After Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, they wiped the vast majority of Star Wars canon. From books to video games, it was all stricken from the canon and declared "Legends". What remained were the six live-action movies and the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, basically anything George Lucas was directly involved in the creation of. Despite this new canon, there was one character so beloved by fans who was able to make the leap from Legends to canon: Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Updated September 24, 2023: With Thrawn making his grand return in Ahsoka, this article has been updated with additional information by Jack Deegan.
While die-hard fans are very familiar with the cold and calculating villain, it wasn't until a few years ago when modern audiences were introduced to him in Star Wars Rebels and now, for the first time in live action in Ahsoka. A master manipulator who's both fought against the Rebels and worked alongside Anakin Skywalker, Thrawn is a fresh concept when it comes to Star Wars villains and a character to get excited about. For those who would like to learn a little more about Thrawn, we are here to explain everything you need to know about the figure who has emerged as a person of interest in a galaxy far, far away.
Who Created Grand Admiral Thrawn?
Thrawn was introduced to the Star Wars universe by author Timothy Zahn in a trilogy of novels beginning in 1991. The trilogy is now called the "Thrawn trilogy" or the "Heir to the Empire trilogy," taking its name from the first book in the series. Heir to the Empire was published at a time when little was happening with the franchise, several years after the release of Return of the Jedi. The book takes place after the events of the original trilogy. Thrawn is introduced as the new leader of the Empire. The sequels, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command were published in 1992 and 1993, respectively.
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Grand Admiral Thrawn is a member of a mysterious alien race known as the Chiss. His native name is Mitth'raw'nuruodo. He has blue skin and has an unparalleled level of brilliance within the ranks of the Empire. He led the Empire following the death of Palpatine. As a brilliant strategist, Thrawn was able to ascend the ranks of the Imperial Navy, ultimately filling the power vacuum left behind by Palpatine and Darth Vader. Thrawn is able to deduce much about his enemies using art and other artifacts from their culture.
Where has Thrawn Appeared in Star Wars?
Thrawn's most popular story came in the Heir to the Empire trilogy of books, which was immediately marked non-canon by Disney in order to clean up the messy Star Wars timeline. While those books are still available to read, they are not necessarily a reflection of what has happened or will happen in the current iteration of the franchise. So, we are mostly going to focus on canon appearances. But for completists, here is a slightly more comprehensive list of other Star Wars projects he has appeared in.
- Specter of the Past
- Vision of the Future
- Outbound Flight
- Mist Encounter - Star Wars Adventure Journal 7
- Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire
- Star Wars: Rebellion
- Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
- Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
- Rebel Force: Target
- Choices of One
- Galaxy of Fear: The Swarm
- Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
- Command Decision - Star Wars Adventure Journal 11}
- Star Wars: TIE Fighter
- Crisis of Faith
- A Grand Admiral Returns - Heir to the Empire Sourcebook
- Tatooine Ghost
As mentioned, when Disney wiped out all of the Legends stories from canon, Thrawn went with it. But fans were treated to a big surprise when the blue-skinned alien appeared in the Star Wars Rebels season 3 trailer. The character was brought in as the main adversary for season 3 and season 4 of the animated series, which centers on the formation of the Rebellion and takes place before the events of A New Hope.
Aside from that show, Timothy Zahn returned to author a new series of canon novels detailing Thrawn's rise through the ranks of the Imperial Navy. The first book, titled Star Wars: Thrawn, was released in 2017. It was followed by Thrawn: Alliances in 2018 and Thrawn: Treason in 2019. The books all take place before the events of the Rebels finale and focus on his various exploits aiding the Empire and run-ins with Anakin Skywalker, serving to provide a window into his brilliant strategic mind in practice.
Zahn released a new set of novels known as Thrawn: The Ascendency Trilogy that dive into the character's time with the Chiss Ascendency. Book I: Chaos Rising was released in September 2020. The sequel, titled Greater Good, arrived in April of 2021, while the final chapter of the trilogy, titled Lesser Evil, arrived in November of 2021.
What Happened to Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels?
Thrawn was introduced in Star Wars Rebels as a new villain in season 3. The show focuses on the early days of the formation of the Rebellion and follows the crew of the Ghost. He was brought to the system of Lothal by the Imperial Governor Pryce to help extinguish the emerging rebel threat. A rivalry emerged between Hera Syndulla and her crew, which includes Kanan Jarrus, Zeb Orrelios, Sabine Wren, and Jedi padawan Ezra Bridger. As Wren was an artist, Thrawn was able to study her work to help win his war against the group.
Thrawn was last seen in the Star Wars Rebels series finale. In the end, he blasted off into space with Ezra Bridger, thanks to the help of the space whales known as Purrgil. Ezra and Thrawn's whereabouts in the aftermath of Rebels have become one of the biggest lingering questions within the franchise.
What we know for sure is that Thrawn is out there somewhere in the galaxy. The finale included an epilogue, in which it is revealed that Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren, after the events of Return of the Jedi, set out on a journey to find out what happened to Ezra. While real-life years went by without an answer as to Thrawn's whereabouts, things have finally started to turn around.
How Does Thrawn Connect to The Mandalorian?
The Mandalorian Chapter 13, titled "The Jedi", teased Thrawn's return. Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano is seeking information throughout the episode from an Imperial ally named Morgan Elsbeth. For most of the episode, it is entirely mysterious what she is seeking. But after Ahsoka and Mando's best Morgan and her guards, it is revealed that she knows the whereabouts of Grand Admiral Thrawn. This is of great interest to Ahsoka.
This firmly connects the narrative in The Mandalorian season 2 to the Star Wars Rebels series finale. While this finally confirmed there was a live-action future for Thrawn. This was further teased in season 3 of The Mandalorian as the Empire is waiting for Thrawn's return to usher in their military. All eyes were on Ahsoka as it was the series that would bring Thrawn into live-action.
Thrawn's Return in Ahsoka
After years of anticipation and buildup, Grand Admiral Thrawn's journey finally continued in Ahsoka. Set 10 years after the Star Wars Rebels series finale, Ahsoka follows the titular character as she investigates a new threat rising from the ashes of the Empire. It all starts when former Jedi Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati break Morgan out of prison, as she knows where the map that will lead them to Thrawn and by association Ezra's, location. This leads Ahsoka to reunite the remaining members of the Ghost Crew in an attempt to stop Thrawn's return and save Ezra. This includes her former padawan, Sabine Wren, and General of the New Republic, Hera Syndulla.
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It was revealed here in Ahsoka that Thrawn and Ezra had been banished to the planet of Peridea. Located in a distant galaxy far, far away from the main one where Star Wars takes place, Peridea is unreachable by the standard means of hyperspace travel. There were only two ways to reach said galaxy. The first was the Eye of Sion, a new ship designed specifically for advanced hyperspace travel. It has technology beyond anything seen before, capable of extragalactic travel done by three massive hyperspace engines. The second way revolves around Purrgil, a whale-like species of alien capable of independent hyperspace travel. For Ahsoka to reach this galaxy, she had to travel within a Purrgil's mouth to the new galaxy.
Once the team made it to Peridea, they soon found out exactly what Thrawn had been up to all these years: building and maintaining his army. With a decade to plan and prepare, Thrawn becomes more dangerous than ever. It doesn't help the Ghost Crew that Peridea was the ancient homeworld of the Dathomiri and the center of their Witch Kingdom. The Great Mothers, three powerful witches capable of using dark magick, allied themselves with Thrawn and helped Morgan plan his escape. While there's still time for Ahsoka to stop Thrawn's escape as Sabine rescues Ezra, they're up against some near-impossible odds.
What is Thrawn's Future?
Now that Thrawn has made his live-action debut, the possibilities are endless for the character. He could meet his end in Ahsoka, but it looks like there are greater plans for the master strategist. Executive producer of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and now Ahsoka, Dave Filoni has been creating his own saga within the Star Wars world. Most importantly, though, Filoni has an upcoming theatrical film slated that will be the culmination of The Mandalorian and its live-action spinoffs.
Thrawn would make for the perfect antagonist in Filoni's film. Ahsoka and the Ghost Crew already have ties to him, and with the fate of the galaxy at risk, it wouldn't be hard to convince Din Djarin and Boba Fett to help out with their cause. Thrawn is a strong contender for the villain that will unite these various corners of the Star Wars galaxy and set the stage for what will become The First Order in the sequel trilogy. Ahsoka will likely not be the end of Thrawn's story, and there will be more to come.
