10 Animated ‘Star Wars’ Characters Who Transitioned Perfectly to Live-Action

Some of the best Star Wars characters made their debut in animated series like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Now, with the growth of new Star Wars projects, several of them have crossed over into live-action movies and shows, and it’s likely more will follow in the future.

Bringing a character out of animation into live-action is a tricky task; there’s a balance that has to be made to make them look believable when portrayed by a physical actor, while also keeping the characteristics that made fans love them. Despite the difficulties, Star Wars has managed to pull it off several times. Ahsoka, Sabine, and Cad Bane are just a few famous characters who made the move from animation to live-action – and did it perfectly.

10 C1-10P “Chopper”

Played by Dave Filoni

Despite being made to perform menial tasks, droids in Star Wars often have their own personalities, some more than others, and Chopper (Dave Filoni) is one of the more unique individuals. A veteran of the Clone Wars, he was found in a crashed Y-Wing on Ryloth by Hera Syndulla and became her personal mechanic, helping to keep the Ghost running.

Because of his past and a lack of routine maintenance, Chopper can be unstable and has a passion for chaos and destruction. His wacky temperament worked well in animation, where realism wasn’t so important, but it could have been an issue in live-action. As we see in Ahsoka, however, this wasn’t a problem, and he’s just as destructive when being portrayed by a remote-controlled model.

9 Saw Gerrera

Played by Andrew Kishino and Forest Whitaker

The rebellion against the Empire had a lot of different roots and several important leaders. One of the most divisive was Saw Gerrera (Voiced by Andrew Kishino). He had fought against the Separatist droid armies on his home planet of Onderon during the Clone Wars, using ruthless guerrilla tactics to defeat his enemy, and losing his sister in the conflict.

When we see Saw Gerrera in Rogue One (Played by Forest Whitaker), he’s changed, becoming more paranoid and refusing to trust anyone. This is the perfect evolution for his character, however, as he’s been fighting a war for more than twenty years, living in hiding and risking his life every day. He’s also become more isolated as his aggressive tactics push away the other Rebel leaders like Mon Mothma, who are unable to accept the harsh effect his attacks have on civilians as the Empire retaliates.

8 General Grievous

Played by Matthew Wood, John DiMaggio, and Richard McGonagle

A cyborg general in command of the Separatist army during the Clone Wars, Grievous underwent medical procedures to have his natural body parts replaced with cybernetic alternatives to enhance his fighting skills and make him powerful enough to face Jedi knights in single combat. While Grievous’s most memorable appearance is in the 2005 movie Revenge Of The Sith, he actually appeared first in the 2003 Clone Wars series created by Genndy Tartakovsky.

Grievous from the microseries was a stealthy opponent and an expert fighter who took on Jedi including Ki-Adi-Mundi and Shaak Ti and easily beat them. In Revenge Of The Sith, however, he is quickly dispatched by Obi Wan Kenobi. While this marked a big change for his character, it did make him more realistic and not so overpowered. As we see in other media, it’s hard for a non-Force user to get the edge over Jedi or Sith in hand-to-hand combat, and it’s unlikely that some of the greatest members of the Jedi Council would have been such easy targets.

7 Huyang

Played by David Tennant

An ancient droid in service to the Jedi Order, Huyang is 25,000 years old and keeps a record of every lightsaber built at that time, using his knowledge to help younglings construct their weapons. This is where we first encounter him in The Clone Wars, teaching young Jedi who’ve traveled to Ilum to harvest their Kyber crystals when they’re attacked by Hondo Ohnaka and his pirate gang.

Huyang’s live-action appearance in Ahsoka was one of the highlights of the show, especially as former Doctor Who star David Tennant returned to the role. He’s a fine example of how droids are some of the most memorable characters in Star Wars having to communicate all their emotions without the benefit of facial expressions. This also makes him one of the most consistent characters in both animated and live-action appearances.

6 Grand Admiral Thrawn

Played by Lars Mikkelsen

There are few adversaries more capable than Grand Admiral Thrawn. At a time when the Imperial military had more than its fair share of incompetent commanders, Thrawn puts himself above the competition with his brilliant strategic mind, which sees him become one of the biggest threats to the Rebel Alliance.

While Thrawn’s first onscreen appearance was in Star Wars Rebels, he actually originated in Timothy Zahn’s trilogy of novels released in the early 1990s, and quickly became one of the most popular characters in what was then the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Making his live-action debut in Ahsoka, Thrawn was another character to be played by his animated voice actor, with Lars Mikkelsen bringing the same calm, confident demeanor that the character had been famous for in Rebels. Despite being trapped in a galaxy far away from any assistance and without the might of the Imperial military to call upon for help, he’s still a formidable opponent.

5 Bo-Katan Kryze

Played by Katee Sackhoff

In The Clone Wars, Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) was a villain, a member of the terrorist group Death Watch who were devoted to destabilizing the pacifist government of Duchess Satine. When Maul claimed the right to rule Mandalore, Bo-Katan sided with the Republic to regain control of her planet.

Bo-Katan also has a prominent role in The Mandalorian, becoming more important as the series progresses. After so many years of war and infighting, she’s willing to put aside the differences which separate the many Mandalorian factions, hoping they can work together to save what’s left of their culture and society. This is the perfect resolution for her character, as she’s seen first-hand the destruction caused by Mandalore’s many civil wars.

4 Sabine Wren

Played by Tiya Sircar and Natasha Liu Bordizzo

Most things about Sabine are unconventional. She’s a Mandalorian, but she doesn’t follow the traditions of her people, first being a cadet in the Imperial Academy before joining up with the Rebellion. All along she’s struggled with authority, and has trouble accepting the responsibility that comes with owning the Darksaber.

It’s only natural that she’s also a difficult Jedi Padawan. The Sabine we see in the Ahsoka series is older and more mature, but she also has the same problems, finding it hard to listen to Ahsoka’s teachings, and not having the confidence to believe in her own Force abilities. Originally voiced by Tiya Sircar in Star Wars Rebels, there’s a good balance in her live-action portrayal by Natasha Liu Bordizzo who keeps Sabine’s essential cockiness while bringing the change that her years of war and training demand.

3 Ezra Bridger

Played by Taylor Gray and Eman Esfandi

Starting out as a streetwise kid on Lothal, Ezra (voiced by Taylor Gray) accidentally falls in with the Ghost crew and becomes the padawan of Order 66 survivor Kanan Jarrus. It’s the classic relationship between master and apprentice that Star Wars is built on, and while he’s not officially a Jedi, he has all the positive traits, including a selflessness that leads him to sacrifice himself to transport Thrawn away from Lothal.

A lot of credit has to go to Eman Esfandi who plays the character in Ahsoka. It seems that he spent time studying Ezra in the animated series, even going so far as to copy small mannerisms and expressions that are so characteristic of him. There are few characters who have moved so seamlessly from animation to be portrayed by a physical actor, while still keeping the details that make them instantly recognizable.

2 Cad Bane

Played by Corey Burton and Dorian Kingi

He’s not just one of the most successful bounty hunters, Cad Bane (voiced by Corey Burton) also has that most important thing: a terrifying reputation that precedes him. He was one of the highest paid bounty hunters during the Clone Wars, taking on assignments to infiltrate both the Senate building and the Jedi Temple, being successful both times.

Entering into live-action in The Book Of Boba Fett, there was some criticism about the prosthetics used, showing the difficulty of bringing characters out of stylized animation into a realistic setting. Despite this, Cad (played by Dorian Kingi) had the more important elements of a menacing presence and a clear connection to his animated self. While he was older now, he still made people freeze when they saw him, and had the same recognizable silhouette with his broad-rimmed hat and long coat.

1 Ahsoka Tano

Played by Ashley Eckstein, Ariana Greenblatt, and Rosario Dawson

Of all the original characters created for The Clone Wars, Ahsoka (Voiced by Ashley Eckstein) is one of the most important. As the Padawan of Anakin Skywalker, she has a leading role in the war, which culminates in her leaving the Order. During the age of the Empire, she was a central part of the early rebellion, helping to set up the Fulcrum network of spies and informers.

Because of her prominence in the franchise, she was always going to be one of the most difficult characters to bring into live-action. Rosario Dawson plays her as an older and wiser person with the benefit of years of experience and a difficult past that has moved her away from the smart, snippy young Jedi she was in The Clone Wars (Ariana Greenblatt portrays a young Ahsoka). In her own show, she is now a master who has to try and teach her own Padawan, aware of all the faults with her own training, which makes her a more complex, mature character.