatham explained.

"It is a surreal experience to be a part of Star Wars and to be a character that I couldn't have designed any cooler. I have a lot of respect for Dave Filoni. I have a lot of respect what he's done, what he's doing with Star Wars and for Star Wars. And so to be something that he created and a wholly original thing is really exciting and really compelling."

Having an actor like Chatham under the helmet gives Dave Filoni plenty of options for expanding on the mysterious Captain Enoch. If it gets us more great performances like the one Chatham gave as Amos on The Expanse, I'm all for getting to know this ominous new lead stormtrooper better.

Perhaps we'll see him again when Thrawn returns, either in Ahsoka season 2, The Mandalorian & Grogu movie or in some other form. And hey, if you want to hear more from Chatham in the meantime, you might enjoy his podcast Ty & That Guy, where he and The Expanse co-creator Ty Franck get into spirited debates about genre movies and television.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels