Benedict Cumberbatch Says He Won't Play Thrawn In Mandalorian Season 3

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch has said he has no interest in playing the evil Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is rumored to appear as a villain in the third season of The Mandalorian.

The Doctor Strange actor told Collider that he would rather spend time with his children than take precious time out of his day to sit in a make-up chair and get turned blue to appear as Thrawn.

"That's a straight no from me, right now," he said. "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."

The character Ahsoka Tano mentioned Thrawn by name in an episode of The Mandalorian, which prompted speculation and hope that the character might appear in the next season of the Star Wars TV show. That remains to be seen, but it appears Cumberbatch has no interest in the part.

He is currently filming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and has spoken about what a delight it's been working with director Sam Raimi. He was also asked outright if he's filmed his scenes for Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the actor put an end to that question quickly.

The Mandalorian Season 2 ended in December, and a third season is in production. Series star Pedro Pascal was also recently cast as Joel in the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us. In other news, Cara Dune actress Gina Carano will not be back for Season 3.