Summary
- Grand Admiral Thrawn's character transitioned from being a Legends character to part of the Star Wars canon after his reintroduction in Star Wars Rebels season
- He served as the primary villain and received further development in subsequent episodes.
- Thrawn's chronological appearances include the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy, detailing his rise to become the Empire's Grand Admiral, and the novel Thrawn, which follows his enrollment in the Galactic Empire.
- Thrawn's story continues in Star Wars Rebels, where he battles against the Rebellion, encounters the Ghost crew multiple times, and plays a significant role in the events leading up to the series finale. His defeat and disappearance coincide with Ezra's disappearance.
Grand Admiral Thrawn is shaping up to be Star Wars' next primary antagonist beginning with Ahsoka, with the character having appeared extensively in wider canon since his introduction. Interestingly, Thrawn was initially a Legends character. First introduced in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, Thrawn served as the villain of the New Republic era in the 1990s as the antagonist of a sequel series to Lucas' original trilogy. However, when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, Zahn's series and the character of Thrawn were labeled Legends, the non-canon stories of the Star Wars universe.
However, the character of Thrawn endured. In Star Wars Rebels' season 3 premiere, Star Wars' Grand Admiral Thrawn was reintroduced to canon. The Chiss Imperial served as the primary villain of the final two seasons of Rebels while receiving plenty of other stories to flesh out his history in the universe, only now as part of canon rather than Legends. With that being said, here is every chronological canon appearance of Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars before his appearance in the upcoming Ahsoka show.
Related:
22 Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising
The first chronological appearance of Thrawn in Star Wars canon comes with the novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising. The book is set in 19 BBY, primarily in the Outer Rim on the planet of Csilla where the Chiss hail from. The book tells the story of Thrawn's ascension through the ranks of the Chiss Ascendancy, the governing body of his people. Once again written by Timothy Zahn after his ThrawnStar Wars Legends series, the book began a trilogy of stories detailing Thrawn's rise to become the Empire's Grand Admiral.
21 Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good
Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good was the second book in the Ascendancy series and a sequel to Chaos Rising. The book follows on from the first installment, continuing to highlight Thrawn's military prowess and elevation within the Chiss Ascendancy's ranks. Much like the first book, Greater Good sees Thrawn battling against an unknown threat that threatens the Chiss' way of life.
20 Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil
The third and final book in Timothy Zahn's Ascendancy Trilogy is Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil. The final book in the series culminates Thrawn's battle to ensure the future of the Chiss Ascendancy. Much of the novel surrounds Thrawn uncovering secrets of the Nine Ruling Families of Chiss that threaten to destroy his people and their security forever. As the last installment of the Ascendancy story, Lesser Evil also explores Thrawn's exile from the Chiss Ascendancy, leading into his political and military career within the Galactic Empire.
19 Thrawn
The next chronological appearance of Thrawn in Star Wars canon was actually released before the Ascendancy Trilogy despite taking place later in the Star Wars timeline. Simply titled Thrawn, the book was released in April 2017 again written by Timothy Zahn. The book outlines Thrawn's enrollment in the Galactic Empire and similarly depicts his rise to power within that organization, just as the Ascendancy series did for the Chiss Ascendancy. The novel ends just before the events of Star Wars Rebels season 3 in the Star Wars timeline.
18 Rebels Season 3, Episode 1 - "Steps Into Shadow"
The first canon appearance of Thrawn is actually the fifth in chronological order, that being Thrawn's introduction into Star Wars Rebels with season 3, episode 1, "Steps Into Shadow." The episode is set shortly after Thrawn ends, with the Chiss Imperial recently promoted to Grand Admiral. His promotion sees him allocated to deal with the rising threat of the Rebellion in the galaxy, with Thrawn first coming into contact with the Ghost crew in Rebels' season 3 premiere.
17 Rebels Season 3, Episode 5 - "Hera's Heroes"
Thrawn's next Star Wars Rebels appearance came in season 3, episode 5, "Hera's Heroes." In the episode, Thrawn lures Hera Syndulla and the Ghost crew into a trap by transforming her home of Ryloth into an Imperial base and taking Hera's kalikori, a Syndulla family heirloom. However, Hera outsmarts Thrawn through ingenuity, impressing the Grand Admiral who allows her to escape.
16 Rebels Season 3, Episode 8 - "Iron Squadron"
Star Wars Rebels season 3, episode 8 is titled "Iron Squadron" and features the Ghost crew attempting to recruit a pilot named Mart who flies with the titular squadron. Thrawn's appearance in the episode is fairly limited, being that he attempts to ambush Iron Squadron and the members of the Ghost crew with them. The crew manages to barely escape again, leading into Thrawn's next appearance.
15 Rebels Season 3, Episode 10 - "An Inside Man"
Another altercation between Grand Admiral Thrawn and the crew of Star Wars Rebels comes in season 3, episode 10, "Inside Man." While inspecting an Imperial factory on Lothal, the Ghost crew crosses paths with Thrawn once again, who is using the factory to build a new variant of TIE Fighter: the TIE Defender. With the aid of Imperial Agent Kallus, a spy for the Rebels, the Ghost crew escapes with knowledge of Thrawn's Defender project. Thrawn becomes aware of an Imperial spy as the Rebels could not have retrieved this information alone, vowing to use the spy against the Empire's enemies.
14 Rebels Season 3, Episode 14 - "Warhead"
Thrawn's next appearance in Star Wars Rebels is again limited. In Star Wars Rebels season 3, episode 14, "Warhead," Thrawn sends probe droids out into the galaxy to find the Rebel base. After being destroyed by Zeb, Chopper, and AP-5, Thrawn narrows down his search for the Ghost crew's homebase. With the other droids reporting back safely, the destroyed warhead alerts Thrawn of some Rebellion activity near Chopper Base leading him closer to his goal of finding the Rebels.
13 Rebels Season 3, Episode 17 - "Through Imperial Eyes"
The next chronological appearance of Thrawn comes in Star Wars Rebels season 3, episode 17, "Through Imperial Eyes." In this episode, Thrawn boards Agent Kallus' ship in order to root out the spy among the Imperials, just as Ezra, Chopper, and AP-5 arrive to break Kallus free after the Empire intercepted his last transmission. Eventually, Kallus pins the blame on another Imperial as the Rebels escape after removing their home base planet of Attolon from Thrawn's computer. However, the episode ends with Thrawn revealing he knows Kallus is the spy, and that he can be used to the Empire's advantage.
12 Rebels Season 3, Episode 18 - "Secret Cargo"
In Star Wars Rebels season 3, episode 18, "Secret Cargo," the Ghost crew smuggles Mon Mothma away from the Empire after she spoke out against the Emperor. Thrawn intercepts the Rebels, engaging in a lengthy space battle in which he tests his prototype TIE Defender's combat capabilities. The Rebels only escape after detonating a nearby nebula, leading Thrawn into his next chronological appearance in Star Wars Rebels' season 3 finale.
11 Rebels season 3, Episodes 21 & 22 - "Zero Hour"
"Zero Hour" is the two-part finale of Star Wars Rebels season 3 and sees Thrawn capturing Kallus just as the latter contacts the Rebels. Thrawn then tracks Kallus' transmission to Attolon and launches an all-out assault on the Rebel base. After blocking escape by space through two Interdictor Cruises, Thrawn leads a ground assault on the Rebels. Only the aid of Sabine Wren and the Mandalorians, and the actions of the mysterious, neutrally-aligned Bendu, allow the Rebels to escape. Before disappearing, the Bendu warns Thrawn that he has foreseen the Imperial Grand Admiral's defeat.
10 Thrawn: Alliances
The sequel to 2017's Thrawn novel, Thrawn: Alliances was written by Timothy Zahn and takes place in between Star Wars Rebels seasons 3 and 4. The book is unrelated to the plot of Star Wars Rebels and follows Thrawn being dispatched to Batuu to investigate a growing threat to the Empire alongside Darth Vader. The book ends with Vader and Thrawn begrudgingly respecting each other despite their constant grappling for the Emperor's approval.
9 Rebels Season 4, Episode 6 - "Flight Of The Defender"
The next appearance of Thrawn in the Star Wars timeline does not come until Star Wars Rebels season 4, episode 6, "Flight of the Defender." In the episode, Sabine and Ezra infiltrate the site on Lothal in which the TIE Defender is being tested before Thrawn personally appears to oversee the demonstration. The episode ends with Thrawn realizing the Defender's capabilities are immense after a modest pilot like Ezra used the ship to defeat three highly-trained Imperial pilots.
8 Rebels Season 4, Episode 7 - "Kindred"
In Star Wars Rebels season 4, episode 7, "Kindred," another character from Thrawn's Legends stories is introduced. That character is Rukh, Thrawn's personal bodyguard and assassin. Despite being part of Legends in Zahn's Heir to the Empire series, Rukh's first appearance in Star Wars canon comes in this episode. Thrawn dispatches Rukh to obtain the hyperdrive from the stolen TIE Defender the episode prior who fails after being defeated by the Rebels.
7 Rebels Season 4, Episode 9 - "Rebel Assault"
The mid-season finale of Star Wars Rebels season 4 was episode 9 - "Rebel Assault." The episode features the Rebels attacking Lothal directly to destroy Thrawn's factory and his TIE Defender project. However, Thrawn leads the defense of Lothal and completely annihilates the attacking Rebel force besides Hera, Chopper, and Mart from Iron Squadron. At the end of the episode, Hera is captured by Thrawn and interrogated about the location of the larger Rebellion fleet.
6 Rebels Season 4, Episode 10 - "Jedi Night"
The first episode back after the mid-season break was Star Wars Rebels season 4, episode 10, "Jedi Knight." The episode opens with Hera incapacitated by Thrawn, with the Chiss Imperial interrogating her for the location of the Rebellion fleet. Hera withstands Thrawn's questions, with Thrawn admitting he kept Hera's kalikori from Star Wars Rebels season 3 as he has a fondness for collecting the art of his enemies, thus learning their culture. Midway through the episode, Thrawn is summoned to Coruscant to argue with the Emperor that his TIE Defender project is worth continuing ahead of Director Krennic's Stardust project, the Death Star from Rogue One.
5 Thrawn: Treason
Thrawn: Treason is the third and final book in Zahn's canon Thrawn trilogy and is set after "Jedi Night" and Thrawn's departure to Coruscant. The book details his arguments for his TIE Defender project against Krennic's Death Star construction, while also focusing on Thrawn's continued loyalty to the Chiss Ascendancy despite his exile. Thrawn battles the Grysk, a threat from the Unknown Regions that he fears will one day be a danger to the Empire. The book ends with Krennic's Project Stardust receiving full funding, while Thrawn is sent to deal with the Rebels on Lothal before being warned by the Emperor about his loyalty to the Chiss over the Empire.
4 Rebels Season 4, Episode 11 - "DUME"
"DUME" takes place after the Thrawn: Treason book, with Thrawn's only appearance in the episode coming in hologram form when he is updated on the Lothal situation by Governor Pryce. Pryce attempts to conceal her destruction of the TIE Defender's fuel supply from "Jedi Night" by stating that the explosion killed Kanan Jarrus, thus resulting in victory for the Empire. Thrawn, however, knows that his project has now been completely halted by Pryce's actions and that the death of Kanan is not enough to justify this, angrily stating that he will deal with her on his return to Lothal.
3 Rebels Season 4, Episodes 15 & 16 - "Family Reunion - and Farewell"
The final episode of Star Wars Rebels showcased the culmination of Thrawn's war with the Ghost crew. Upon returning to Lothal, Thrawn finds the Imperial Dome of the city under Rebel control, with Ezra ordering Thrawn to leave Lothal lest the Rebels explode the Dome and every Imperial inside. Thrawn retaliates by bombarding the civilians of Lothal now that every Imperial in the city is sheltered in the Dome, forcing Ezra to surrender. Thrawn continues his bombardment of the city only to be confronted by Ezra after the latter escapes Emperor Palpatine.
Eventually, a flock of Purgill appears at Ezra's command. Thrawn is wrapped in their tentacles and pulled into hyperspace by the space whales, ending the former's occupation of Lothal and fulfilling Bendu's earlier prophecy of Thrawn's defeat. Ezra used the Force to keep Thrawn entangled, resulting in the young Jedi also being lost to the Unknown Regions alongside Thrawn.
