New ‘Star Wars Rebels’ Clip Reveals How Thrawn Came to Life

To many Star Wars fans, their first introduction to the terrifying Grand Admiral Thrawn came from his appearance in Season 3 of Star Wars Rebels on Disney XD, but his legacy goes back decades. In a new featurette from the Season 3 Blu-ray release, the show’s creators explain more about Thrawn’s legacy in Star Wars lore and how he came to life on the show. Check out the featurette from Nerdist below!

Show creator Dave Filoni revealed, “Kiri Hart [member of the Lucasfilm Story Group] and I had played with the idea of putting Thrawn in Rebels for a while.”

Hart echoed those sentiments, explaining, “Before I ever worked at Lucasfilm or ever imagined that I could work at Lucasfilm, I loved that trilogy, Heir to the Empire. I loved the character immediately. He was just so different.”

“There was a particular character that would always come up with us in our Story Group meetings, especially for our characters in the Empire, and that is Thrawn. We’ve taken him and put him into Rebels,” Filoni explained to Timothy Zahn, writer of the original Thrawn novels, while revealing to the author about reviving the character.

“I am honored and floored and excited and scared all at the same time,” Zahn joked.

The featurette shows off just how beloved the character was by the Lucasfilm team before his Rebels appearance and the excitement that surrounded his incorporation into the narrative.

You can enjoy this featurette, and many more, when Season 3 of Star Wars Rebels hits shelves on August 29.

The final season of Star Wars Rebels premieres this fall.

This animated entry in the “Star Wars” franchise fills the gap between the events of “Episode III” and “Episode IV.” Imperial forces occupy a remote planet and are ruling — and ruining — its inhabitants’ lives with an iron fist. A clever, disparate crew aboard the starship Ghost takes a stand against the Empire, facing new villains and colorful adversaries. The rebels on the Ghost include leader Kanan, ace pilot Hera, feisty heroine Sabine, tough guy Zeb and 14-year-old con artist Ezra.