Mads Mikkelsen decided to spread a little stardust on us all this holiday season by telling an incredible Star Wars story that is sure to delight anyone who has ever enjoyed a galaxy far, far away.
Speaking to Variety, Mikkelsen revealed that he recently helped his brother, Lars, build a Lego Death Star (the actor says this was a few years ago, so it’s presumably not the recent updated one but the 2016 UCS release timed with the release of Rogue One, which is important!). That’s cool on its own without any other context. But there’s so much more to the story.
In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Mads plays Galen Erso, a brilliant scientist the Empire forced to help create the Death Star. He then also built a little fail-safe into it that allowed the Rebel Alliance to blow it up, as revealed on a certain set of plans. So we have the actual, in-canon architect of the Death Star helping build a Death Star in real life. In Lego. Perfection. But it gets better.
Then, there’s Lars, who was first the voice and then the physical embodiment of Grand Admiral Thrawn, first in Star Wars Rebels and then in Star Wars: Ahsoka. In canon, Thrawn and his legions helped the Empire defend supply lines to the Death Star, though ultimately, he was a little dismissive of it, especially when it came to advocating resources for his own special project, the TIE Defender program. Nevertheless, he was still a major part of the Empire when it was being built.
So, basically, at the Mikkelsen home, we have one brother who helped the Empire rise to power, joined by his brother, the architect of the Death Star, to build the massive, 4,000-piece set. It’s just too beautiful to even imagine. You can watch Mads talk about it in the below interview. The Star Wars section begins at 4:16.
Mads can currently be seen in Bryan Fuller’s new film, Dust Bunny, while Lars will reprise his role as Thrawn in Star Wars: Ahsoka, which is likely to be out sometime in 2026.
Do you think the Mikkelsen brothers finished the Death Star? How long did it take them, if so? Will they team up again this Christmas to build the new set, which even has a Mads Mikkelsen minifigure included? Write your own headcanon below.
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