According to Deadline, Wes Chatham is appearing in the upcoming Ahsoka series. And according to the report, he’ll be playing “the right-hand man” to Grand Admiral Thrawn.
It’s unclear what that means, but his proximity to Thrawn’s character immediately piques interest. We know he won’t be playing Captain Pellaeon (who appeared in The Mandalorian, played by Xander Berkeley), and not Rukh either (who is not only non-human but also met his untimely end in Rebels), so there’s been speculation that he might be playing Eli Vanto. But though Eli would make complete sense for Thrawn’s right-hand man in the series, given the fact that he filled that role in Timothy Zahn’s more recent Thrawn books and then was sent by Thrawn to aid the Chiss, I doubt it’s him. Part of Vanto’s story in the books was that he, like Thrawn, felt alienated in the Empire’s ranks: Thrawn because he’s non-human, and Vanto because he’s non-white. So Chatham would be odd casting for Eli, making me think this is a new character created for the series.
It’s exciting how the cast of characters surrounding Thrawn is becoming more and more clear, though, as a bunch of the pieces are being moved into place. I can’t wait to see it all happen.
Chatham is probably best-known for his role in The Expanse, and his addition is yet another indication of how terrific the cast for Ahsoka is. The series stars Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano and Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, and they’re joined by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn, Ray Stevenson as Baylon Skoll, Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati, Dianna Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth, Genevieve O’Reilley as Chancellor Mon Mothma, and David Tennant as the voice of Huyang. Additionally, Eman Esfandi will reportedly play Ezra Bridger, while Hayden Christensen will reportedly reprise his role as Ahsoka’s former master, Anakin Skywalker.
It’s a terrific lineup for the series, which is created by Dave Filoni and executive produced by Filoni, Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Carrie Beck, and Colin Wilson. It will release in August on Disney+.
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