Timothy Zahn released Heir to the Empire, the first book in what’s now known as the Thrawn Trilogy.
Unknown Regions
At the center of Zahn’s books was a new villain: Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn was a blue-skinned alien that hailed from the planet Csilla in the Unknown Regions. Thrawn explored the Unknown Regions, quelling any resistance he encountered, including early scouting missions sent by the Yuuzhan Vong, an extra-galactic force that would way day wreak havoc on the New Republic.
He would eventually be recruited into the Imperial Navy by Emperor Palpatine where he would quickly climb the ranks, ultimately becoming a Grand Admiral.
He continued his focus in the Unknown Regions since he was one of the few familiar with navigating the territory, setting up a secret Empire “The Empire of the Hand” to deal with threats and potentially prepare for the arrival of the Yuuzhan Vong. Since he was in the Unknown Regions during the Battle of Endor, his forces survived beyond the death of the Empire until he re-emerged to face the New Republic as depicted in Heir to the Empire.
Star Wars Rebels
Disney's new Star Wars sequels would treat the Timothy Zahn Thrawn Trilogy as an alternate history, designating the stories from the expanded universe as Star Wars Legends, but as has been said many times in recent Star Wars media, “There’s always a bit of truth in Legends.”
This rang true when it was announced at Star Wars Celebration 2016 that Grand Admiral Thrawn would be returning to canon on Star Wars Rebels.
Battle of Jakku
The Battle of Jakku ended with the Empire destroying a research station of sorts on the planet’s surface before jumping into hyperspace, disappearing into the Unknown Regions. The purpose of that base wasn’t previously understood, but as revealed in Empire’s End, it was an observatory with special equipment used to chart a path out of the galaxy through the Unknown Regions, which were believed to be impossible to navigate.
That navigational equipment has a special link to Adm. Thrawn
“…Palpatine had one in the navy who knew something of the Unknown Regions: Admiral Thrawn, an alien with ice-blue skin who came from beyond the borders of the known galaxy. Palpatine only kept that one around because of what he knew of traversing those deadly interstices. Much of what Thrawn knew went into the computations of this machine.”
This passage confirms that Thrawn’s story continues to align with his Legends incarnation, giving him a strong connection to the Unknown Regions. Considering the Empire flees the galaxy to transform into the First Order in the Unknown Regions, is it possible Thrawn is involved there as well, as he was with the Empire of the Hand in Legends?
Super Star Destroyer
Another interesting passage in Empire’s End has the Empire’s new leader, Gallius Rax, explain that the Emperor’s Super Star Destroyer, the Eclipse (another Legends reference) has traveled ahead of them into the Unknown Regions and is waiting for their arrival. It’s never specified who’s in command of that ship, but Super Star Destroyers are typically commanded by Grand Admirals.
While we don’t know exactly what becomes of him, we do know that the Rebel Alliance doesn’t score any major victories before the Battle of Scarif, meaning his defeat seems unlikely, but we also know that Thrawn hasn’t made an appearance in any Star Wars stories past the end of this season of Rebels.
If Thrawn continues to follow a path similar to his Legends version, his next step may be to head off into the Unknown Regions, which would preserve the character through the remainder of the original trilogy, meaning there’s a high likelihood he’s still out there?
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