Star Wars: 10 Live Action Characters Who Should Make the Switch to Animation

Highlights

• Characters like Moff Gideon and Din Djarin are seamlessly transitioning from live-action to animation in the post-Disney+
  Star Wars
  universe.
• Fan-favorite characters like Finn and Jyn Erso could have their stories further explored and expanded through animated series or projects.
• A character like Bix Caleen, with connections to the criminal underworld, could be set up for more adventures across the galaxy in potential future seasons or projects.

For many years, there was a huge divide among the Star Wars franchise between live-action and animated projects. Prior to Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm, Star Wars was taken seriously strictly as live-action in its theatrical releases, rather than its animated television shows, The game changed with The Clone Wars, with several characters crossing over between both, such as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, adding further intrigue into the canon.

In the post-Disney+ franchise, the live-action and animated worlds of Star Wars have never been more mixed. Characters from Rebels and Clone Wars appear frequently throughout live-action shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, but few live-action characters have been able to leap to animation, despite being a great fit that could extend their narrative and further explore their characters.

10 Din Djarin

A Space-Farring Adventurer Whose Voice Is More Important Than What’s Beneath The Helmet

The titular Mandalorian in the biggest Star Wars show on Disney+ will likely have a big future outside of live-action projects. The character, along with his sidekick Baby Yoda, is already set to debut in a theatrical film set to continue the story of The Mandalorian. However, the character might already be primed for an animated appearance besides plans for the future.

Although Pedro Pascal was cast in the role and appeared numerous times when Din Djarin took off his Mandalorian helmet, the actor goes mostly unseen for a lot of the show’s adventures. Oftentimes, a stunt double takes his place during production, and Pascal voices his lines afterward. It probably wouldn’t be a big change to his performance to animate the character.

9 Rey Skywalker

Continue The Skywalker Legacy Through Animation

Rey is the main protagonist of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, starting with The Force Awakens and ending with The Rise of Skywalker. Originating as a scavenger on Jakku, Rey discovers she has the powers of a Jedi and trains under Luke Skywalker, later adopting her mentor’s name after defeating Emperor Palpatine and vowing to rebuild the Jedi Order.

Although Daisy Ridley is already set to reprise her role as Rey in an upcoming live-action film, perhaps this will open the doors for more Rey adventures in the animated space. It’d be great to see what adventures the character gets up to as she works to re-establish the Jedi, plus fans would get to see an animated Chewbacca and Millennium Falcon, too.

8 Finn

The Hero Of The Sequel Trilogy Who Deserves The Spotlight

Perhaps one of the most under-utilized characters in the Star Wars sequel trilogy is Finn, a turncloak Stormtrooper who befriends Rey and Poe in The Force Awakens. He’s played charmingly by John Boyega, though the actor has been vocal about his disappointment in the character’s misuse in later chapters of the sequel films, sullying his potential return to the role.

While it would certainly be interesting to see Finn’s life prior to becoming a Stormtrooper, as is the focus of several unofficial novelizations, it’d also be fun to catch up with the character’s adventures after The Rise of Skywalker. Seeing as Boyega might be done with the character, animating Finn wouldn’t confine him, though he’d likely still profit off the use of his likeness.

7 Qi’ra

An Enigma Who Works For Maul Needs Further Exploration

Emilia Clarke brought one of the most interesting Star Wars characters to life with Qi’ra, a childhood friend of Han Solo who appears in the prequel film Solo: A Star Wars Story. While she clearly has a lot of affection for the young smuggler, her allegiances are dubious throughout the film. It’s later revealed she works for Darth Maul, who is still alive following the prequel films.

Some novelizations have told Qi’ra’s story in relation to the original trilogy, which finds her joining a crew of misfit resistors separate from the Rebellion. There’s lots that could be told about her character, as a lot is left a mystery about the character and her past, as well as her future. Plus, it’d be interesting to see if she and Han Solo ever crossed paths again before he died.

6 Jyn Erso

A Talented Thief With A Tragic Past & Fate

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a fan-favorite film in the franchise, chronicling the Rebellion’s fight against the Empire prior to the events of A New Hope. The film introduces Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones, a criminal who is hired by the Rebellion to steal the blueprints for the Death Star. While Rogue One tells the tragic end of Jyn’s story, animations could tell her beginning.

Simply put, if Andor has lots of material to work with for Jyn’s co-star in Rogue One, there’s plenty to explore with the main character’s backstory as well. It’s even more fascinating that Jyn was raised by Saw Gerrera, a character originally introduced in Clone Wars before being portrayed by Forest Whittaker in Rogue One, so it’d be fitting to see Jyn make the transition, too.

5 Moff Gideon

A Complex Path For Power Within The Empire & Its Days After Falling

When looking to cast the leader of a rogue empirical faction following the fall of Emperor Palpatine, there’s really no one better to cast than Giancarlo Esposito. The actor made his Star Wars debut as Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian‘s first season, and remained the show’s primary antagonist in the second and third seasons, though there’s a lot of backstory preceding his appearance.

As revealed in the show, Gideon was a rival of Bo-Katan Kryze, having bested her in combat to obtain the Darksaber during his attempts to destroy Mandalore. If the Star Wars franchise ever wanted to explore the origins of this war on-screen, doing it through animation would be best, especially since Bo-Katan originally debuted as an animated character in Clone Wars.

4 Zorii Bliss

A Talented Smuggler Who Could Have A Fun Animated Action Rom-Com

Zorii Bliss plays a minor role in The Rise of Skywalker, portrayed by the iconic Keri Russell, who sadly doesn’t get to appear on-screen for long since the character is always masked. A former ally and love interest of Poe Dameron, Bliss is a smuggler on the planet Kijimi who aids the Resistance in finding the planet of Exegol and later joins in their air assault on the First Order.

Although Poe Dameron has already made his animated debut in Star Wars Resistance, his backstory with Zorii Bliss is interesting but hardly explored in The Rise of Skywalker. It’d be a great excuse to get Keri Russell and Oscar Isaac back into a galaxy far, far away if only to explore the characters’ histories with each other, and maybe even get to see behind her helmet.

3 Migs Mayfeld

A Boston Mercenary Could Have Some Great Animated Adventures

Not many people would assume one of the best characters in the Star Wars franchise would be played by comedian Bill Burr. However, Burr has a recurring role in The Mandalorian as Migs Mayfeld, a mercenary who Din Djarin teams with on a prison break in the first season. He’s later recruited for his empirical associations so Din and his team can locate Moff Gideon’s ship.

During his second season appearance, it’s revealed that Mayfeld was a survivor of Operation Cinder, where he worked as an empirical sharpshooter. Given how affected the criminal was by his morally dubious past, it’d be interesting to see more of him in the future. Plus, Burr has already proven himself a great animated voice actor with his Netflix series F is for Family, showing that his range isn’t just for a camera, and can be used in a recording booth.

2 Kino Loy

Andy Serkis’ Talents Would Excel In Continuing Kino Loy’s Story In Animation

Andy Serkis made his Star Wars debut as the motion capture performance behind Supreme Leader Snoke, though the character was unceremoniously killed off in The Last Jedi. Serkis got a chance to return to the Star Wars field in the flesh in the Disney+ series Andor, though he’s not hiding behind any CGI jumpsuits, instead playing a prisoner who Cassian Andor befriends named Kino Loy.

In one of the best performances of the entire Star Wars franchise, Loy helps lead a rebellion of prisoners on the containment ship of Narkina 5. However, the character is forced to stay behind as he’s not able to swim away with the other prisoners. Many Star Wars fans would probably be eager to see where Kino Loy’s story goes from here, considering how well Serkis played the role, and animation is a great format for that.

1 Bix Caleen

Someone With Connections To The Criminal Underworld Deserves The Spotlight

One of the more frequent recurring characters in the Disney+ series Andor is Bix Caleen, a former flame of Cassian Andor who has many connections in the criminal underworld. She later becomes a target of the empire for her association with him and is last seen rescued by Andor and taken to a ship of refugees off the planet, but it’s unclear where her story goes.

Assuming Bix will be seen in the second season of Andor, perhaps the character will be set up for many future adventures across the galaxy. It’d be interesting to see more of this character, as Adria Arjona does a great job playing one of the more likable and sensible criminals in the Star Wars franchise. However, it seems important that she never appeared in Rogue One.