Grand Admiral Thrawn (full name: Mitth'raw'nuruodo; born: Kivu'raw'nuru) is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared in what came to be known as the Thrawn trilogy of novels (1991–1993) by Timothy Zahn. An Imperial military leader and a member of the Chiss race, Thrawn leads remnants of the scattered Galactic Empire in the aftermath of its fall.
In the Thrawn trilogy, Thrawn returns from the unknown regions and leads Imperial remnants in a campaign against the New Republic, facing off against classic Star Wars characters Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian, before seemingly being resurrected in the Hand of Thrawn duology (1997–1998), with his backstory explored in various other novels, short stories, comics, and video games in the Star Wars expanded universe. In 2014, these stories were rebranded as Star Wars Legends by Lucasfilm and rendered non-canon.
Thrawn reentered official canon in the 3D animated TV series Star Wars Rebels from 2016 to 2018, voiced by Lars Mikkelsen. Zahn published a new Thrawn trilogy (2017–2019) and then the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy (2020–2021), reinventing Thrawn as an anti-villain and double agent who infiltrates the Empire's ranks on behalf of his own people and the galactic government of the Unknown Regions, the Chiss Ascendancy. He intends to use Imperial resources to engage in open warfare with the extragalactic fanatics, the Grysk, before they can invade the galaxy, in the meantime opposing the Rebel Alliance on Palpatine's behalf before being forcibly sent to another galaxy by and alongside Ezra Bridger. Thrawn made his live-action debut in the Disney+ series Ahsoka (2023), with Mikkelsen reprising his role. Mikkelsen later reprised the voice role in the animated anthology series Tales of the Empire (2024).
Thrawn has been called one of the most significant and popular characters in the Legends continuity. Several Star Wars action figures and other merchandise have been produced of the character.
Character Thrawn first appeared in the 1991 Timothy Zahn novel Heir to the Empire, the first installment of what became known as the first Thrawn trilogy. He is a Grand Admiral in the Imperial Navy, and categorically "the most brilliant of the Emperor's minions". A member of the alien Chiss species, native language Cheunh, Thrawn is described as a tall, solidly built humanoid with blue skin and glowing red eyes who wears the white uniform befitting his rank. He has risen in power thanks to his "tactical brilliance and cunning", and has been described as "one of the most threatening antagonists" in the Star Wars universe. He is an unparalleled military strategist and tactical genius who has made extensive study of military intelligence and the artwork of other cultures, and the Thrawn trilogy finds him commanding the remnants of the Imperial Fleet in a series of stunning victories against the New Republic. His full name was given as Mitth'raw'nuruodo.
IGN described the character as "diabolical, brilliant and ruthless". Zahn describes Thrawn's command style as considerably different from that of Darth Vader and other typical Imperial commanders; instead of punishing failure and dissent, Thrawn promotes creativity among his crew and accepts ideas from subordinates. Zahn said in 2017:
Referencing Zahn's annotations in the 20th Anniversary Edition of Heir to the Empire, John Booth wrote in Wired that Zahn "created and developed Thrawn as a character [by] deliberately establishing the Grand Admiral as a villain who leads not by coercion and fear but through valuing strategy and loyalty". Zahn explained in 2008 that Thrawn's version of the Empire is different from that of Palpatine because Thrawn does not have Palpatine's megalomania and xenophobia. Calling Thrawn and Mara Jade his favorite of the characters he created, Zahn noted in 2006 that writing the Grand Admiral "provides the intellectual challenge of trying to come up with new, clever, and (hopefully) workable tactics and strategies." Zahn has also stated that Thrawn's entire motivation, both serving in the Empire and the Ascendancy, is to protect the Chiss people and "everything else flows from that."
Portrayal Thrawn is voiced by Tris King in the 1994 computer game Star Wars: TIE Fighter, and by Tim Russell in the 1997 audio drama Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire. In seasons three and four of Star Wars Rebels, Thrawn is voiced by Lars Mikkelsen. Mikkelsen reprised his role as Thrawn from Rebels in live-action in the 2023 Disney+ series Ahsoka.
Appearances Legends works
According to Zahn, Lou Aronica of Bantam Spectra had negotiated a book deal with Lucasfilm in 1989, and the publisher put Zahn's name at the top of their list of possible authors. He said, "My original instructions from LucasArts consisted of exactly two rules: the books were to start 3–5 years after Return of the Jedi, and I couldn't use anyone who'd been explicitly killed off in the movies." Zahn used information from the original film trilogy as his primary source, but supplemented that with details from the many sourcebooks created for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, saying that they "saved me from having to reinvent the wheel many times". In turn, each novel in the trilogy had its role-playing game sourcebook created for it by West End Games.
Introduced in the Thrawn trilogy (1991–1993), Thrawn became a fan favorite and subsequently appeared in multiple works in what became known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe, including novels, comics and video games, through 2006. He is often cited as one of the most popular characters in the franchise. Star Wars Rebels executive producer Dave Filoni said of the character in 2016, "You couldn't have grown up a Star Wars fan without encountering Thrawn in Heir to the Empire. It was a dark time when there weren't any more movies, and it blew our minds that there could be more." The Thrawn trilogy itself is widely credited with reviving interest in the Star Wars franchise. In 2010, Star Wars: The Clone Wars creator Filoni expressed interest in using Thrawn in that series. Some fans of Zahn's Thrawn series had long hoped the books would be adapted, and after the 2012 announcement that The Walt Disney Company had acquired Lucasfilm and planned to produce film sequels to Return of the Jedi, Zahn commented that if material from the expanded universe were used in the films, "we'd all be thrilled to death".
With the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars were rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014. Though Lucasfilm made it clear that new media would "not tell the same story told in the post-Return of the Jedi Expanded Universe", it was also established that "creators of new Star Wars entertainment have full access to the rich content of the Expanded Universe." Acknowledging that Thrawn had long been considered by Lucasfilm when developing projects, Filoni later said in 2016 that in particular the character had been on his list of potential villains when developing Star Wars Rebels.
Thrawn trilogy (1991–1993)
The Thrawn trilogy, also known as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, was written by Timothy Zahn between 1991 and 1993. Approximately five years after the events depicted in Return of the Jedi, the Rebel Alliance, now known as the New Republic, has driven out the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet to a distant corner of the galaxy and is attempting to set up a functional government. Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting twins. Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited new line of Jedi Knights. Thousands of light years away, Grand Admiral Thrawn, the last and most brilliant of the 12 grand admirals, has taken command of the shattered Imperial Fleet and prepared it to attack the New Republic. Thrawn is searching for a Dark Jedi to join his side and is confident he can restore the Empire.
In Heir to the Empire (1991), Thrawn plots to destroy the New Republic despite their numerical advantage over the remaining Imperial forces. He sets his sights on the Wayland storehouse of the late Emperor Palpatine, which contains a massive array of Spaarti cloning cylinders and a practical cloaking shield. To this end, Thrawn and his subordinate Gilad Pellaeon, captain of the Star Destroyer Chimaera, enlist the help of smuggler Talon Karrde and his second-in-command Mara Jade to obtain several salamander-like creatures called ysalamiri. Thrawn uses the ysalamiri, which possess the natural ability to disrupt the Force, to subdue the storehouse's guardian Joruus C'baoth, a twisted clone of a Jedi Master whom the Grand Admiral had killed years before. C'baoth offers his allegiance in exchange for two acolytes to bend to his will: Darth Vader's twin children, Luke and Leia. Thrawn sends some of his Noghri killers to capture Luke and a pregnant Leia, but their attempts repeatedly fail. Leia defends herself from one attack and is surprised when the Noghri suddenly surrenders. Thrawn launches his first offensive, a series of hit-and-run attacks into New Republic territory, and then steals a complement of mole miners from Lando Calrissian's mining operations on Nkllon. In need of warships, and with his previous tactics having forced over 100 lightly crewed ships to be stationed at the Sluis Van shipyards as he planned, Thrawn invades. His stormtroopers use the stolen miners to board and hijack the ships, but they are thwarted when Lando seizes control of the miners remotely. The Grand Admiral withdraws his forces, but thanks to Thrawn's plotting, his New Republic nemesis Admiral Ackbar is soon arrested for treason.
Dark Force Rising (1992) reveals that before the Clone Wars, the Old Republic had constructed a fleet of highly automated heavy cruisers, known as the Katana fleet. A virus infected the crews of the entire fleet and drove them insane. The fleet was not seen again until smuggler Talon Karrde discovered it (several years before the events of the first book). With access to Palpatine's private storehouse on the planet Wayland, Thrawn presses his advantage to marshal more forces for the battle against the New Republic. Mara Jade, in an attempt to exonerate the Empire's warrant for Karrde's arrest, goes to Thrawn and offers to reveal the location of the Katana fleet. Instead, he has her followed and Karrde is captured. Luke and Mara rescue Karrde from Thrawn's Star Destroyer as Thrawn attempts to capture another man who knows about the Katana fleet. Meanwhile, Leia learns that the Noghri serve the Empire because they revere her late father, Darth Vader, who they believe saved their planet Honoghr from ecological disaster. Leia convinces them that they have been deceived and effectively enslaved by the Empire, and they switch sides. With Ackbar temporarily neutralized as a tactical opponent, Thrawn leads an army of clones to claim the so-called "Katana fleet", outmaneuvering Luke, Lando, and Han Solo.