Star Wars' Most Underrated Alien Race Is Long Overdue For A Bigger Role

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Star Wars wouldn't be Star Wars without all the loveable alien freaks. George Lucas made them a calling card in 1977 with the Jawas and the Bith musicians of the Mos Eisley cantina, and ever since, the galactic populace has continued to expand, adding new alien species with every major installment. Ewoks and Weequay, Zabraks and Gungans, Campi, Caphex, Crolute, Dupei, Dwuni, Dyclops — Glup Shittos make the Star Wars world go 'round. But there's one alien race in particular that feels due for a larger role in the franchise, and it could be coming in the next few years.

If you're an Expanded Universe alum (welcome), you know the Chiss — the humanoid, blue-skinned race of stoic bureaucrats who live in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, beyond Republic and Imperial control. The most famous Chiss, Grand Admiral Thrawn, was a massive player in the old EU, and he has become one again in the modern canon through shows like "Star Wars Rebels" and "Ahsoka." The "Thrawn" novels — both the old ones from the '90s and the more recent, canonical ones written by original author Timothy Zahn — also explore the Chiss in macro, but very little of that world-building has made it into the mainstream.

With Thrawn currently looming as the major threat of the new Republic era, Season 2 of "Ahsoka" on the way, and the idea of an "Heir to the Empire" movie still clear in the minds of many fans, the Chiss are ready for their close-up.

Aliens in Star Wars are usually characterized in the same way that planets are — visually distinctive and largely one-dimensional. The Zabrak are tough warriors, the Neimoidian are known for their financial enterprises, and so on. It's the sort of pretty surface-level world-building that works well enough when the goal is populating cantinas and city streets with a bunch of fun puppets and prosthetics, but it doesn't always yield the most compelling stories (and frequently, it kicks the door open for outright racial stereotyping).

The Chiss are different. While their blue skin and hair and bright red eyes are distinctive, they weren't designed with set dressing in mind, and their story is more about internal politics and a sophisticated culture than the large brush strokes with which Star Wars aliens are typically painted. They're much more comparable to the alien races of the Star Trek franchise, in that their stories are more about societal specificity, government, and culture, and they are presented on more even footing to humanity than many of the other races in Star Wars.

In both the old Legends Star Wars timeline and the modern canon, the Chiss operate under a form of government called the Ascendancy, which maintains an isolationist doctrine. Since the Chiss homeworld of Csilla is in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy — an area left largely clear of Republic or Imperial influence due to the treachery of its hyperspace routes — the Chiss are able to keep their own order outside events like the Clone Wars or the Galactic Civil War. In both timelines, the Chiss get embroiled in regional conflicts with different Unknown Regions races, like the Grysk in the current canon and the Vagaari in Legends. But in the Disney continuity, only Thrawn has had much influence in the rest of the galaxy — so far.

Thrawn remains a much larger figure in the old EU than in the modern canon, but his presence in the current timeline is growing steadily, and he seems poised for an even bigger role very soon. At the end of "Ahsoka" Season 1, he escapes the distant galaxy in which he was trapped at the end of "Star Wars Rebels," returning to the main Star Wars galaxy with a loyal contingent of troopers and the mystical backing of the Nightsisters of Dathomir. His ship, the Chimaera, arrives carrying mysterious cargo, and ancillary scenes in "The Mandalorian" Season 3 confirm that a large faction of the greater Imperial Remnant was simply waiting for Thrawn's return to take fresh action against the New Republic.

"Ahsoka" Season 2 is currently in the works, and "The Mandalorian and Grogu" is primed to kickstart a new wave of Star Wars movies. The fan theory for years has been that Lucasfilm creative chief Dave Filoni is building to an Avengers-style climax film, bringing in threads and characters from "Ahsoka," "The Mandalorian," "Skeleton Crew," and "The Book of Boba Fett," with Thrawn being the natural Thanos stand-in.

That's not a guarantee, and even if it does happen, it's likely that Thrawn would be the sole Chiss, leading a contingent of Imperials. Even still, the theoretical film would put him on the species' biggest stage yet.

If Thrawn does become the new Big Bad in Star Wars for the New Republic era, it would be a natural introduction of the larger Chiss story to casual fans. Now that may not seem like the best use of resources, considering that Disney already has to fix their "Rise of Skywalker" finale problem, make good on that "Dawn of the Jedi" movie, and handle all the other plates currently spinning at hyperspeed around Lucasfilm. A species that most fans have never even heard of may seem like it shouldn't be high on that priorities list, but the Chiss present a unique opportunity.

Ever since Disney bought Star Wars, we have been retreading the same tired territory. Every story is some version of galactic civil war, with The High Republic and a few other comics here and there offering the only real divergence. "Andor" was outstanding, obviously, but when these new stories on old topics are handled with less technical skill (as was the case with the sequel), it just feels tired. Eventually, Lucasfilm needs to get comfortable trying new kinds of stories, and the Chiss are perfect.

Their removal from most of galactic history gives them an outsider presence, and the nature of the Unknown Regions provides a rich venue for new adventures detached from the same old conflicts. The infamous Yuuzhan Vong in Legends has plenty of detractors, yet it's remained heavy in the collective fan consciousness because it brought something decidedly different. And "Ahsoka" — the show where Thrawn has made his most prominent appearance so far — is engaging in a similar level of extra-galactic exploration. The window for the Chiss to step into the limelight is approaching, and if handled right, it could be the exact kind of narrative divergence that breathes some life into a franchise in desperate need of fresh ideas.