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One of the most iconic villains in the Star Wars franchise is a character who hasn’t been seen in any of the movies. Grand Admiral Thrawn was introduced in Timothy Zahn’s 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, and he quickly became a fan favorite character. Readers fell in love with the cold and calculating strategist, and today he’s one of the few characters from the Legends era to migrate to Canon. In addition to appearing in novels and comics, Thrawn has also appeared in animated projects like Star Wars: Rebels and the live-action series Ahsoka.

When Zahn created Thrawn, his objective was to introduce a new kind of villain to the franchise. “The first thought was I wanted to do something that feels like Star Wars, but not what George [Lucas] has already done,” Timothy Zahn says during a panel at MegaCon 2026.

 “That immediately meant no Death Star, no superweapon, no Vader type, no Emperor type. Okay, what’s left? Vader and the Emperor rule by manipulation and fear. A more dangerous enemy is someone who can inspire loyalty, because the troops will fight their best whether he’s watching them or not. And then you backtrack from that, what kind of person are the troops loyal to? A tactical strategic genius, so they know they’re likely to win whatever battle they’re put into. Someone who does not get emotionally involved in battles to the point where he’s wasting troops for no reason. Someone who will take suggestions from subordinates.”

Zahn also believes that had Thrawn been in charge during the original trilogy, the Empire might’ve prevailed. He used the first Death Star battle as an example, citing Thrawn’s openness to listening to his subordinates.

“Tarkin could not do that. I thought how easy that first movie could’ve ended with a victory. ‘We’ve analyzed their attack, there’s a threat. You want to evacuate?’ No, Thrawn would’ve said, ‘Specify.’ ‘Okay, call a TIE fighter, have it sit on that vent.’ That’s all it would’ve taken. Thrawn will listen.”

It’s an interesting thought exercise. What do you think? How would the original trilogy have played out if Grand Admiral Thrawn had been in charge? Maybe we can get a What If? type story one day.

Get to know, understand, and love the Star Wars franchise more with our Star Wars watch order, guide to all the upcoming Star Wars movies & TV shows, and all the Star Wars movies and Star Wars TV shows ranked.