Ahsoka portrayal. Originally debuting in 1991's Heir to the Empire novel from Timothy Zahn, this story kicked off a full trilogy of Thrawn novels and also led to the greater Expanded Universe of Star Wars books, comics, and more. In the modern era, Thrawn has been one of the lucky few Legends characters to survive Disney's continuity purge, though it seems Zahn hasn't been able to offer much input when it comes to the Grand iral's recent live-action debut.

During a recent at Rogue One in Medford, Oregon, Timothy Zahn spoke to the apparent difficulties he's had getting in touch with Lucasfilm about Thrawn's live-action portrayal following his debut in 2023's Ahsoka. This comes from Twitter/X @flamryn, reporting that Zahn claimed he wasn't sure if the difficulties were coming from Disney, Lucasfilm, or Lucasfilm's Chief Creative Officer/Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni himself (who first re-canonized Thrawn in the animated series Star Wars Rebels):

While previous reports have suggested that Zahn served as a creative consultant on Rebels and had some level of involvement during the production of Ahsoka, it certainly looks as though Zahn is now determined to provide a more truthful answer, and that getting anyone to connect with him about the character he originated has not been without its major challenges (which is certainly disappointing).

UPDATE: Following the posting of this article, the original poster who live-tweeted Zahn's comments clarified that the size of the and attendees was fairly small, so the Star Wars author's comments may have been a little more "off-leash" than usual.

Dave Filoni Brought Thrawn Back Into Canon, But His Story Has Been Different

Same Character, But An Altered Star Wars Journey

In Legends with Zahn's original novels, Grand iral Thrawn returned from a deep-space mission in the Unknown Regions following the end of the Galactic Civil War, launching a campaign against the New Republic as the apparent "Heir to the Empire". A blue-skinned alien Chiss with red eyes and a brilliant mind for both art and military strategy, Thrawn himself hails from the Unknown Regions. While the same is true in the current canon, Thrawn's story has been altered and fleshed out to a much greater extent.

In the current and established canon, Thrawn commanded the Seventh Fleet before the events of the Galactic Civil War, hunting down Rebel cells as seen in Star Wars Rebels. Timothy Zahn was also brought on to write new novels set before and during Thrawn's Rebels story. These books detail how and why Thrawn first came to the known galaxy from the Chiss Ascendancy to be recruited by the Empire, and his dual allegiances to Palpatine and the Chiss, hoping to ally the two to save the Ascendancy from imminent threats in the Unknown Regions.

However, Thrawn was ultimately exiled to the extragalactic world of Peridea alongside Jedi Knight Ezra Bridger at the end of Rebels. Likewise, Thrawn made his live-action debut in 2023's Ahsoka, which ended with him returning to the known Star Wars galaxy to similarly become a major Imperial threat and "Heir to the Empire" during the canonical New Republic era. As such, Thrawn's canon story mirrors and honors what Zahn created in Legends, but with several rewritten elements for the new continuity. However, it seems as though Filoni likely has a set vision in mind for Thrawn's future.

Why We Think Filoni's Going In His Own Direction With Grand iral Thrawn

Zahn's Thrawn Is Much More Of An Anti-Hero

Following Ahsoka and heading into the a future New Republic movie directed by Filoni himself. Likewise, the canonical Thrawn seen on screen is depicted much more like an outright villain, while the Thrawn written by Zahn (even in the canon novels) has been depicted more like an anti-hero, with Thrawn simply using the Empire to help his own people.

It's currently unknown if Filoni and Lucasfilm intend to use Thrawn's allegiances to the Chiss in future projects. It's arguably more likely that Thrawn will simply be a devoted Imperial going forward who will unite the Imperial Remnant to try and destroy the New Republic. Either way, Zahn's new comments about how little he's actually been able to provide input and consultation do the idea that there's likely some foundational division over how Grand iral Thrawn should be depicted to begin with, especially concerning his canonical future in live-action.

Source: X/Twitter