Thrawn trilogy

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Thrawn trilogy

  • Heir to the Empire (1991)
  • Dark Force Rising (1992)
  • The Last Command (1993)

Author
E-book

The Thrawn trilogy, also known as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, is a trilogy of novels set in the Star Wars universe, written by Timothy Zahn between 1991 and 1993. The first book marked the end of the notable drought of new Star Wars material during a four-year period from the tenth anniversary of the original 1977 film's release to the release of Heir to the Empire in 1991.[1]

Set approximately five years after the events depicted in

Talon Karrde
.

The Thrawn Trilogy sold a combined total of 15 million copies,

Gilad Pellaeon appearing in the third season of The Mandalorian portrayed by Xander Berkeley.[6] Zahn would also write two new alternate Thrawn trilogies in the new canon: Thrawn (2017–2019) and Thrawn Ascendancy
(2020–2021), as well as consulting on Ahsoka.

Books

Heir to the Empire (1991)

In Heir to the Empire (1991), master tactician

Sluis Van shipyards as he planned, Thrawn invades. His stormtroopers use the stolen miners to board and hijack the ships, but they are thwarted when Lando seizes control of the miners remotely. Thrawn withdraws his forces, but thanks to his plotting, his New Republic nemesis Admiral Ackbar is soon arrested for treason.[7][8][9]

Dark Force Rising (1992)

In Dark Force Rising (1992), it is revealed that before the

Honoghr 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, and Han Solo.[7][10][11]

The Last Command (1993)

In The Last Command (1993), set about a month after the previous book, Thrawn uses the Katana 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,

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

The idea for a post-film trilogy was conceived by Lou Aronica, an editor at Bantam Books who proposed a series as "ambitious as the films were".[12] Lucas was initially skeptical of the proposal, but acquiesced; Bantam Spectra then 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 from

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 for Heir to the Empire was "Wild Card", which was rejected by Lucasfilm because they believed it was too similar to Bantam's Wild Cards series. The alternate name "The Emperor's Hand" was also rejected.[13][15] Warlord's Gambit was also a potential title, but ultimately Heir to the Empire was chosen, which according to Zahn was suggested by Aronica.[15][16]

Adaptations

Varèse Sarabande Records producer Robert Townson discussed the creation of a score to promote the trilogy.[a][17][18] All three books were adapted as comic books by Dark Horse Comics between 1995 and 1998. The series was divided into six issues per book, written by Mike 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 by Terry Dodson and Kevin Nowlan, and the third by Edvin Biuković and Eric Shanower.[19] The entire trilogy was collected in 2009 as a single graphic 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]

Each novel in the trilogy had its own Star Wars role-playing game sourcebook created for it by West End Games. When the rules for the Star Wars RPG changed the three volumes were collected into one book for the entire Thrawn 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."[21]

Reception

Heir to the Empire reached #1 on the

Tor.com, Ryan Britt stated that the Heir 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.[24] Zahn's use of supplementary material from Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game has been credited for creating a sense of unity between different publications, allowing for a more believable shared universe.[25]

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.[25] The success of the series prompted Lucasfilm to immediately commission more books to continue the Star Wars story.[12]

Legacy

The Thrawn trilogy is widely credited with revitalizing the Star Wars franchise,

Star Wars Expanded Universe.[5]

Zahn would go on to write a pair of sequel books, in the

Outbound Flight
(2006).

Although Lucas did not consider the Expanded Universe to be

Gilad Pellaeon would also make his live-action and Star Wars canon debut in the third season of The Mandalorian, portrayed by Xander Berkeley
.

References

  1. ^ "Star Wars in the UK: The Dark Times, 1987—1991". StarWars.com. April 15, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  2. OCLC 36960986
    .
  3. ^ a b Myers, Lindsay Rae (20 February 2014). "The Man Who Saved Star Wars: An Interview With Pensacon Guest Timothy Zahn". WUWF 88.1. WUWF. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  4. ^ a b "The New York Times Best Seller List" (PDF). Hawes.com. June 30, 1991. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "'Star Wars' writer reveals original vision for the sequels and his thoughts on 'The Last Jedi'". Yahoo!. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b Liptak, Andrew (2017-04-15). "Another expanded universe character is coming to Star Wars Rebels, voiced by Warwick Davis". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  7. ^
    StarWars.com
    . Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  8. ^
    StarWars.com. Archived from the original
    on June 4, 2011.
  9. Tor.com. Archived from the original
    on June 16, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  10. ^ "Fiction Book Review: Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy: Dark Force Rising". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  11. Tor.com
    . Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "30 years ago, Timothy Zahn resurrected Star Wars". Transfer Orbit. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  13. ^ a b c "An interview with Timothy Zahn, author of Heir to the Empire". Zoklet. Archived from the original on 2010-05-21. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Timothy Zahn on Grand Admiral Thrawn: 'He's like an old friend who I understand completely'". The Verge. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  15. ^ a b "An interview with Timothy Zahn, author of Heir to the Empire". Zoklet.net. 1991. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  16. .
  17. ^ Gonzales, Dave (December 22, 2016). "The Greatest 'Star Wars' Spinoff Movie Was Everything but a Movie". Thrillist. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  18. .
  19. ^ a b Baron, Mike (2015) [2009]. Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy. New York: Marvel Comics. p. 5.
  20. ^ a b "Critical Opinion: Heir To The Empire Reviews". starwars.com. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  21. ^ .
  22. StarWars.com. April 4, 2014. Archived
    from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  23. ^ "Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books". NPR. August 11, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  24. ^ "How Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire Turned Star Wars into Science Fiction". tor.com. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  25. ^ a b "How the Thrawn Trilogy Changed Star Wars Forever". CBR. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  26. ^ Bacon, Tom (January 23, 2017). "Thrawn, The Next Star Wars Novel, Promises To Transform The Franchise". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on 2017-03-12. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
  27. ^ "Timothy Zahn: Outbound Flight Arrival". StarWars.com. January 31, 2006. Archived from the original on February 4, 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  28. ^ Breznican, Anthony (November 2, 2012). "Star Wars sequel author Timothy Zahn weighs in on new movie plans". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  29. ^ "Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn Duology – Legends Series". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  30. ^ a b c "The Thrawn legacy: From page to screen, the greatest addition to 'Star Wars' mythology". The Daily Star. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  31. ^ "Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy Series". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 24 July 2022.

Notes

  1. Shadows of the Empire
    soundtrack.

External links