 | |
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| Author | Timothy Zahn |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Bantam Spectra |
| Published | 1991–1993 |
| Media type | |
TheThrawn trilogy, also known as theHeir to the Empire trilogy, is a trilogy of novels set in theStar Wars universe, written byTimothy Zahn between 1991 and 1993. The first book marked the end of a notable drought of newStar Wars material over a four-year period, between the 10th anniversary of the original1977 film's release and the release ofHeir to the Empire (1991).[1]
Set approximately five years after the events depicted inReturn of the Jedi,[2] the trilogy details the offensive campaigns of military geniusGrand Admiral Thrawn as he attempts to bring down the recently foundedNew Republic in a bid to restore theGalactic Empire to power. In addition to Thrawn, the trilogy introduces several new and notable characters, includingMara Jade andTalon Karrde.
TheThrawn trilogy sold a combined total of 15 million books,[3] withHeir to the Empire reaching #1 on theNew York Times Best Seller list.[4] The trilogy has been met with critical acclaim, and its success is credited to the creation of theStar Wars Expanded Universe (EU), with the planetCoruscant from the trilogy later being adapted byGeorge Lucas to hisprequel trilogy ofStar Wars films.[5]
On the EU's 2014reboot, characters and concepts from theThrawn trilogy were adapted tocanon media, with Thrawn appearing in the animatedDisney XD seriesStar Wars Rebels (2014) and, later, in theDisney+ live-action seriesAhsoka (2023), portrayed byLars Mikkelsen.Rukh, an assassin and bodyguard for Thrawn, appears inRebels as well asTales of the Empire (2022), voiced by veteranLucasfilm talentWarwick Davis—the original actor behind theEwok characterWicket W. Warrick in films likeReturn of the Jedi (1983) andCaravan of Courage (1984), among others.Gilad Pellaeon, an Imperial officer, was seen in thethird season ofThe Mandalorian (2023), portrayed byXander Berkeley.[6]
Zahn has also written two additional, alternateThrawn trilogies in the new canon—Thrawn (2017–2019) andThrawn Ascendancy (2020–2021); he has also consulted onAhsoka.
InHeir to the Empire (1991), master tactician Grand Admiral Thrawn plots to destroy theNew Republic despite their numerical advantage over the remaining Imperial forces. He sets his sights on theWayland storehouse 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 repelthe Force, to subdue the storehouse's guardianJoruus C'baoth, a twisted clone of aJedi Master whom 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 Skywalker andPrincess Leia Organa. Thrawn sends some of hisNoghri killers 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 the Sluis Van shipyards as he planned, Thrawn invades. Hisstormtroopers use 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]
InDark Force Rising (1992), it is revealed that before theClone Wars, theOld Republic had constructed a fleet of highly automatedheavy cruisers, known as theKatana fleet. 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 theKatana fleet. 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 theKatana fleet. Meanwhile, Leia learns that the Noghri serve the Empire because they revere her late father,Darth Vader, who they believe saved their planetHonoghr from 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 "Katana fleet", outmaneuvering Luke, Lando, andHan Solo.[7][10][11]
InThe Last Command (1993), set about a month after the previous book, Thrawn uses theKatana fleet, 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 thecloning cylinders. 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]
The idea for a post-Star Wars film trilogy was conceived by Lou Aronica, an editor atBantam Books who proposed a series as "ambitious asthe films were".[12]George Lucas was initially skeptical of the proposal, but acquiesced;Bantam Spectra then broughtTimothy 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 Kenobi to the new character ofJoruus C'baoth and the renaming of Rukh's species fromSith toNoghri.[5] In order to provide him with existingworldbuilding material, 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 Empire was "Wild Card", which was rejected by Lucasfilm because they believed it was too similar to Bantam'sWild Cards series. The alternate name "The Emperor's Hand" was also rejected.[13][15]Warlord's Gambit was also a potential title, but ultimatelyHeir to the Empire was chosen, which according to Zahn was suggested by Aronica.[15][16]
Denis Lawson, who portrayedWedge Antilles in theoriginalStar Wars trilogy andStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, narrates the abridged audiobook ofHeir to the Empire.Anthony Daniels, who portrayedC-3PO in ten live-actionStar Wars films,[a] andone animated film narratesDark Force Rising andThe Last Command. Lucasfilm andVarèse Sarabande Records producer Robert Townson discussed the creation of a score to promote the trilogy.[b][17][18] All three books were adapted as comic books byDark Horse Comics between 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 Dodson andKevin Nowlan, and the third byEdvin Biuković andEric 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 Rising andThe Last Command would be granted brand new unabridged audiobook productions, narrated byMarc Thompson and featuring official Star Wars music and sound effects.[21]
Each novel in the trilogy had its ownStar Wars role-playing game sourcebook created for it byWest End Games. When the rules for theStar Wars RPG changed the three volumes were collected into one book for the entireThrawn trilogy 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]
Heir to the Empire reached #1 on theNew York Times Best 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 Empire was 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 Game has 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 Wars story.[12]
TheThrawn trilogy is widely credited with revitalizing theStar Wars franchise,[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 Wars Expanded Universe.[5]
Zahn would go on to write a pair of sequel books, in theHand of Thrawn duology (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 nameCoruscant for the galactic capital in the prequel trilogy, which was created by Zahn in theHeir to the Empire.[5][31] While theThrawn trilogywas rendered noncanonical following the Disney acquisition of theStar Wars franchise, the character of Thrawn was later re-canonized by Lucasfilm when he was introduced onStar Wars Rebels, voiced byLars Mikkelsen,[5][31] in whichRukh also 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 theAscendency trilogy.[32] Zahn consulted on Thrawn's adaptation to live-action in the television seriesAhsoka, with Mikkelsen reprising his role as Thrawn fromRebels.Gilad Pellaeon also made his live-action andStar Wars canon debut in thethird season ofThe Mandalorian, portrayed byXander Berkeley. Mikkelsen, Berkeley and Davis reprised their roles inTales of the Empire:The Path of Anger.[33] TheChimaera captained by Thrawn appeared inRebels andAhsoka. In the current canon, the New Republic has been featured inThe Mandalorian,The Book of Boba Fett andAhsoka and Mon Mothma was elected chancellor. The events of theThrawn trilogy andThe Mandalorian take place five years after the events ofReturn of the Jedi.
Lars Mikkelsen (Thrawn)