Benedict Cumberbatch has no interest in playing Grand Admiral Thrawn

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

After first being introduced thirty years ago in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn has grown to become one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars universe, which is especially impressive as the character hasn't appeared in any of the live-action films. When Disney took over the franchise, the Expanded Universe of Star Wars become non-canon, but certain elements have been re-introduced over the years, including Thrawn.

The character resurfaced in Star Wars: Rebels and his name was mentioned in The Mandalorian, which means that it's likely only a matter of time before the Grand Admiral makes his appearance in the flesh, so to speak. Over the years, there's been a lot of fan-casting for the character (including from yours truly), and one name that keeps popping up is Benedict Cumberbatch. I can't deny that the actor would be a good fit for the role, and he's certainly not adverse to those types of films as he's been featured in the Star Trek and Marvel franchises quite prominently, but Cumberbatch recently revealed to Collider that he has no interest in playing the character, at least at the moment.

That’s a straight no from me, right now. There’s no way I want to be turned blue. I turned the air blue, very recently. No no, seriously, I have precious time with my children and I think sitting in a makeup chair and being painted blue, and the amount of time it would take to do that and then take it off at the end of the day might just… it’s not the right time in my life for that.

Benedict Cumberbatch is currently in the midst of filming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and he also reprised his role of Doctor Strange for Spider-Man: No Way Home. The Spider-Man sequel is slated for a December 17, 2021 release, while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set for a March 23, 2022 release. Cumberbatch was most recently seen in The Mauritanian, and you can check out a review of that film from our own JimmyO right here.