#‘Star Wars’: 16 Animated Characters Who Made the Leap to Live-Action

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[Warning: This story contains spoilers about key plot points and characters’ fates in several Star Wars series and movies.]

It’s a good time to be a Star Wars fan.

With numerous series and movies afoot, there are plenty of stories to be told in the years to come. Next up is the third and final season of animated series The Bad Batch.

Ahead of its Feb. 21 premiere on Disney+, The Hollywood Reporter decided to take a look at several characters who first appeared in animated form before making the jump to live-action fare. These include fan favorites like Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex, as well as legendary villains from General Grievous to Cad Bane.

A couple of caveats: This is not an exhaustive list, and some of the characters remain CGI-animated even in the live-action project they appear in. But for the purposes of this list, we’re including those characters who first appeared in animation and then showed up in a live-action film or series in any form.

Read on for more.

Ahsoka Tano

Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection (2)

Animation: The Clone Wars, Rebels
Live-action: The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka

Ahsoka Tano was introduced to fans (and Anakin Skywalker) in the 2008 feature film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as Anakin’s new Padawan (voiced by Ashley Eckstein). She was frequently seen fighting alongside Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi throughout the series that followed, until she left the Jedi order after being framed for treason and murder. The Jedi Council, not believing in her innocence, expelled her as a result. She was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, but became disillusioned with the Jedi Order and rejected their offer to return, thereby never becoming a full-fledged Jedi. The Togruta didn’t give up her fight against the bad guys, though, joining forces with the Ghost crew in Star Wars Rebels. She made her live-action debut, in the form of actress Rosario Dawson, in the second season of The Mandalorian, where she revealed Grogu’s backstory to Din Djarin, and again appeared in The Book of Boba Fett. Dawson then starred as Ashoka in her own series, appropriately titled Ahsoka, last year, with a second sesson now in development.
Ezra Bridger

Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection (2)

Animation: Rebels
Live-action: Ahsoka

Ezra Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray) was introduced in Rebels as an orphan who joined up with the Ghost crew and became trained as a Jedi by Kanan Jarrus. At the end of the series, he sacrificed himself to defeat Grand Admiral Lothal. He jumped to live-action in Ahsoka (where he was portrayed by Eman Esfandi), first as a recorded hologram and then years later, when Ahsoka and Sabine found him (and Thrawn) living on the faraway planet of Peridea, before they returned home, where Ezra was reunited with Hera Syndulla and Chopper (read more about them below).
Zeb Orrelios

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation: Rebels
Live-action: The Mandalorian

Garazeb Orrelios, known as Zeb (voiced by Steve Blum), was a big part of Star Wars: Rebels, as a member of the Ghost crew. The Lasat (one of the last of his species after the Empire attacked his home planet of Lasan) made his live-action debut in The Mandalorian, appearing in one episode of the third season (again voiced by Blum), where it’s revealed that he’s become a member of the New Republic Rangers, who patrol the Outer Rim. However, despite the rest of the Ghost crew appearing in Ahsoka, Zeb did not appear in that live-action series. But, with a second season in development, perhaps we’ll see him again.
Sabine Wren

Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection (2)

Animation: Rebels
Live-action: Ahsoka

Sabine (voiced by Tiya Sircar), a Mandalorian, was another member of the Ghost crew in Rebels, which ends with her determined to bring Ezra home. In Ahsoka, Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) reunites with Ahsoka, Hera and Chopper, ultimately tracking down Ezra before they are separated again at the end of season one.
Hera Syndulla

Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection (2)

Animation: Rebels
Live-action: Ahsoka

Hera Syndulla (voiced by Vanessa Marshall), an expert pilot and part of the Ghost crew, becomes a key figure in the rebellion. She and Kanan Jarrus have a son, Jacen, together. She makes the leap to live-action in Ahsoka, where she’s played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (who is married to another key Star Wars player, Ewan McGregor, aka the younger version of Obi-Wan Kenobi).
Grand Admiral Thrawn

Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection (2)

Animated show: Rebels
Live-action: Ahsoka

The soft-spoken but formidable villain (voiced by Lars Mikkelsen) emerged as the Big Bad in Rebels starting in season three. He is considered to be defeated at the end of the series, when Ezra plots to send Thrawn through hyperspace to another galaxy. It turns out he’s been plotting his return, as we find out in Ahsoka, where Mikkelsen reprises his role in live-action. He was last seen successfully returning to the original Star Wars galaxy at the end of season one.
Chopper

Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection (2)

Animation: Rebels
Live-action: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Ahsoka

Creator Dave Filoni, who voices Chopper himself, has called the droid a “likable jerk.” Chopper, a key part of the Ghost crew, turns up in Ahsoka. Chopper also makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in Rogue One.
Bo-Katan Kryze

Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection (2)

Animation: The Clone Wars
Live-action: The Mandalorian

Like Thrawn, Bo-Katan Kryze is portrayed by the same actor in both animation and live-action. Katee Sackhoff plays the Mandalorian warrior in The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian, where she ultimately joins forces with Din Djarin to take down Moff Gideon. Given that Bo-Katan previously teamed up with Ahsoka to take down Maul in The Clone Wars, fans were hoping for a reunion between the two in Ahsoka, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Saw Gerrera

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation: Clone Wars, Rebels, The Bad Batch
Live-action: Rogue One

Saw Gerrera (voiced by Andrew Kishino), who leads an extremist group of rebels, has appeared in several animated shows, starting with The Clone Wars and including The Bad Batch and Rebels. He made the jump to live-action in the form of Forest Whitaker in the 2016 feature film Rogue One, where the character finally meets his demise.
Cad Bane

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation: The Clone Wars
Live-action: The Book of Boba Fett

The bounty hunter (voiced by Corey Burton) has been hired by numerous baddies, including Jabba the Hutt and the Pyke Syndicate. In episode six of The Book of Boba Fett, Bane (portrayed physically by Dorian Kingi and again voiced by Burton) has a showdown with Boba, who stabs Bane, leaving him for dead. But there have been hints that perhaps the famed antagonist hasn’t yet breathed his last breath.
Captain Rex

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation: Clone Wars, Bad Batch, Rebels
Live-action: Ahsoka

This fan-favorite clone trooper (who, like all clones in the animated series, is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) fought alongside Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars and later appears in The Bad Batch, Rebels and Tales of the Jedi, where he continues to fight with the good fight against the bad guys. In a thrilling moment for longtime viewers of the series, Rex turns up ever so briefly in full armor during a battle-sequence flashback in Ahsoka. In that show, we don’t see his face, but he’s voiced by Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett, the Mandalorian bounty hunter whose DNA was used to create the clones. The ending of Rebels noted that Rex took part in the Battle of Endor, as seen in Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi. While his character in Rebels ultimately was made to look like a fighter who briefly appears in Return of the Jedi, it has not been officially confirmed that this rebel was in fact Rex, though many fans really want to believe it is.
General Grievous

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation: Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003), The Clone Wars
Live-action: Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith

If you know Grievous only from Revenge of the Sith, you’re missing a lot of backstory and conflict between the leader of the Separatist Droid Armies and the Republic. He made his onscreen debut in the 2003 animated series Clone Wars (voiced first by John DiMaggio and later by Richard McGonagle) and later played a big part in Filoni’s Clone Wars series. Grievous squared off with numerous Jedi, including Obi-Wan Kenobi, collecting lightsabers from all those he defeated. Obi-Wan ultimately had his revenge, killing Grievous in Revenge of the Sith. Chronologically, the events in Filoni’s Clone Wars take place before Revenge of the Sith, but the series debuted after the movie. As a result, Filoni was forced to keep Grievous and Anakin apart throughout the course of his seven-season series thanks to one brief exchange in the film where the two come face to face for the first time (Grievous: “Anakin Skywalker, I was expecting someone with your reputation to be a little older”; Anakin: “General Grievous, you’re shorter than I expected”). Matthew Wood voiced Grievous in both Filoni’s series and in the movie.
Boba Fett

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation: Star Wars Holiday Special, Star Wars: Droids, The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Visions
Live-action: Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope (Special Edition), Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett

The bounty-hunting antihero actually appeared in animated form before showing up in the original movie trilogy. He debuted in an animated segment of the 1978 Holiday Special and later in 1985’s Droids. He also appears in multiple episodes of The Clone Wars. In live-action, he’s portrayed as a boy (Daniel Logan) in Attack of the Clones and as an adult (Temuera Morrison, who also played Boba’s father, Jango Fett) in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. The character also appeared, helmeted, in the original trilogy.
The Grand Inquisitor

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation: Rebels
Live-action: Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Grand Inquisitor (voiced by Jason Isaacs), a villain in Rebels, was tasked by Darth Vader with hunting down any surviving Jedi after the execution of Order 66, and had several run-ins with Ezra and Kanan before falling to his death. He made his live-action debut (played by Rupert Friend) in Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is set a few years before Rebels.
Ryder Azadi

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation: Rebels
Live-action: Ahsoka

Ryder Azadi was governor of Lothal, Ezra’s home planet, during the era of Empire rule. However, after he was caught helping the rebels, he was imprisoned for treason. He was later freed and teamed up with the Ghost crew to free Lothal, after which he was reinstated as governor of the planet, as seen in the series premiere of Ahsoka. He is voiced and played by the same actor, Clancy Brown, in both series.
Jacen Syndulla

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation: Rebels
Live-action: Ahsoka

Jacen Syndulla, the Force-sensitive son of Hera Syndulla and Jedi Kanan Jarrus, made his brief debut in the series finale of Rebels. He was brought into the live-action fold in Ahsoka, played by 13-year-old Evan Whitten.

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