Star Wars Celebration 2023 is wrapping up in London, so if you’re anywhere in the U.S., it’s likely you’ve been waking up to an onslaught of Star Wars movie news, including new trailers, casting surprises, announcing brand-new movies, and more.
One of those trailers was the first teaser for Ahsoka, the next series airing as part of the “Mando-Verse.” In addition to first looks at a live-action Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and the droid Chopper, fans were also shown a glimpse of Grand Admiral Thrawn for the very first time in live-action.
We finally know who is playing Thrawn in Ahsoka, too, thanks to a reveal during a panel at Celebration. Lars Mikkelsen, who lent his voice to the Grand Admiral in Star Wars Rebels, will reprise the role in the limited series after appearing in two seasons of Rebels.
If you’ve come into Star Wars later on, much of this stuff may seem like a mystery to you, but luckily, it’s less confusing as you break down the Star Wars timeline further.
It looks like Thrawn will be crucial to the series, but the character actually dates back to 1991. Author Timothy Zahn first created Thrawn for his novel, fittingly called Heir To The Empire. The character has maintained relevance since as one of the most significant characters in the Extended Universe.
Since then, Thrawn has appeared in 10 more books by Zahn where he’s the central figure, broken down into three trilogies and a duology. Like everything else in the Star Wars canon and Legends canon, they weren’t released in chronological order, but we’ve broken down two different reading orders, along with where to buy the books.
The first trilogy to feature Thrawn is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi and includes Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command.
You can buy the paperbacks as a box set ($38, original price: $48), or you can buy each book individually as an e-book, paperback, or audiobook.
The second set of Thrawn is set after the first and consists of two books: Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future.
Both books are available in paperback, e-book, and audiobook.
In 2017, Zahn returned to Thrawn with an all-new trilogy that’s officially part of Star Wars canon. These three books take place before the events of A New Hope.
The books are available in a paperback box set, or you can get Star Wars: Thrawn, Thrawn: Alliances, and Thrawn: Treason separately in paperback, e-book, or audiobook.
The latest trilogy by Zahn goes back even further in Thrawn’s life and gives readers more of a look into the Grand Admiral’s backstory.
Though a box set isn’t available for these titles, you can get Book I: Chaos Rising, Book II: Greater Good, and Book III: Lesser Evil in e-book, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook from Amazon.
The trilogies and duologies that makeup Thrawn’s story were not released in a way that tells a chronological story from beginning to end. If you prefer that to reading them in release order, here’s how to do it.
While Ahsoka won’t premiere until August 2023, you can watch Star Wars Rebels in its entirety now on Disney+.
Disney+ costs $7.99/month with ads and $10.99/month without ads. You can also sign up for a bundle with Hulu and ESPN+ for prices ranging from $9.99/month to $19.99/month.