Timothy Zahn, who wrote the best-selling Heir to the Empire trilogy novel series, shared his thoughts regarding Grand Admiral Thrawn’s live-action debut in Ahsoka.
During a recent appearance at Dragon Con 2023, Zahn expressed his excitement about Thrawn’s live-action appearance on the Disney+ series, where he will once again be portrayed by Lars Mikkelsen after first voicing the villain in Star Wars Rebels. The sci-fi author is confident that series creator Dave Filoni will do a great job in translating Thrawn into live-action since he has already proven how much he understands the character after bringing the villain to life in Rebels. "Very excited, especially when it’s under Dave Filoni's tutelage," Zahn said. "He’d shown back in Rebels that he understands Thrawn, understands how to write for him, understands how you defeat him. You give him something he can’t control or something he doesn’t know."
However, Zahn admitted that he does feel a bit wary that other writers may not be able to interpret Thrawn. Despite this, he continued to reiterate his confidence in Filoni’s work. "I would always be nervous about whether the writers bringing him in would understand him enough to write properly," he added. "Filoni seems to have got it. So, I’m looking forward to see what he is doing. I know a little bit of some of the new characters, some of the new dynamic. It’s going to be interesting to see."
Created by Zahn, Grand Admiral Thrawn made his Star Wars debut through the Heir to the Empire trilogy which was published from 1991-1993. Set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, the story revolves around an Imperial military leader from the Chiss race. It saw Thrawn gathering the remaining forces of the Galactic Empire in order to destroy the New Republic. One of his earlier plans was to kidnap Darth Vader’s children Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in order to entice them to manipulate them into joining the dark side.
Thrawn’s Potential Future in Star Wars
The latest episode of Ahsoka titled "Part Six: Far, Far Away," finally featured the long-awaited live-action debut of Mikkelsen’s Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was last seen by fans in the series finale of Rebels where he was thrown into hyperspace with Ezra Bridger. At the time of writing, Lucasfilm hasn’t announced if Thrawn would still appear in future Star Wars projects beyond Ahsoka. However, rumors suggest that he might be set up as the main antagonist in Dave Filoni’s highly-anticipated Star Wars crossover movie.
Filoni’s untitled project is expected to wrap up the stories told in Lucasfilm’s Disney+ shows such as The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew, which all exist within the same timeline. So far, Filoni hasn’t clarified which characters would appear in his live-action feature directorial debut. In a previous interview, Filoni and executive producer Jon Favreau addressed the challenge of fitting an number of beloved characters into one movie. "I think one thing we're in agreement about is that the characters — as special as they are — the story has to drive what characters are," Favreau said.
New episodes of Ahsoka debut every Tuesday on Disney+.
Source: The Geeky Waffle via Collider