The search for Ezra is what motivates Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren in this series, and Thrawn won’t be far away. They disappeared into the unknown regions and weren’t heard from… until now. He was nearly successful, but the Jedi Ezra Bridger surprised Thrawn by enlisting Purrgil (space whales) to take the Admiral’s flagship into hyperspace, with Bridger and Thrawn aboard. As a result, he was in command of the Seventh Fleet, and he was tasked with eradicating a rebel threat posed by the Phoenix Squadron (which saw Hera Syndulla as one of their key leaders).

Thrawn was one of twelve Grand Admirals in the Imperial navy (and the only non-human one), the highest individual military rank an officer could attain. His appearance in Ahsoka is only the beginning. Filoni doesn’t say whether this means Thrawn will be the main villain of his Star Wars film, but I think it’s quite safe to assume that he will be. We’re fortunate to have that character, and fortunate to have Lars playing him.Īgain, for those who have been paying attention, this was already assumed to be the case, but it’s always good to hear it confirmed. He’s a critical player in this time period.

In the words ‘Star Wars’, the ‘war’ part of it - him being a Grand Admiral, a leader, a military strategist, a Moriarty archetype, someone that will out-think you, out-strategise you - that really resonated. But the boldness that Tim had was to make somebody that wasn’t like that, that didn’t have those abilities, but could fight in a different way. He wasn’t another helmet-wearing, lightsaber-wielding bad guy, you know? There’s a lot of pull to make characters that are like Vader, because it is so iconic. When Timothy Zahn wrote Heir To The Empire, Thrawn became this very iconic villain, because he was different than anything we’d seen before. His response was completely unsurprising, but still notable.ĭefinitely, in my eyes. Filoni, who is the showrunner on Ahsoka and will also be directing a live-action film tying these stories together, was asked whether he sees Thrawn as the big bad in this era of storytelling. He’s been set up to be the one to assume command of these Imperial remnants and gather them together for a fight, and it sounds like that will indeed be the case.ĭave Filoni, who alongside Jon Favreau is overseeing the whole Mandoverse, recently spoke to Empire about these things. But he’ll make his long-awaited debut in Ahsoka, bringing the character to life in live-action for the first time. He was mentioned in season two of The Mandalorian, and then again in season three as the Imperial remnant leaders await his return. When Ahsoka premieres later this year, it will be continuing the story told in The Mandalorian and the connected universe, and there will be (among other things) an incredibly important development: the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

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