The long-discussed return of Grand Admiral Thrawn has finally happened. The character was mentioned in both the second and third seasons of The Mandalorian, but for the first time ever in live-action we got to see Thrawn in the most recent episode of Ahsoka.
The villains’ search for Thrawn has paid off, as they have traveled to another galaxy to find him and prepare to bring him home. The heroes, meanwhile, have found Ezra Bridger, but also are in danger of Thrawn re-emerging to threaten the New Republic. Fans don’t need to know Thrawn’s backstory to know that he’s a formidable foe, given that both the heroes and the villains seem to know that if Thrawn returns he’ll be hard to stop. That’s enough for the story to keep moving along, but if you’re curious, Thrawn has quite an extensive Star Wars history – over three decades’ worth, in fact, before his first ever live-action appearance.
Thrawn was created for Timothy Zahn’s 1991 book Heir to the Empire, which was the first in a trilogy of books that helped to give birth to the explosion of Star Wars Legends stories. The trilogy was set five years after the Battle of Endor, with the Civil War ended and the New Republic in power. But the last remaining Grand Admiral, Thrawn, returned from assignment in the unknown regions and began to assemble his forces, re-building the Empire and challenging the New Republic – an effort that nearly proved successful. Though those stories are no longer considered canon, it’s quite evident that these live-action shows are offering a loose adaptation of it. There are plenty of details that are different, but the major threads nonetheless seem to be in place: Thrawn returns around five years after Endor to attempt to assemble his forces, re-build the Empire, and threaten the New Republic.
Part of what has made Thrawn a compelling villain is that he’s a different kind of enemy than we had seen in Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine. Thrawn is more cool and calculating, he doesn’t wield (or really understand) the Force, and he is a tactical genius. He studies his opponents, including their history and philosophy and art, to learn as much as he can about them in order to out-smart them in combat. He almost always succeeds in this, staying a step ahead of his opponent. The only weakness for Thrawn is that which he is unable to predict or account for, which is part of why he’s a bit mystified by the Force. However the fact that he now has a partnership with the Nightsisters of Dathomir is an indication that perhaps he’s compensated for that lack a bit.
As far as Thrawn’s backstory goes, he is a Chiss – a blue-skinned alien species from the Unknown Regions. He was part of the Chiss Ascendancy, the ruling government of the people, by serving in the defense fleet protecting them from threats. One such threat, the Grysks, began to be especially dangerous to the Chiss, which caused Thrawn to begin investigating more within the known galaxy, including during the Clone Wars where he formed an uneasy partnership with Anakin Skywalker on a mission to learn more. During the reign of the Empire, Thrawn joined the Imperial ranks, thinking the alliance would best help him ensure his people were kept safe. Despite the fact that the Empire was notoriously xenophobic, Emperor Palpatine took an interest in Thrawn and placed him in the Imperial Academy.
Thrawn had trouble navigating the political aspects of the Empire and was an outcast in the overwhelmingly-human ranks, but his close friendship with Eli Vanto, who had been assigned to assist Thrawn, helped him to make it through. Thrawn joined the Imperial Navy and quickly began rising through the ranks, and eventually he was promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral – making him one of the highest-ranking officers in the entire navy. He was given command of the 7th Fleet, operating from his flagship the Chimaera, and he was soon enlisted to help the Imperial governor of Lothal, Arihnda Pryce, deal with a problematic rebel cell. The rebel cell was led by General Hera Syndulla and others, bringing Thrawn into conflict with the crew of the Ghost (which included not only Hera but Kanan Jarrus, Chopper, Garazeb Orrelios, Sabine Wren, and Ezra Bridger) and the whole Phoenix Squadron. Thrawn deduced the location of their base and ambushed them at the Battle of Atollon, inflicting heavy losses despite the enemy’s eventual escape.
Later, the rebels launched a mission to liberate Lothal, attacking Thrawn’s forces while he was away meeting with Palpatine on Coruscant, arguing his case for more support for his TIE Defender project. Thrawn had designed an advanced TIE Fighter that was equipped with both a hyperdrive and deflector shields, and he thought it was a better use of resources than the “Stardust” project (which was the code name for the Death Star, a project kept secret but deduced by Thrawn). The destruction of fuel cells on Lothal doomed the project, however, and Thrawn’s disappearance all but sealed it. For while Thrawn was away at the meeting, the rebels opted to strike. Before they could succeed in liberating Lothal, however, Thrawn returned and laid siege to the capital city. It was then that Ezra Bridger surrendered to him, but he had a trick up his sleeve. A group of purrgil emerged from hyperspace, led by the Ghost, and made quick work of Thrawn’s fleet. They surrounded the Chimaera and carried it away, with Thrawn and Ezra on board, to another galaxy.
For a decade, he presumably operated around Peridia, fighting for survival until he could be rescued and delivered from his “exile.” With Morgan Elsbeth’s arrival in this galaxy, it seems that Thrawn’s return to the known galaxy is imminent.
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