The following is going to dig into spoilers for the current season of The Mandalorian, specifically Episode 23, which dropped on April 12. Stop reading now if you haven’t yet caught up!
The most recent episode of The Mandalorian, available to everyone with a Disney+ subscription, focused heavily on Bo-Katan’s efforts to restore Mandalore and unite the various Mandalorian tribes. It featured the emergence of Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), a Star Wars villain whose return has been teased all season, but also dropped a significant hint at another threat looming in the Star Wars galaxy, one who I think is going to emerge as the Thanos-level threat in future episodes of The Mandalorian, the August release of Ahsoka starring Rosario Dawson, and probably the Star Wars movie soon to be directed by Dave Filoni, as confirmed at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
Start brushing up on Grand Admiral Thrawn.
As mentioned, the bulk of this most recent episode of The Mandalorian took place on Mandalore, where Moff Gideon sprung a trap that captured Din Djardin and sent Bo-Katan’s Mandalorian forces reeling. But the bigger tease to which I’m referring happened in the opening of the episode, where Gideon met with the secret Shadow Council made up of leaders of The Imperial Remnants to discuss when and how it’d be best to announce their presence and stir up loyalty to the Empire.
And in the course of that conversation between the leaders of the Imperial Remnants, the fallen shards of The Empire, we hear mention of Grand Admiral Thrawn – who we now know is going to be played by Lars Mikkelsen in the upcoming Ahsoka series. Thrawn has been in hiding for quite some time. And when speaking of the power of his return, Captain Gilad Pellaeon proclaims:
That strength must not be wasted. Grand Admiral Thrawn’s return will herald in the reemergence of our military. And provide Commandant Hutz enough time to deliver on Project Necromancer. … Our one hope for success relies upon the secrecy of his return.
The creator of Thrawn has plenty to say about his main Star Wars character crossing over to live-action.
You could almost hear that last line of dialogue spoken in Dave Filoni’s voice, imploring fans to keep any details about Thrawn’s return a secret.
We don’t know yet what Project Necromancer is, though given the mention of Clones in that same conversation, it’s possible that this could be the experiment that either leads to the creation of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis, who really wants to return), or even the resurrection of Emperor Palpatine, who we know plays a huge part in Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker. Either way, the way that these leaders speak of Grand Admiral Thrawn, we know that he’s going to lord over even someone as menacing and powerful as Moff Gideon. Thrawn’s going to be a major manipulator of significant events for years to come.
From what we learned about the Dave Filoni movie, it will be intended to toe up several storylines that are carried from The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and possibly Skeleton Crew, but elevate it into what Kathleen Kennedy called a “cinematic event.” That will need a worthy adversary who is capable of making life difficult for Jedi, Mandalorians, New Republic leaders, and more. To me, that’s Thrawn. But I’ll be paying attention to more details as they continue to roll out in Upcoming Star Wars productions.
