“Star Wars” author Timothy Zahn — who crafted a number of post-”Return of the Jedi” novels for “Star Wars” and introduced the character Thrawn — says he had no idea the reference was coming.
What happened?
The fifth episode of the season — titled “The Jedi” — featured the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and the Child (Baby Yoda) visiting the planet Corvus, where they meet with a Jedi named Ahsoka Tano outside the city of Calodan.
While there, Ahsoka eventually confronts the Magistrate, asking where her master — Grand Admiral Thrawn — is hiding.
We don’t get an answer.
Did Timothy Zahn know about it?
Zahn — who created the character Thrawn in some early “Star Wars” novels and has written about the character in a new set of novels under Disney — said in a Facebook post he had no clue that the character’s reintroduction was coming.
“No, I was not holding back on you (or anyone else). I was (and am) completely out of the loop on all things ‘Mandalorian.’ The first I heard about Ahsoka’s name-dropping question was when people began peppering this page with comments, questions, and verbal high-fives.
“So what will happen next? Your guesses are as good as mine. One thing I do know: Good writers/producers/directors don’t drop a bombshell like that without some kind of follow-up somewhere down the line. I’ll be sitting right there with all the rest of you, eagerly waiting to see how the saga unfolds.
“Hopefully, it will be artistically done.”
More about Thrawn
Thrawn has appeared in “Star Wars Rebels” and his own book series within the last six years since Disney took over the “Star Wars” franchise, so it’s not surprising that the character would make an appearance on “The Mandalorian,” which has introduced a number of characters from “Star Wars” history.
In fact, the droids seen in the latest episode had the symbol of Thrawn’s fleet — another sign that the character may be coming to the show, as I wrote about for the Deseret News.