Several Star Wars characters have made the jump from animation to live-action. As the galaxy far, far away continues to expand, multiple characters have had their stories told across various forms of media, continuing to make Star Wars one of the most interconnected franchise continuities of all time.
Although it’s certainly happened to a much higher degree with the rise of live-action Star Wars shows on Disney+, Star Wars characters making live-action appearances when they originally debuted in animation is nearly as old as the entire franchise itself. Keeping that in mind, here is every Star Wars character who debuted in animation and later made live-action appearances.
Ahsoka Tano
Without question, the biggest animated Star Wars character to make the jump to live-action is Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s Jedi apprentice. Originally voiced by Ashley Eckstein in The Clone Wars, Rebels, and more animated Star Wars projects, Ahsoka made her live-action debut in The Mandalorian season 2 before receiving her own live-action series in 2023, played by Rosario Dawson.
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is best known for his live-action debut in 1980’s The Empire Strikes Back and future appearances in the timeline like 2021’s The Book of Boba Fett. However, the infamous bounty hunter actually debuted in animation first, thanks to 1978’s Star Wars Holiday Special.
This appearance saw Fett befriending and later betraying the Rebels for the Empire while wielding an Amban pulse rifle, the inspiration for Din Djarin’s signature weapon in the first two seasons of The Mandalorian.
General Grievous
A leading villain in 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, General Grievous actually debuted in 2003’s The Clone Wars micro-series from Genndy Tartakovsky. Although the micro-series is no longer part of the official Star Wars canon, the character did still debut in animation first (regardless of the official continuity).
Captain Rex
Anakin Skywalker’s right-hand man among the 501st Legion, Clone Captain Rex was a leading character in The Clone Wars who later had a role in Star Wars Rebels, having joined the Rebellion. In 2023’s Ahsoka, Rex made a brief live-action cameo during the flashback to the Siege of Mandalore.
Saw Gerrera
Originally debuting in animation as a young man fighting to free his homeworld of Onderon from Separatist control, Saw Gerrera would later appear in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story played by Forest Whitaker.
Since that time, Saw Gerrera has made multiple Star Wars appearances back and forth between animation and live-action, including video games with EA’s Jedi: Fallen Order. Saw’s most recent appearance was in Andor.
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Originally making his canonical Star Wars debut in the animated Star Wars Rebels series, Grand Admiral Thrawn has since appeared in live-action thanks to Ahsoka.
Returning from nearly a decade in exile in another galaxy that kept him out of the Galactic Civil War, Ahsoka’s ending saw Thrawn finally returning to the known galaxy, effectively setting him up to become a major threat in Lucasfilm’s future projects set in the New Republic timeline.
Cad Bane
Before Boba Fett built his reputation as the galaxy’s best bounty hunter, the тιтle belonged to Cad Bane during the days of the Republic and Clone Wars.
A merciless gunslinger, Bane debuted in animation with The Clone Wars. Among other animated appearances in shows like The Bad Batch and Tales of the Underworld, Cad Bane made his live-action debut in 2021’s The Book of Boba Fett, taking on the тιтular bounty hunter himself.
Grand Inquisitor
Introduced in Star Wars Rebels, the Grand Inquisitor debuted in animation as an Imperial Jedi hunter during the days of the Empire.
The Grand Inquisitor was an incredibly dark villain voiced by Jason Isaacs, who met his end at the hands of the Jedi survivor Kanan Jarrus. 2022’s Obi-Wan Kenobi was the Grand Inquisitor’s live-action debut, played by Rupert Friend, as the events of the show took place before Rebels.
Fifth Brother
Similarly, the Imperial Inquisitor known as the Fifth Brother debuted in Rebels and jumped to live-action thanks to Obi-Wan Kenobi, played by The Fast and the Furious’ Sung Kang.
Huyang
Originally debuting in The Clone Wars teaching Jedi younglings how to construct their lightsabers, David Tennant’s Jedi droid Professor Huyang made his first live-action appearance in Ahsoka, ᴀssisting “Lady Tano” and her allies in the New Republic Era. Huyang is the oldest known Star Wars character to date, having been built by the First Jedi 25,000 years before the prequels.
