Ahsoka: Heir To The Empire Is A Pivotal Star Wars Story (Despite Not Being Canon)
Joining the vastly-expanding Disney+ "Star Wars" library next is "Ahsoka," with Rosario Dawson once again playing the popular Togruta Force-user. While it's great to see the now-iconic character receive a live-action spotlight all her own, fans are really buzzing about the series since it's a spiritual successor to "Star Wars Rebels," featuring the likes of Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Additionally, it will feature the return of the cold and calculating Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who gave the "Rebels" crew quite a run for their money previously.
Naturally, Thrawn's post-"Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi" presence has fans of the non-canon Legends continuity particularly excited. Back in 1991, the Chiss strategist made his debut in the celebrated novel "Heir to the Empire": a story set after the Battle of Endor focused on Thrawn's attempt to somewhat restore the Galactic Empire and use it to crush the New Republic. It and its sequels — "Dark Force Rising" and "The Last Command" — have become the stuff of novelized "Star Wars" legend over the years, with many considering the books to be the "Star Wars" sequel trilogy long before the canon sequel trilogy made it to cinemas.
As great as it is, "Heir to the Empire" and its continuations (collectively known as the "Thrawn" trilogy) don't quite fit the current Disney canon. However, they're still worth a read if you want a rough idea of what the future of the "Star Wars" franchise might look like.
Star Wars is on track for a canonical Heir to the Empire adaptation
Through "The Mandalorian," "The Book of Boba Fett," "Star Wars: The Bad Batch," and seemingly "Ahsoka," Lucasfilm seems to be laying the groundwork for an "Heir to the Empire" adaptation that fits within the current canon. First and foremost, as revealed during the third season of "The Mandalorian," various Imperial remnant factions are consolidating power and resources under the watchful eye of Grand Admiral Thrawn and his right-hand man since the '90s, Captain Gilad Pellaeon (Xander Berkeley), a mere few years after the Battle of Endor. The reemerging Empire's clashes with the New Republic are essentially the backbone of the 1990s book trilogy.
Also, recent "Star Wars" projects have focused heavily on cloning — likely to explain Emperor Palpatine's (Ian McDiarmid) "Dark Empire"-inspired return in "Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker." Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) attempts to clone himself, imbuing his replicas with Force sensitivity. Throughout the "Thrawn" trilogy, Force-sensitive clones are a focal point, with the late Jedi Jorus C'baoth and Luke Skywalker both cloned by the Empire. In fact, Luke's clone, the inventively-named Luuke, is made from Luke's severed hand, which the canon comic "Darth Vader" #11 reveals is in the Empire's possession. Even the cloning facility Mount Tantiss, which debuts in "Heir to the Empire," has since become commonplace on "The Bad Batch."
It remains to be seen if "Thrawn" trilogy favorites like Mara Jade and Talon Karrde have a place in the future of "Star Wars" or if any more key story elements will make their way into the new canon. Don't be surprised if they do, considering how much the franchise is pulling from one of the most popular Legends storylines of them all.