Ahsoka’s trailer summons a very famous character from the Star Wars saga… and refers to a very particular novel.
The first trailer for the series Ahsoka is now available. Many familiar fan characters are present — Sabine Wren, Mon Mothma, Ezra Bridger, Hera Syndulla, the droid Chopper… and of course a certain Mitth’raw’nuruodo, aka Thrawn. Yes, Grand Admiral Thrawn is making a comeback in Star Wars.
But even more than Thrawn’s appearance, it was a line from Ahsoka Tano – played here by Rosario Dawson – that ignited fans. She says she has ” started hearing rumors of Thrawn’s return as heir to the Empire “. It’s that last bit, about the heir to the Empire, that’s causing all the fuss.
The heir to the Empire!
The trailer aired during a succession of announcements for Star Wars: New Movies, including one starring Daisy Ridley (Rey). Details for Skeleton Crew And Andorbut also The Acolyte.
This formulation turns out to be a nod and a reference to the extended universe of Star Wars, when Disney did not yet own the license. The extended universe is a formula that designates all the works of Star Wars beyond movies — this includes TV shows, novels, video games, comics, role-playing games, and so on.
Since the acquisition of Star Wars by Disney, all Expanded Universe released before 2014 is no longer part of the official story (except movies released in theaters and TV series). What belongs to the canon are only the works after this date. This is what allowed Disney to relaunch new feature films, without being stuck by what had been told before.
But at the time of acquisition, in 2012, we did not know that a disastrous fate awaited the extended universe. Thus, when Disney also announced the start of a new trilogy, many were ready to put a note on an adaptation of the cycle of Thrawn, a trilogy of novels whose first volume is… Heir of the Empire. The Heir to the Empire.
It was also a lead that we considered at the time. These three novels were published during the first half of the 1990s. The trilogy is nicknamed The Mad Jedi’s Dark Crusade and includes the volumes The Heir to the Empire, The Battle of the Jedi (Dark Force Rising) And The Last Command (The Last Command). The books are by American novelist Timothy Zahn.
It’s in The Heir to the Empire that Thrawn appears for the first time.
In these works, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Léia Organa are confronted, five years after the end of the Return of the Jedi, to Thrawn. This top brass and military genius has devised an ambitious plan to ensure the Empire’s return to the forefront. These are books that have invented strong characters, like Mara Jade, linked to Luke Skywalker, or the smuggler Talon Karrde.
Among the fans, The Mad Jedi’s Dark Crusade is considered one of the most successful arcs in the Expanded Universe. ” She revived fan interest in EU and novels, in addition to creating interesting characters many of which were later reused in other media “, confided in 2016 Frédéric, the manager of the reference encyclopedia Star Wars HoloNet.
This is why the wording uttered by Ahsoka Tano, when we see Thrawn on the screen, is far from trivial. We know that in Star Wars there are certain expressions that should not be used lightly, because they refer to precise references of Star Wars. Talking about the heir to the Empire with Thrawn onscreen is one of them.
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