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But now with advancements in television production, live-action is becoming a more feasible option. Although attempts at bringing Star Wars into live-action television go as far back as the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, it was only with The Mandalorian that a live-action Star Wars TV series managed to win fans over.
The Mandalorian and now The Book of Boba Fett both made a notable effort to connect with the animated series, even bringing a few fan favorites into live-action. Ahsoka Tano appeared in The Mandalorian and now might have her own show. But there are still other beloved animated characters that have not yet made the transition.
5 Grand Admiral Thrawn
First introduced in the novel Heir to the Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn would prove a popular antagonist and an icon of the original expanded universe. Naturally, many fans were excited when he was made his first canon appearance in Rebels. As in the old timeline, Thrawn was a complex and intelligent military tactician, who proved more than a match for the Rebel Alliance on multiple occasions.
Certainly, there would be room for him to make a reappearance as an antagonist in another series. Rebels left him in a strange position, being stranded in deep space with his former enemy Ezra Bridger. The question of what happened afterward still remains unsolved, but there is definitely room for him to make a reappearance in The Mandalorian.
4 The Great Heep
The 1986 special The Great Heep, part of the Droids animated series, might not be Star Wars’ greatest cinematic achievement, but it did introduce an interesting antagonist. The titular “great heap” was a mechanical monstrosity- a self-constructed cobbling of droid parts into a gigantic power-hungry abomination. It went as far as enslaving an entire planet and destroying its ecosystem in the name of control.
Imagine something like this appearing in live-action. Star Wars television productions in the ’80s might have been constrained by low budgets but with the production values of The Mandalorian, it might actually be feasible to bring this character back.
While the Great Heep itself only appeared in the one special, it was incorporated into later Star Wars lore that revealed some interesting details. Turns out it was of a warmongering mechanical race called Abominor, and was actually on the smaller side. It was even revealed that their violent nature played a big part in the rise of the Yuuzong Vong. There is a lot of interesting potential to explore here that has been largely untouched outside of reference material.
3 Hera Syndulla
Hera was easily one of the best parts of Rebels. Her determination, compassion, and unwavering loyalty proved to be a powerful combination and quickly won fans over. Naturally, the fan-favorite went on to reappear in Star Wars Squadrons and The Bad Batch. But the closest she has gotten to live-action was an implied background role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
There are several Easter eggs in that film that imply Hera’s presence at the Yavin IV base and the Battle of Scarif, but she never actually makes an appearance. There is certainly room to further explore her character, especially everything that happened after the Empire was defeated.
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Seeing as The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian are giving major roles to aliens, this would be a perfect opportunity to reintroduce one of the most beloved Twi’leks of the franchise. The fact that they’ve already had two Twi’leks appearing regularly throughout The Book of Boba Fett definitely indicates they have the production values and resources to reconstruct Hera’s likeness on an actor.
2 Omega
Omega was an interesting addition to the cast of The Bad Batch. Despite her naivety and young age, she proved herself a pretty capable member of the team and easily earned the respect of her clone friends. It may have also helped that Omega herself was a clone, albeit an unmodified one similar to Boba Fett.
Over the course of the series, she got to experience some crazy adventures and ran into several familiar characters, including bonding with a young Hera and a run-in with Fennec Shand.
One detail of note, that could be an advantage for a live-action transition, is Omega has so far only been seen as a child. By the time The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian take place, she would be at the very least in her late 20’s, if not older. This would make casting easier since it would require an older actress who does not have to look exactly like she did in The Bad Batch. It would be cool to see what kind of person Omega grows up to be.
1 Sabine Wren
The Mandalorians have been getting a lot of attention lately. Season 2 of The Mandalorian saw the live-action debut of Bo-Katan Kryze, a recurring character in The Clone Wars and Rebels; but she is not the only mandalorian from those shows who could make an appearance.
Sabine Wren was a fun character- fans will remember her as the mandalorian exile who loved to graffiti everything. But she went on to be a big part of liberating Mandalore from Imperial Control and reuniting her people. She is a Mandalorian hero by the time Din Djarin begins his quest.
Aside from the obvious similarity, Sabine has several direct links to the events of The Mandalorian. It was thanks to her that the darksaber was even found, let alone reach the title character. There is also the connection to Bo-Katan, who fought alongside her on Mandalore. If anything, it is only logical for Sabine to make an appearance somewhere.
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