When Disney acquired Lucasfilm, one of the biggest changes to the “Star Wars“ universe was the scrapping of the Extended Universe canon. The EU canon included hundreds of stories told across novels, comics, video games, and more. But even Disney could not deny there was one element of that deleted universe which needed to continue- Thrawn.
The villainous Grand Admiral first appeared in Timothy Zahn‘s 1991 novel, “Heir to the Empire.” Though the character has crossed over into the current storyline of “Star Wars,” the same cannot be said about the novel he first appeared in. Until now.
Dave Filoni has been spearheading some of the best regarded “Star Wars” projects in recent history. His work on “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” has done much to reinvigorate love for the franchise, especially in the wake of the mixed critical reception the sequel film trilogy received. Filoni will also be helming the upcoming “Ahsoka” series. In the titular character’s appearances in “The Mandalorian,” she’s made clear her ambition to track down Grand Admiral Thrawn, regarding him as the next heir to the Empire.
Thrawn has already made his mark as a threat through his appearance in the animated series “Star Wars: Rebels.” Lars Mikkelsen, who voiced the character, will be playing him in “Ahsoka.” There are rumors this notion of an heir to the Empire is going to carry over to a “Star Wars” film that Filoni will be in charge of. Which currently lacks Jon Favreau as a writer or director.
At the time, this is unconfirmed, but the notion of an “Heir to the Empire” film adaptation is a powerful one for the future of the franchise. The novels themselves form a trilogy, across the titular first entry, “Dark Force Rising” and “The Last Command.” Chronologically the story takes place 5 years after the Battle of Endor, which is a time period the films have left open in terms of storytelling.
The book series is also notable for being the introduction of fan favorite character Mara Jade into the franchise. Maybe it’s too much to get our hopes up that she could become a canonical character as well, but there are delightful amount of possibilities that could come from this project, if it indeed is in the making. Should we receive official confirmation that this project is a go, we’ll have more to report. Until then, take this rumor with a grain of galactic salt. We’ll have to wait and see what Thrawn has in store for us.
“Ahsoka” is set to hit Disney+ sometime in August of 2023.
