Wikipedia

Thrawntrilogy

"Heir to the Empire" redirects here. For the 1996David Webernovel, seeHeirs of Empire.
This article is about the 1991–93 trilogy. For the 2017–19 trilogy, seeStar Wars: Thrawn.For the 2020–21 trilogy, seeThrawn Ascendancy.For the titular character, seeGrand Admiral Thrawn.

TheThrawntrilogy,also known as theHeir to the Empiretrilogy,is a trilogy of novels set in theStar Warsuniverse, written byTimothy Zahnbetween 1991 and 1993. The first book marked the end of a notable drought of newStar Warsmaterial over a four-year period, between the 10th anniversary of the original1977 film'srelease and the release ofHeir to the Empire(1991).[1]

Thrawntrilogy
  • Heir to the Empire(1991)
  • Dark Force Rising(1992)
  • The Last Command(1993)
AuthorTimothy Zahn
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
PublisherBantam Spectra
Published1991–1993
Media type

Set approximately five years after the events depicted inReturn of the Jedi,[2]the trilogy details the offensive campaigns of military geniusGrand Admiral Thrawnas he attempts to bring down the recently-foundedNew Republicin a bid to restore theGalactic Empireto power. In addition to Thrawn, the trilogy introduces several new and notable characters, includingMara JadeandTalon Karrde.

TheThrawntrilogy sold a combined total of 15 million books,[3]withHeir to the Empirereaching #1 on theNew York TimesBest Seller list.[4]The trilogy has been met with critical acclaim, and its success is credited to the creation of theStar WarsExpanded Universe(EU), with the planetCoruscantfrom the trilogy later being adapted byGeorge Lucasto hisprequel trilogy ofStar Warsfilms.[5]

On the EU's 2014reboot,characters and concepts from theThrawntrilogy were adapted tocanon media,with Thrawn appearing in the animatedDisney XDseriesStar Wars Rebels(2014) and, later, in theDisney+live-action seriesAhsoka(2023), portrayed byLars Mikkelsen.Rukh,an assassin and bodyguard for Thrawn, appears inRebelsas well asTales of the Empire(2022), voiced by veteranLucasfilmtalentWarwick Davis—the original actor behind theEwokcharacterWicket W. Warrickin films likeReturn of the Jedi(1983) andCaravan of Courage(1984), among others.Gilad Pellaeon,an Imperial officer, was seen in thethird seasonofThe Mandalorian(2023), portrayed byXander Berkeley.[6]

Zahn has also written two additional, alternateThrawntrilogies in the new canon—Thrawn(2017–2019) andThrawn Ascendancy(2020–2021); he has also consulted onAhsoka.

Books

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Heir to the Empire(1991)

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InHeir to the Empire(1991), master tactician Grand Admiral Thrawn plots to destroy theNew Republicdespite their numerical advantage over the remaining Imperial forces. He sets his sights on theWaylandstorehouse of the lateEmperor Palpatine,which contains a massive array of Spaarti cloning cylinders and a working cloaking shield. To this end, Thrawn and his subordinate Gilad Pellaeon, captain of theStar DestroyerChimaera,enlist the help of smuggler Talon Karrde and his second-in-command Mara Jade to obtain several salamander-like creatures calledysalamiri.Thrawn uses the ysalamiri, which possess the natural ability to disruptthe Force,to subdue the storehouse's guardianJoruus C'baoth,a twisted clone of aJedi Masterwhom the Grand Admiral had killed years before. C'baoth offers his allegiance in exchange for two acolytes to bend to his will:Darth Vader's twin children,Luke SkywalkerandPrincess Leia Organa.Thrawn sends some of hisNoghrikillers to capture Luke and a pregnant Leia, but their attempts repeatedly fail. Leia defends herself from one attack and is surprised when the Noghri suddenly surrenders. Thrawn launches his first offensive, a series of hit-and-run attacks into New Republic territory, before stealing a complement of mole miners fromLando Calrissian's mining operations onNkllon.In need of warships, and with his previous tactics having forced over 100 lightly crewed ships to be stationed at theSluis Vanshipyards as he planned, Thrawn invades. Hisstormtroopersuse the stolen miners to board and hijack the ships; however, his efforts are thwarted, as Calrissian seizes control of the miners, remotely. Thrawn withdraws his forces; thanks to his plotting, his New Republic nemesis, theMon CalamariAdmiral Ackbar,is subsequently arrested on accusations oftreason.[7][8][9]

Dark Force Rising(1992)

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InDark Force Rising(1992), it is revealed that before theClone Wars,theOld Republichad constructed a fleet of highly automatedheavy cruisers,known as theKatanafleet. A virus infected the crews of the entire fleet and drove them insane. The fleet was never seen again until Karrde discovered it (several years before the events of the first book). With access to Palpatine's private storehouse on the planet Wayland, Thrawn presses his advantage to marshal more forces for the battle against the New Republic. Mara Jade, in an attempt to exonerate the Empire's warrant for Karrde's arrest, goes to Thrawn and offers to reveal the location of theKatanafleet. Instead, he has her followed and Karrde is captured. Luke and Mara rescue Karrde from Thrawn's Star Destroyer as Thrawn attempts to capture another man who knows about theKatanafleet. Meanwhile, Leia learns that the Noghri serve the Empire because they revere her late father,Darth Vader,who they believe saved their planetHonoghrfrom ecological disaster. Leia convinces them that they have been deceived and effectively enslaved by the Empire, and they switch sides. With Ackbar temporarily neutralized as a tactical opponent, Thrawn leads an army of clones to claim the so-called "Katanafleet ", outmaneuvering Luke, Lando, andHan Solo.[7][10][11]

The Last Command(1993)

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InThe Last Command(1993), set about a month after the previous book, Thrawn uses theKatanafleet, crewed with clones, to mount a successful offensive against the New Republic. Seizing one planet after the other, Thrawn soon immobilizes the galactic capital world,Coruscant.He has placed multiple cloaked asteroids around the planet, and through a ruse, he has led the New Republic leadership to believe that Coruscant is surrounded with them. Learning of the deception, the Republic fleet attacks the Imperial shipyards at Bilbringi to capture a device that can find the cloakedasteroids,but Thrawn's forces intercept and surround them. Meanwhile, Luke and Leia lead a group to destroy the cloning facility on Wayland, killing C'baoth and destroying thecloningcylinders. Just as Thrawn and Pellaeon learn that the Noghri aided in the attack on Wayland, Thrawn's Noghri bodyguard,Rukh,kills the Grand Admiral—whose last words are, "But... it was so artistically done." The tide of battle at Bilbringi turns, and with the hope of victory dashed by Thrawn's death, Pellaeon orders the Imperial forces to retreat.[7][8]

Development

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The idea for a post-film trilogy was conceived by Lou Aronica, an editor atBantam Bookswho proposed a series as "ambitious as the films were".[12]Lucas was initially skeptical of the proposal, but acquiesced;Bantam Spectrathen brought Timothy Zahn on board to write the trilogy.[12]

Zahn was given freedom to develop the direction the story should go in, with minimal pushback fromLucasfilm.[5]Before starting work on the books, Zahn was only given two rules: the series had to take place three to five years afterReturn of the Jedi,and no characters killed in the films could return.[13]Changes requested by Lucasfilm included changing an evil clone ofObi-Wan Kenobito the new character ofJoruus C'baothand the renaming of Rukh's species fromSithtoNoghri.[5]In order to provide him with existingworldbuildingmaterial, Lucasfilm supplied Zahn with supplementary content from thetabletop RPGStar Wars: The Roleplaying Game.[5][13]

When conceiving of the antagonist for the series, Zahn desired a villain who was less brutal than Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine.[12]Instead, Zahn sought inspiration from military commanders throughout history and envisaged an adversary who could outsmart the protagonists.[12]In creating the character of Thrawn, Timothy Zahn said:

I think it’s because he was so different from any other villain we’d seen in Star Wars to that time. Most Imperials seemed to follow the “hit it with a rock” school of thought regarding opposition. Thrawn, in contrast, used strategy and careful planning and usually managed to be two or three steps ahead of the New Republic. Readers like their villains to be a challenge to the heroes because that forces the heroes to bring their best game to the field. The more clever the opponent, and the more difficult the fight, the more satisfying the victory.[14]

The original, working title forHeir to the Empirewas "Wild Card", which was rejected by Lucasfilm because they believed it was too similar to Bantam'sWild Cardsseries. The alternate name "The Emperor's Hand" was also rejected.[13][15]Warlord's Gambitwas also a potential title, but ultimatelyHeir to the Empirewas chosen, which according to Zahn was suggested by Aronica.[15][16]

Adaptations

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Denis Lawson,who portrayedWedge Antillesin theoriginalStar Warstrilogy,narrates the abridged audiobook ofHeir to the Empire,andAnthony Daniels,who portrayedC-3POin everyStar Warsfilm, narratesDark Force RisingandThe Last Command.Lucasfilm andVarèse Sarabande Recordsproducer Robert Townson discussed the creation of a score to promote the trilogy.[a][17][18]All three books were adapted as comic books byDark Horse Comicsbetween 1995 and 1998. The series was divided into six issues per book, written byMike Baron,who says, "I didn't invent any language. All the language is Zahn's." The first volume was illustrated by French artists Olivier Vatine and Fred Blanchard, the second byTerry DodsonandKevin Nowlan,and the third byEdvin BiukovićandEric Shanower.[19]The entire trilogy was collected in 2009 as a singlegraphic novel.[19]In 2011, a 20-year anniversary edition of the book was published, which included an introduction and annotations by Timothy Zahn, commentary by Lucasfilm and Del Rey books, and a new novella centered around the character of Thrawn.[20]For the trilogy's 20th anniversary,Heir to the Empire,Dark Force RisingandThe Last Commandwould be granted brand new unabridged audiobook productions, narrated byMarc Thompsonand featuring official Star Wars music and sound effects.[21]

Each novel in the trilogy had its ownStar Warsrole-playing gamesourcebook created for it byWest End Games.When the rules for theStar WarsRPG changed the three volumes were collected into one book for the entireThrawntrilogy which also served as a second edition to the original three sourcebooks. According to Zahn, the writing of the trilogy was coordinated with preexisting West End Games materials (at the behest of Lucasfilm). Also, "They filled in a bunch of gaps I hadn't got around to filling in."[22]

Reception

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Heir to the Empirereached #1 on theNew York TimesBest Seller list,[4]and the trilogy sold a combined total of 15 million copies.[3]The trilogy has been called "influential, much-loved, and ground breaking".[23]In August 2011, the series was voted intoNPR's top 100 science-fiction and fantasy books (coming in at place 88), as voted on by over 60,000 participants.[24]Writing forTor.com,Ryan Britt stated that theHeir to the Empirewas closer to traditional science fiction rather than the epic space fantasy Star Wars was known for; he also compliments the character of Mara Jade for improving the perception of female characters in the franchise and not adhering to "damsel in distress"stereotypes.[25]Zahn's use of supplementary material fromStar Wars: The Roleplaying Gamehas been credited for creating a sense of unity between different publications, allowing for a more believable shared universe.[26]

Some reviews have been more critical, with prolific fansite author Jonathan Hicks saying that the Force is trivialised and that there were too many references to the original movies, in a 2000 review republished by starwars.com.[20]

The trilogy allowed Lucasfilm to expand its non-film media into the mainstream, as opposed to the more niche comic book and role-playing game markets it was previously focusing on.[26]The success of the series prompted Lucasfilm to immediately commission more books to continue theStar Warsstory.[12]

Legacy

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TheThrawntrilogy is widely credited with revitalizing theStar Warsfranchise,[27][28][22]although Zahn himself was skeptical of this.[12]InThe Secret History of Star Wars,Michael Kaminski suggests that this renewed interest was a factor inGeorge Lucas' decision to create theStar Wars prequel trilogy.[22][29]The trilogy's success has been cited as beginning theStar WarsExpanded Universe.[5]

Zahn would go on to write a pair of sequel books, in theHand of Thrawnduology (Specter of the Past(1997) andVision of the Future(1998)), expanding on the background of the Thrawn character.[30]He would later develop Thrawn's legacy further by writingSurvivor's Quest(2004), and subsequently the prequel novelOutbound Flight(2006).

Although Lucas did not consider the Expanded Universe to becanonical,[5]he adopted the nameCoruscantfor the galactic capital in the prequel trilogy, which was created by Zahn in theHeir to the Empire.[5][31]While theThrawntrilogywas rendered noncanonicalfollowing the Disney acquisition of theStar Warsfranchise, the character of Thrawn was later re-canonized by Lucasfilm when he was introduced onStar Wars Rebels,voiced byLars Mikkelsen,[5][31]in whichRukhalso appeared, voiced byWarwick Davis.[6]Zahn returned soon after to write an alternate trilogy surrounding the Thrawn character, inStar Wars: Thrawn(2017),Thrawn: Alliances(2018), andThrawn: Treason(2019),[31]and later a prequel trilogy about the character in theAscendencytrilogy.[32]Zahn consulted on Thrawn's adaptation to live-action in the television seriesAhsoka,with Mikkelsen reprising his role as Thrawn fromRebels.Gilad Pellaeonalso made his live-action andStar Warscanon debut in thethird seasonofThe Mandalorian,portrayed byXander Berkeley.

References

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  1. ^"Star Warsin the UK: The Dark Times, 1987—1991 ".StarWars.com.April 15, 2013.Archivedfrom the original on March 11, 2017.RetrievedMay 30,2022.
  2. ^Sansweet, Stephen J.(1998).Star Wars Encyclopedia(1st ed.). New York: Ballantine. p. xvii.ISBN0-345-40227-8.OCLC36960986.
  3. ^abMyers, Lindsay Rae (20 February 2014)."The Man Who Saved Star Wars: An Interview With Pensacon Guest Timothy Zahn".WUWF 88.1.WUWF.Archivedfrom the original on 12 May 2015.Retrieved17 June2017.
  4. ^ab"The New York TimesBest Seller List "(PDF).Hawes.com.June 30, 1991.Archived(PDF)from the original on August 11, 2017.RetrievedMarch 1,2017.
  5. ^abcdefgh"'Star Wars' writer reveals original vision for the sequels and his thoughts on 'The Last Jedi'".Yahoo!.30 July 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2019.Retrieved21 July2022.
  6. ^abLiptak, Andrew (2017-04-15)."Another expanded universe character is coming to Star Wars Rebels, voiced by Warwick Davis".The Verge.Retrieved2022-12-01.
  7. ^abcHansen-Raj, Linda (August 2, 2016)."Who Is Thrawn?".StarWars.com.Archivedfrom the original on January 25, 2022.RetrievedMarch 17,2017.
  8. ^ab"Grand Admiral Thrawn".StarWars.com.Archived fromthe originalon June 4, 2011.
  9. ^Britt, Ryan (February 28, 2013)."How Timothy Zahn'sHeir to the EmpireTurnedStar Warsinto Science Fiction ".Tor.com.Archived fromthe originalon June 16, 2015.RetrievedAugust 26,2015.
  10. ^"Fiction Book Review:Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy: Dark Force Rising".Publishers Weekly.Archivedfrom the original on September 17, 2016.RetrievedJuly 21,2016.
  11. ^Britt, Ryan (March 7, 2013)."Not Rising Fast Enough: On Zahn'sDark Force Rising".Tor.com.Archivedfrom the original on July 23, 2015.RetrievedAugust 26,2015.
  12. ^abcdef"30 years ago, Timothy Zahn resurrected Star Wars".Transfer Orbit.4 May 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2022.Retrieved24 July2022.
  13. ^abc"An interview with Timothy Zahn, author of Heir to the Empire".Zoklet.Archived fromthe originalon 2010-05-21.Retrieved21 July2022.
  14. ^"Timothy Zahn on Grand Admiral Thrawn: 'He's like an old friend who I understand completely'".The Verge.27 April 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2022.Retrieved24 July2022.
  15. ^ab"An interview with Timothy Zahn, author ofHeir to the Empire".Zoklet.net. 1991. Archived fromthe originalon May 21, 2010.RetrievedMarch 1,2017.
  16. ^Zahn, Timothy (2011). "Endnote 13".Heir to the Empire: The 20th Anniversary Edition.Del Rey Books.ISBN978-0345528292.
  17. ^Gonzales, Dave (December 22, 2016)."The Greatest 'Star Wars' Spinoff Movie Was Everything but a Movie".Thrillist.Archivedfrom the original on June 6, 2023.RetrievedMarch 24,2019.
  18. ^Cotta Vaz, Mark(April 25, 2009).The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire.New York City:Del Rey.p. 256.ISBN978-0-345-40236-3.
  19. ^abBaron, Mike (2015) [2009].Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy.New York:Marvel Comics.p. 5.
  20. ^ab"Critical Opinion: Heir To The Empire Reviews".starwars.com.Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2014.Retrieved24 July2022.
  21. ^"Heir to the Empire: Star Wars Legends Penguin Random House".penguinrandomhouse.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2024-04-24.Retrieved2024-04-24.
  22. ^abcKaminski, Michael (2008).The Secret History of Star Wars.New York City: Legacy Books Press. pp. 289–291.ISBN978-0978465230.
  23. ^"Critical Opinion:Heir to the EmpireReviews ".StarWars.com.April 4, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on July 14, 2014.RetrievedDecember 14,2015.
  24. ^"Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books".NPR.August 11, 2011.Archivedfrom the original on November 9, 2013.RetrievedAugust 12,2011.
  25. ^"How Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire Turned Star Wars into Science Fiction".tor.com.28 February 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 16 June 2015.Retrieved24 July2022.
  26. ^ab"How the Thrawn Trilogy Changed Star Wars Forever".CBR.21 March 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2022.Retrieved24 July2022.
  27. ^Bacon, Tom (January 23, 2017)."Thrawn,The NextStar WarsNovel, Promises To Transform The Franchise ".Moviepilot.Archived fromthe originalon 2017-03-12.RetrievedMarch 4,2017.
  28. ^"Timothy Zahn:Outbound FlightArrival ".StarWars.com.January 31, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon February 4, 2006.RetrievedJuly 21,2016.
  29. ^Breznican, Anthony (November 2, 2012)."Star Warssequel author Timothy Zahn weighs in on new movie plans ".Entertainment Weekly.Archivedfrom the original on May 16, 2013.RetrievedJuly 21,2016.
  30. ^"Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn Duology – Legends Series".Penguin Random House.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2022.Retrieved24 July2022.
  31. ^abc"The Thrawn legacy: From page to screen, the greatest addition to 'Star Wars' mythology".The Daily Star.25 May 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 21 July 2022.Retrieved21 July2022.
  32. ^"Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy Series".Penguin Random House.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2022.Retrieved24 July2022.

Notes

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  1. ^They later collaborated on theShadows of the Empiresoundtrack.
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