10 Things You Didn't Know About Grand Admiral Thrawn (2024)

The upcoming Ahsoka Disney+ series, starring Rosario Dawson, takes the Star Wars galaxy in a bold new direction. While teasing the show's first season, Lucasfilm revealed that Lars Mikkelsen will reprise his Grand Admiral Thrawn role from Star Wars : Rebels.

Grand Admiral Thrawn will likely become the next major antagonist of the Star Wars franchise, completely redefining the future of its characters and storylines. Now that he's made his live-action debut in Ahsoka, there are several things that everyone should know about Imperial Grand Admiral and citizen of the Chiss Ascendancy, Mitth'raw'nuruodo .

Updated September 29, 2023: Ever since he first appeared in the Star Wars universe in May 1991, Thrawn captured the hearts and imaginations of fans who yearned for new stories in the eight years after the release of The Return of the Jedi. The Empire was always a stand-in for real-world authoritarianism and fascism in George Lucas's universe. While Thrawn's Imperial designs are in keeping with this theme, he represents a different kind of "Emperor." He's ruthless but not necessarily cruel. He's not as self-centered as Emperor Palpatine, instead falling into the trap of believing his cause is "the greater good." Darth Sidious is the embodiment of selfishness and evil, while Thrawn represents a different, arguably scarier, threat.

10 Thrawn Was Originally A Star Wars Legends Character

Grand Admiral Thrawn once served as a major antagonist in Star Wars: Rebels and returned in Ahsoka, the live-action Disney+ series. However, these are far from the first projects to feature the brilliant strategist. The character's first appearance was actually in a series of novels that, in 1991, promised to continue the "canon" Star Wars story. While George Lucas never considered them part of his story, Disney reclassified these stories as "Legends."

Thrawn first appeared in Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, a novel that became a trilogy with Dark Force Rising and The Last Command. Fans and critics widely consider the three books as some of the best Star Wars novels ever written. The trilogy explored Thrawn's counteroffensive against the New Republic after the fall of the Empire. From that moment on, Thrawn became one of the most important characters in Star Wars, beloved by fans of all ages.

9 Thrawn Isn't His Real Name

Grand Admiral Thrawn has gone by many names over the course of his life. He adopted the name "Thrawn" relatively late in life, as he was born as Kivu'raw'nuru. The Chiss Ascendancy, detailed in three canon novels by Zahn in recent years, was a hierarchal society, and a person's caste was represented via names. During his early years, Kivu'raw'nuru was also known by his "core name" of "Vurawn."

Eventually, Thrawn was adopted by a house in the aristocracy, adopting the name Mitth'raw'nuruodo during his military career. His new name also came with a new core name, "Thrawn." After his staged exile from his homeworld, he joined the Galactic Empire. The Imperials couldn't correctly pronounce his full name, so people knew Mitth'raw'nuruodo almost exclusively as Thrawn.

8 Thrawn's Chiss Ascendancy Is In the Unknown Regions

Ahsoka introduced a new galaxy, where the Chiss Grand Admiral was in exile with his Star Destroyer. Thrawn doesn't hail from the well-charted sectors of the prime Star Wars galaxy, but rather a sector known as the "Unknown Regions." Since part of this area was ruled by the Chiss and Grysk, these areas of the galaxy are only unknown to Star Wars' other characters. In his early career, Thrawn served the Chiss military where he quickly displayed great skill in strategy and fleet command.

The Chiss Ascendancy eventually sent Thawn into exile, as a ploy to embed him in the Empire. They believed another force in the Unknown Regions, the Grysk Hegemony, was poised to become a galatic threat. After his exile, Thrawn was meant to pit the Empire against the Grysk in order to weaken their forces. However, he saw strength in the Imperial Navy and rose in the ranks to become a Grand Admiral. His goal was for the Chiss Ascendancy and the Galactic Empire to face the coming threat together.

7 Thrawn Was Never Fully Loyal To The Empire

Grand Admiral Thrawn may have loyally served the Empire for many years, but the Emperor's regime was never first in his heart. While Thrawn was a great asset to the Empire, his true loyalties were always to the Chiss Ascendancy, even during his exile. Thrawn's loyalty to the Empire came from his belief that its strength would be needed in the future, but the Chiss people always remaining his first priority.

Thrawn's tempered loyalty to the Empire set him apart from his compatriots, who were often blindly loyal to the Emperor or, more simply, in fear of him. Unlike some of the Star Wars franchise's more prideful villains, Thrawn knew exactly what the Empire was and served them accordingly, never once mistaking its true intentions for altruism.

6 Star Wars Already Introduced Thrawn's Protégé

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Who is Grand Admiral Thrawn in Ahsoka?

Grand Admiral Thrawn took many Imperial soldiers under his wing during his time in the Navy, noticing his subordinates' potential to serve the Empire. One of these proteges was Captain Gilad Pellaeon, who is portrayed by The Walking Dead star Xander Berkley in the third season of The Mandalorian.In the Legends universe, Pellaeon succeeded Thrawn as the military leader of the Imperial Remnant.

Captain Pellaeon is one of Thrawn's most vocal supporters among the Imperial warlords of the Shadow Council and will likely serve as an important ally in the events to come. Pellaeon may serve as Thrawn's right-hand man, holding a place of honor in the early days of the First Order.

5 Thrawn Respected His Enemies

Unlike many other villains in the Star Wars universe, Thrawn holds some respect for those he opposes. While Thrawn won't hesitate to obliterate his enemies, he makes it quite clear that he doesn't do it out of hate. He frequently demonstrates a level of respect and even admiration for certain opponents.

Thrawn has run across some of Star Wars' greatest heroes during his long and celebrated career in the Imperial navy, including the captain of the Ghost, Hera Syndulla, in Star Wars: Rebels. Thrawn genuinely respected Syndulla as an adversary and select members of her crew. The greatest compliment Thrawn can pay an enemy is to learn everything he can about them.

4 Grand Admiral Thrawn Isn't A Politician

Many Star Wars characters have political motivations behind their every move, especially the villains. However, Thrawn differentiates himself in this way. The Grand Admiral appears to have no political aspirations. Instead, politics seems to be one of his weaknesses, often missing the subterfuge amidst the Imperial palace intrigue.

Thrawn's every action comes from his strategic mind, but he doesn't seem to be vying for power. Thrawn values victory over anything else and cares very little for the idle conversation of politics. As a result, Thrawn actually proves to be one of the more trustworthy Star Wars villains, as he doesn't hide a secret agenda like his more political counterparts. Yet, as he will take command of the Imperial Remnant, fans will finally see Thrawn as both a military and political leader.

3 Thrawn Is More Than A Brilliant Tactician

Grand Admiral Thrawn is perhaps most famous for his astounding skill as a tactician, but he is far more than a brilliant strategist. The Chiss admiral wholeheartedly devotes himself to learning new skills and tactics whenever he can. His most distinctive characterisitc, introduced in the first novels and continued into the modern canon, is his ability to study the art created by an enemy to learn how to fight them. He is able to see things about people, cultures and battlefield situations that others don't.

Thrawn is a skilled hand-to-hand warrior, a historian, and a cultural expert, picking up new information about each group he conquers on the battlefield. As such, Thrawn is certainly the most cultured villain in Star Wars and one of the most well-rounded characters in the franchise. It's not his technology nor ability with the Force that makes him such a threat. It's his mind.

2 The Emperor Valued Thrawn's Mind

Emperor Palpatine was very selective about who he trusted to carry out his will throughout the galaxy. He had few close advisors, with even Darth Vader holding very little sway over the Emperor. Nonetheless, it is clear from their interactions that Palpatine valued Thrawn's wisdom and held a great deal of respect for the Grand Admiral.

After Thrawn's disappearance during the Rebels series finale, Palpatine lamented his advisor's absence. The comic Star Wars #8 revealed just how profoundly Thrawn's disappearance affected Palpatine's plans, forcing him to delegate certain missions to Darth Vader that he had once intended for his master tactician. Palpatine liked to keep his subordinates suspicious of each other as a way to prevent them from trying to unseat him. Since Thrawn had no ambition for the throne, the Emperor was able to trust him more than possibly any other officer.

1 Thrawn Knows Darth Vader's True Identity

There are few characters in the Star Wars galaxy who knew that Darth Vader is actually the fallen Jedi Anakin Skywalker. Those who figured this out were particularly familiar with the Chosen One during his prime. However, Thrawn was one of the very few who could deduce Vader's secret identity without having been present for the fall of the Republic.

The novel Thrawn: Alliances takes place both during the Galactic Empire-era and during the Clone Wars. In the book, Thrawn goes on a mission to evaluate the Republic and their Jedi as potential allies against the Grysk Hegemony. He meets Anakin Skywalker and helps him rescue Padmé. While he decides the Republic is too weak to help the Chiss, he notes Anakin's impulsivity and ruthlessness. When later paired with Darth Vader in the other half of the book, Thrawn is able to deduce the Dark Lord's true identity from just that one mission.