Timothy Zahn
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Timothy Zahn
Biographical information
Born
Career
Occupation
- "It was just after four o'clock on November 6, 1989, and I was three days into writing my first novel for my new publisher, Bantam Books, when the phone rang. It was my agent. 'Tim,' he said after the usual pleasantries, 'we have a very interesting offer here.'"
- ―Timothy Zahn[3]
Timothy Zahn is a science fiction author which is best known for his work onThe Thrawn Trilogy, a series of novels following the events ofReturn of the Jedi, introducing various characters such asGrand AdmiralThrawn andMara Jade Skywalker. In addition to numerous short stories, he also wrote other novels focusing on Thrawn's character, such asOutbound Flight andThe Hand of Thrawn Duology in theStar Wars Legends continuity and theThrawn andThe Ascendancy Trilogy novel series in the currentcanon continuity.
Biography[]
Expanding the universe[]
- "I wandered around the house for the next couple of hours, lost in a fog of excitement, anticipation, and panic, wondering if I could possibly come up with a story that would do justice to George Lucas's vision."
- ―Timothy Zahn[3]
Timothy Zahn's first book in theStar Wars franchise wasHeir to the Empire, which followed the events afterStar Wars: Episode VIReturn of the Jedi.[4] He later releasedDark Force Rising as a sequel to the former,[5] and later concluded the trilogy withThe Last Command.[6] He later wrote aduology which consisted ofSpecter of the Past[7] andVision of the Future.[8]
Zahn also wrote various standalone novels, such asOutbound Flight, which told one of Thrawn'sfirst victories, which gained him the respect ofDarth Sidious.[9]Scoundrels,[10]Survivor's Quest,[11]Allegiance[12] andChoices of One.[13] He also contributed to the script of severalcomics and short stories such asStar Wars: Mara Jade – By the Emperor's Hand.[14]
Talon Karrde (portrayed by Zahn, right) withMara Jade (portrayed byShannon McRandle) andCorran Horn (portrayed byMichael Stackpole).
Zahn later portrayedTalon Karrde fromThe Thrawn Trilogy, for theStar Wars Customizable Card Game.[15] As Karrde had much more hair than his creator, Zahn needed to use hair extensions. He was also involved in the writing of Copero flashpoint inStar Wars: The Old Republic.[16]
Planned works[]
Before Zahn was hired to write a ninthStar Wars novel, Zahn had planned a number of ideas including stories of theSkywalker family, more adventures of theHand of Judgment and more of Thrawn's andMara Jade Skywalker's backstories.[17] AtCelebration III, Zahn said he would like to write a novel set afterStar Wars: Legacy of the Force, featuringLuke Skywalker,Mara Jade Skywalker, and a teenagerBen. But the possibility of that novel in that time period vanished when Mara died inLegacy of the Force: Sacrifice. However in a later interview withTheForce.net. Zahn said he still wanted to do a novel about the Skywalker family with Mara, Ben and Luke or to tell more tales. But it would have had to be before Star Wars: Legacy of the Force.[17]
Zahn answered a fan's question atCelebration III, he shared that he would be interested in working more with Thrawn if it involved a new threat that only aclone of the grand admiral could solve. The clone would become unsure of himself due to the people expecting him to be as good as the original Chiss. Zahn stated at a book signing in Philadelphia that he would like the clone of Thrawn to team up with Ben Skywalker.[18] Zahn stated through a Facebook Q&A in2013, that he had a trilogy project to share withLucasfilm, with one book featuring Thrawn and theChiss species, the second involved Jade preventing an assassination attempt onDarth Vader, and the third book would be the third book in theHand of Judgment series. The proposed title for the trilogy wasThe Maestro Trilogy.[19]
Rebuilding Thrawn and the Chiss[]
Timothy Zahn explored the Chiss Ascendancy on a new trilogy
The announcement of the new continuity,Canon, inApril 25,2014 made all of Zahn's worksLegends instead of canon.[20] Zahn hadn't been involved inStar Wars, however, as Thrawn was reintroduced into the saga throughStar Wars Rebels Season Three, through the episodeStar Wars Rebels: Steps Into Shadow[21] created byDave Filoni. He was chosen to writeThrawn, a novel which focused onMitth'raw'nuruodo,Thrawn's rise through theGalactic Empire's ranks. FromLieutenant Commander toGrand Admiral. Which released onApril 11,2017.[22]
The novel received a follow up,Thrawn: Alliances, which told the story of howAnakin Skywalker and the Chiss defeated theSeparatists onMokivj and how Darth Vader and the Grand Admiral discovered a major threat for the Empire, theGrysk Hegemony.[23] It was released onJune 26,2018.[24] He later releasedThrawn: Treason, the final installment in the trilogy, where Thrawn defeated the Grysk Hegemony with the help ofAdmiralAr'alani, and where he defeatedBalanhai Savit.[25] It was released onJuly 23,2019[26]
OnSeptember 1,2020, Zahn releasedThrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising the first book in theStar Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy which was about Thrawn when he was a member of theChiss Ascendancy.[27] OnApril 27,2021,Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good was released. Being the second book in theAscendancy Trilogy.[28] Later, onNovember 16,2021,Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil was released, which ended theAscendancy Trilogy.[29]
For Thrawn's appearance inAhsoka theDisney+ series, Zahn was regularly consulted by Filoni and other creatives[30] to ensure the character was written perfectly.[31]
