David Tennant and Lars Mikkelsen Join 'Star Wars' Series 'Ahsoka'

The "Star Wars" series "Ahsoka" is adding some new famous faces, including "Doctor Who" star David Tennant and the voice of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Lars Mikkelsen.

The news was announced on Saturday, April 8, during the “Ahsoka” panel at the 2023 Star Wars Celebration event in London. Series creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni took the stage alongside star Rosario Dawson, who first brought the character of Ahsoka Tano into live-action in “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett.”

Although fans are no doubt excited to see David Tennant jump from “Doctor Who” to a galaxy far, far away, he won’t have a recognizable role like Lizzo and Jack Black just had in the latest episode of “The Mandalorian.”

Instead, Tennant will play the droid character Huyang in the series. The droid can be seen at the end of the trailer that was released online on Thursday. He previously voiced the character in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” first appearing in the episode titled “A Test of Strength,” which was the seventh episode in season 5.

On stage, Filoni said that they had to bring Tennant back to reprise his role as Huyang, saying, “You have to have him. He makes it work."

Later on in the panel, they teased new footage of the series that reveals that Lars Mikkelsen, who voiced Grand Admiral Thrawn in the animated series, would return to reprise his role as well. Mikkelsen said “It’s wonderful” when he was asked how it felt to return to a galaxy far, far away.

That is not the only familiar face that fans are expecting to see in the new series. The trailer introduced Australian actress Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren. Meanwhile, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who is married to “Obi-Wan Kenobi” star Ewan McGregor, will play Hera Syndulla.

The droid Chopper has also been spotted in the footage aired at the Star Wars Celebration event on Friday, which also teased new footage for the new series “The Acolyte,” “Skeleton Crew,” and the second and final season of “Andor.”

On April 7, the first trailer for "Ahsoka" was released on Twitter, much to the excitement of fans. The following day, Rosario Dawson and a few stars from the show returned to the stage to talk about their upcoming role in the series.

Rosario Dawson told the live audience gathered on Saturday morning that she credits Ahsoka’s voice actress, Ashley Eckstein, for bringing the character from when we first meet her in “The Clone Wars” all the way up to “Rebels.”

“One of the beautiful things about watching [Ahsoka’s] journey is that even when she was so young, she was fearless,” Dawson said. She also could not praise her work in a galaxy far, far away enough, saying, “We are living and breathing Star Wars on a regular basis and we just really truly love it… It’s not just a job. It’s joy.”

She was joined on stage by both Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, as well as the loveable droid Chopper. Winstead talked about bringing Hera Syndulla into live-action, saying, “There’s such a rich history we’ve been able to see on Rebels… I felt honored to be playing someone like that and try to rise to her level.”

Diana Lee Inosanto also teased a little bit about her character, Morgan Elsbeth, saying that “She absolutely is very loyal to Grand Admiral Thrawn.” In fact, the battle between Ahsoka and Morgan Elsbeth actually took more than 17 hours to film. George Lucas was also on set for the scene.

Ray Stevenson has also been cast as a new character in the series. Stevenson had previously voiced Gar Saxon, who met his demise after previously fighting with Sabine for the Darksaber, which is a weapon that “The Mandalorian” fans know all too well.

“Ahsoka” hits Disney+ in August 2023.