Returning
for a third season this month, Star Wars Rebels introduces a
dangerous “new” Imperial character named Grand Admiral Thrawn.
But Thrawn
isn’t new at all!
Many long-time
fans (mostly adults) are excited in anticipation to see this character return
to Star Wars. For some, “excited” is a big understatement! But why? Who is Thrawn?
A little
history: after the popular appeal of 1983’s blockbuster Return of the Jedi started to die down the widespread appeal of all
things Star Wars also started to cool off. Toys, games, clothing, books and
more became more and more scarce. As difficult as it is to imagine now, by 1986
it was increasingly rare to find much of ANYTHING Star Wars.
With no new movies
on the horizon, no new toys and no new books or comics, the late 80’s are often
referred by fans as “the dark times”. Star Wars almost seemed like it was
finished forever, at least to the general public.
Then in
1991, the novel Heir to the Empire
was released and became a surprise bestseller! Author Timothy Zahn told his
version of what happened to Luke, Han, Leia and the Empire after Return of the Jedi. Heir to the Empire (and
two follow-up novels often called The
Thrawn Trilogy) ushered in a new era of renewed popular interest in Star
Wars. More novels came soon after, along with new comics, toys and by 1999
Episode 1 was released! Star Wars was back!
Ok, thanks for the history lesson but who is
Thrawn?
Grand
Admiral Thrawn is the main villain of that landmark book Heir to the Empire, and several books that followed. He’s a
remarkably clever military leader who uses intellect over brute force and
almost always wins. He’s a cunning analytical thinker on par with Sherlock
Holmes. He’s a villain that for many fans is as important to the Star Wars saga
as Darth Vader and the Emperor!
In short:
he is incredibly dangerous to the Rebels!
New novel coming in 2017 |
First, Rebels
features Darth Vader sparingly and so far only glimpses of the Emperor, so a
really dangerous and powerful villain would be a welcome addition to the show.
Second,
Thrawn is a very different kind of threat to the Rebels crew and should make
for big challenges if they are all to survive to Season 4!
Finally, Thrawn
is not human (he’s a blue-skinned Chiss) and in the Empire, humans tend to run
everything. Having a very powerful alien within the Empire could cause some
interesting conflict within the Empire too!
How long
Thrawn lasts and what kind of danger he can pose for the Rebels remains to be
seen but what is clear is he will not go down easily! Tune in to Season 3 of
Star Wars Rebels to see it unfold!
For more
information and details about Thrawn see this article on StarWars.com and
Thrawn’s Wookiepedia page.
Scary times ahead for the Ghost crew! |
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