Star Wars fans will want to read the first excerpt from Thrawn, the new canon novel by the character’s creator Timothy Zahn, while sitting down. The excerpt has a lot of information in there that’s important to the larger Star Wars universe, and it’s just a portion of the second chapter of the book; suffice to say, this one is going to be a must-read.
For the uninitiated, the blue-skinned and red-eyed Chiss character Thrawn was introduced as Grand Admiral Thrawn in the Legends universe, the leader of the Imperial remnant. Thrawn was shown as a tactical genius who kept the Empire alive in many ways for years after the Battle of Endor in that old expanded universe, and his cool, calculated demeanor sucked in fans by the droves. Last summer, it was revealed that he’d be coming to canon in Star Wars Rebels, and since then his ties into the overall mythology of Star Wars have been growing seemingly by the minute.
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SPOILER ALERT! Minor Spoilers for Aftermath: Empire’s End
In the pages of Aftermath: Empire’s End, the finale of that post-Return of the Jedi trilogy, it was revealed that Thrawn was from beyond “the Unknown Regions” in the far reaches of the galaxy. His knowledge of that area was used for the Emperor’s contingency plan, in case he and the Empire were to fall.
Now, in the first Thrawn excerpt posted at USAToday, we learn that Thrawn went to the Emperor to warn of – and seek assistance in fighting – “threats lurking in the Unknown Regions, threats that will someday find your Empire.” The character hopes they can assist each other, and swears allegiance to the Empire in return.
But the real kicker comes in how he swears allegiance. He tells the Emperor he can ask his “servant” about the “strength of that vow.” The servant in question? Anakin Skywalker! Yes, that means that Thrawn knew Anakin, and knew him during The Clone Wars era (as he notes Anakin told him of “Chancellor Palpatine). Also, it certainly heavily implies that somehow the Chiss is able to tell that Darth Vader is in fact Anakin under that mask and armor.
It’s the perfect, tiny intriguing bit of information to drive interest in the book, as if fans clamoring for more Thrawn weren’t already interested! Hit the link above to read the full excerpt, and look for Thrawn on store shelves April 11, just in time to read in line at Star Wars Celebration Orlando. You can watch Thrawn in action on Star Wars Rebels Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. on Disney XD.
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