Star Wars takes place in a fictional galactic universe. As such, there are species and races beyond what we have in our universe. In the galaxy, they are generally separated into three classifications: sentient, non-sentient, and semi-sentient.
The galaxy has over twenty million sentient species that are, more often than not, mistakenly referred to as “races.” Race more accurately describes a subsection of the broader group, species.
From the humans to the Red Sith, there are so many races that sometimes it is easy to confuse a couple of them. This is exactly what happened in the case of Cad Bane and Thrawn.
In this article, we will be exploring the question of whether or not the two belonged to the same race. So keep reading as we dive in.
Table of Contents
What Race is Thrawn?
Mitth’raw’nuruodo, commonly known as Thrawn, was born as a Chiss male.
He became an officer of the Chiss Ascendancy as well as the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Army during the time of the Galactic Empire.
This Imperial officer had bright blue skin, piercing red eyes, and an elongated face shape with sharp cheekbones. Not only was his outward appearance stunning and unique, but he was also known to be a ruthless and ingenious strategist.
Thrawn believed that to emerge victoriously, one must understand the inner workings of their enemy. To that end, he dedicated his life to understanding all aspects of his enemies. This included learning about their art, histories, philosophies, cultures, strengths, and weaknesses.
As a Chiss male, Thrawn was born on the planet Rentor, located in the dangerous, unexplored, Unknown Regions of the galaxy.
The Unknown Regions were so bad that their residents referred to them as “the Chaos”, as there was always the threat of supernovae, black holes, gravity wells, and other strange phenomena.
Thrawn was born into a small, poor family in the Chiss Ascendancy, known as the Kivu family. Despite having had rough beginnings in his life, Thrawn eventually attended an academy on Rentor and gained the attention of the Mitth Family’s Patriarch, Thooraki.
What Race is Cad Bane?
Cad Bane was born as a Duros male on the planet Duro. Like Thrawn, he had brilliant blue skin with bright red eyes. The one difference is that Cad Bane had breathing tubes coming out of his face where Thrawn did not.
Bane had a long career as a bounty hunter that spanned the fall of the Galactic Republic, the rise of the Galactic Empire, and the New Republic era.
In the early stages of his career, Cad Bane was mentored as a bounty hunter by the infamous Jango Fett. With this advanced training under his belt, Bane amassed his own fame as the years rolled by.
Just before the Battle of Naboo, Cade Bane was employed by Darth Maul to procure Jedi Padawan Eldra Kaitis from an auction. Bane and his crew of bounty hunters set out on the mission, killing anyone who got in their way.
Together with Maul, Bane and his crew took their mark, Eldra Kaitis, to a stolen gunship to flee the scene. Now that Cad Bane had completed the task at hand, he had the time to think about who gave him the job.
Cad Bane and one of his crew members, Aurra Sing, discussed a plan to potentially kill Darth Maul because he knew so little about the Sith Lord.
Why Does Cad Bane Look Different In “The Book Of Boba Fett”?
In the beginning, Cad Bane had a saturated and vibrant blue skin tone and a narrow face structure, which fans have grown accustomed to.
However, in the Disney live-action show The Book of Boba Fett, it seems as though the bounty hunter has become a few shades lighter with a stranger face shape. So much so that many in the Star Wars communities have joked that the character has been “white washed.”
As strange as it may be to see the character look that different, this was probably done intentionally. When we first met Cad Bane, he was younger, which meant his skin and facial features would reflect this.
Just like Jedi Grand Master Yoda, with age, Bane’s skin complexion would lighten, and his facial features would change to account for his new stage in life. Ergo, by the time The Book of Boba Fett rolled around, Cad Bane would have been older, and his physical appearance would show it.
What’s more, in the creation of The Book of Boba Fett, the animated character would have had to be created for live-action. As such, he would look a bit differently in the different versions of the show.
Is Thrawn the Same Race As Cad Bane?
Right off the bat, we can say that Thrawn and Cad Bane are not part of the same race.
Cad Bane belonged to the Duros species, who came from the planet Duro. On the other hand, the Thrawn is a part of the race of Chiss, who come from the planet Rentor.
Though both characters belong to different species, many fans believed that they were part of the same race, and it is understandable to see why.
Both Cad Bane and Thrawn were near humans in appearance and personality traits. Not only that, but both characters had bright blue skin, piercing red eyes, and slender figures.
While blue aliens are not foreign to the Star Wars franchise, or television in general, Cad Bane and Thrawn are the most prominent ones to come across the screen.
The pair had similar coloring, and both Thrawn and Bane had an intense dedication to their jobs.
Both Bane and Thrawn were ruthless in their respective fields. As a bounty hunter, Bane was cutthroat when it came to his bounties, and as we established, so was Thrawn.
Although Thrawn played the long game of getting to know his enemies before striking, and Bane was a bit more impulsive, Thrawn was just as deadly as Cad Bane.
Conclusion
Despite having similar looks, mannerisms, and approaches to their careers, Cad Bane and Thrawn were different people.
Contrary to popular belief, the pair do not belong to the same species. Cad Bane was a Duros male, whereas Thrawn was a Chiss male. While they both had blue skin, red eyes, and a similar physique, Cad Bane was notably different from Thrawn.
Cad Bane had the additional breathing tubes attached to him, and in The Book of Boba Fett, the difference between the pair is more evident than before. This is because he became lighter in skin tone and had a differently structured face.