"Star Wars Rebels" series creator Dave Filoni recently sat for an interview with IGN and revealed that season 3 will indeed be focusing on both Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Maul as the main villains. During the interview, he managed to give fans a little bit more insight regarding these two monumental villains in "Star Wars" lore.
Regarding Thrawn, a character originally created decades ago by author Timothy Zahn, Filoni explained that it was important to portray Thrawn in a way that would be faithful to his original introduction in the books but still updated to better fit the official canon of the franchise.
"After having the material so long ago, there were things that stuck with me about the character. The biggest one for me was the art. The analysis and culture of art was how he dissected and defeated his opponents. We kept that very much alive," Filoni explained.
Filoni also stated that in regards to finding the right voice for Thrawn they wanted a portrayal that was eloquent and that Thrawn was the type of leader who never shouted or screamed, gaining the loyalty of his soldiers because he was a genius and deserving of their respect. For this they cast Lars Mikkelsen, brother of Mads Mikkelsen who has been cast as Galen Erso for "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."
Darth Maul was also confirmed for season 3 and Filoni revealed that the original plan was for Maul to have met his end back during the Malachor story arc, with Darth Vader confronting and defeating Maul. In the end they decided to allow Maul's story to evolve and to happen at its "proper time and proper space."
Filoni further explained that Vader and Maul are unlikely going to be facing each other in season 3 as it would just be a piece of fan service without really furthering the story or the characters. Maul is also described as a free agent, one of the few villains not directly tied to Empire.
"Star Wars Rebels" season 3 premieres this Sept. 24.
