Fans of Star Wars Rebels and book canon were treated in Ahsoka as Grand Admiral Thrawn arrived as the big bad of the series. He was set up to be the ongoing villain for Dave Filoni‘s upcoming Avengers-like movie on the horizon. Speaking with Empire magazine, the director teased what we might see from future projects as well as Thrawn’s first hints in The Mandalorian.
Filoni told Empire, “We set up Captain Pellaeon in The Mandalorian, and that’s a character that goes with Thrawn, so I’d love to see the two of them together.” Captain Pellaeon was a significant figure in the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn, which was Thrawn’s first appearance. Pellaeon functions as the John Watson to Thrawn’s Sherlock Holmes in the novel.
As for what fans might expect in upcoming projects, Filoni teased, “His foil throughout Rebels was Hera. Pitting the two generals against one another is something that I find interesting.” Hera Syndulla made her live-action debut in Ahsoka, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Filoni wasn’t the only one to weigh in on what the Grand Admiral could be up to. Thrawn actor Lars Mikkelsen, who portrayed the character in both live-action and animation, shared that Thrawn will probably “Straighten out all the others and tidy up the shop. I could imagine something in terms of a power play within the Empire.”
The ending of Ahsoka made huge strides in setting up the future of the Mandoverse for both Skeleton Crew and The Mandalorian Season 4. Thrawn is back, and he will be a massive threat going forward.
On the Pellaeon note, I would be fascinated to see if we get Eli Vanto’s inclusion at some point. As a fan of the new Thrawn novels, Eli is a very different kind of Watson from Pellaeon. I would love to include both characters because we know Eli is still kicking around in the Chiss Ascendancy. That said, I don’t think it’s going to happen. Yes, this is me putting on my clown makeup, as the kids say. Especially since Filoni does have a track record of running over the current canon, I have zero faith we will ever see Eli Vanto, but it’s nice to think about.
The upcoming Mandoverse projects look fascinating, and the new year will bring us much more information.