Timothy Zahn Backs Thrawns Motivations in Ahsoka, Shows Interest in Writing More Novels

Season 1 of Ahsoka has come and gone. Since then, much discussion has been leveled at Thrawn and whether he was used to perfection for his live-action debut. Now, author Timothy Zahn has weighed in on the debate.



I was lucky enough to be in attendance at Zahn's 'Talking Thrawn' panel this past weekend at Twin Cities Con in Minneapolis, where he laid bare the journey from Heir to the Empire to 'watching his kid get on the bus on the first day of school.' Zahn gave his take on whether Thrawn's actions align with his portrayal of the character in his recent Thrawn novels, and also how willing he is to tackle the now wide-open time period between Rebels and Ahsoka.







There is a short thread of mine on Twitter/X you can look at, but after some preamble on how the original Thrawn trilogy got off the ground, a set of books that largely kept Star Wars in the public zeitgeist in the 1990s, Zahn got into the on-screen side of Thrawn.



After reiterating past comments in regards to how well Dave Filoni knows the character, Zahn briefly explained his view on why Thrawn seeks to bring his version of the Empire back with him from Peridea. In summary,  Zahn said everything flows from his motivation to help the Chiss Ascendancy. He believes the New Republic won't be able to support that goal, so bringing the Empire back is the only way.



Timothy Zahn will co-write the upcoming Thrawn: Alliances adaptation comic, beginning January 2024



Zahn's 2017 Thrawn novel established Thrawn joined the Empire as a way to align his interests with those of the Chiss Ascendancy. He knew of the dangers in the Unknown Regions, and the might of the Empire opened the door to possibly quelling those concerns. That core character trait was central to Thrawn: Alliances and Thrawn: Treason, to the point where it put Thrawn at odds with the top brass of the Empire, who often questioned whether Thrawn was trustworthy at the end of the day.



Zahn didn't go further than that in explaining the other (potential) plot holes now presented in Ahsoka. But not to fear, because the author said he is more than willing to explore them if Lucasfilm called. The Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy only came about because, according to Zahn, Filoni had Ezra and Thrawn 'in his basement' and unavailable for play. That time is over. Zahn is seemingly salivating at the idea of getting back with his blue guy in that '9-year gap' between Rebels and Ahsoka, revealing how quickly he'd get to the pitch meeting:

After discussing the possibilities, Zahn later said he could do it in seven.







Elsewhere at Twin Cities Con, Ashley Eckstein and Matt Lanter were in attendance to play up the 15th anniversary of The Clone Wars. James Arnold Taylor was unable to come due to illness. You can check out my even smaller thread from that panel here.



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