Of course, for all this chatter, we're so early on in Episode VIII's production that it's hard to say if there really is any hope of this happening. But it is still, in the vaguest sense, possible; del Toro can be argued to look like the Grand Admiral (minus the blue, obviously) and the whole idea fits the old-new balance that is dictating the Sequel Trilogy. Yes, it's rampant speculation, but if Star Wars is going to forge into the future further and further away from Vader's death, it needs something strong to justify itself. And while bringing a character conceived after Return Of The Jedi isn't a definite way to do that, it certainly ties what's new to what fans perceive as "classic" Star Wars and provides a sense of purpose to making more movies beyond ticket sales. The only proper knock against the theory at this point is that del Toro has described his character as "Like the villain," implying a more complex character than just a Ysalamiri-stroking Blofeld avatar. But, of course, Thrawn did have a complex backstory in the EU, so that doesn't totally rule the possibility out. In fact, with The Force Awaken's First Order being set up as an extremist sub-set of the Empire, Episode VII may even be laying the groundwork for a marginalised alien officer to rise up and take command. Getting Thrawn in the new movies would be awesome on so many levels, but if he remains a simple Legend then it isn't the end of the many worlds he tried to conquer, because, well, Benicio del Toro is in Star Wars. And isn't that brilliant enough already? Is Benicio del Toro playing Thrawn? Or is it nothing more than crazy fan wishing? Share your thoughts on this theory down in the comments.Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theatres worldwide on 18th December. Star Wars Episode VIII is out on 26th May, 2017.
