Grand Admiral Thrawn was first introduced in the pages of Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, with the villain taking centre stage in a trilogy of novels that saw him very nearly defeat the New Republic once and for all.
Since then, the character has been added to the current canon in Star Wars Rebels and will hopefully make his live-action debut in this week's episode of Ahsoka. Both similar and different to his literary predecessor, Thrawn remains as deadly as ever and has had his new backstory fleshed out in another series of novels by Zahn. That makes it hard to predict what exactly we'll see from him both on Disney+ and in Dave Filoni's planned Star Wars movie.
However, as the latter project is rumoured to be titled Heir to the Empire, there are some characters from this original sequel trilogy who we think need to be included. Their stories and background will inevitably change, but each of them can bring something exciting and unexpected to the table...including a certain clone!
Find out where we think they could fit into Filoni's vision by hitting the "Next" button below.
8. Joruus C'Baoth
A deranged clone of Jedi Master Joruus C'Baoth, this Dark Jedi was determined to bring Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa-Solo, and Mara Jade under his control.
Forced into being Grand Admiral Thrawn's pawn thanks to the Imperial's power-dampening Ysalamiri, he eventually set his sights on ruling the Empire. Unleashing Force Lightning with ease, he was on par with Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine and eventually found an...interesting...use for Thrawn's cloning facility.
We'll get to that later, but C'Baoth would make for an exciting antagonist here, particularly if he sets his sights on Ahsoka Tano and Ezra Bridger. He may even be someone the latter and Thrawn encountered after vanishing.
7. Talon Karrde
We can likely forget about seeing Han Solo in this or any other upcoming Star Wars project, though there's always a chance Alden Ehrenreich will reprise the role somewhere down the line. For now, though, we're assuming that's not the case, though the void could be filled somewhat by Talon Karrde.
A smuggler and information broker, he was pulled into the New Republic's battle with the Empire and his good heart saw him eventually make an enemy of Thrawn.
Karrde is also Mara Jade's employer and someone this movie could have a lot of fun with. With it initially unclear where his loyalties lie, the roguish anti-hero eventually helping save the day as Han did back in A New Hope has all the makings of a compelling subplot here.
6. Borsk Fey'lya
Mistakes made by Mon Mothma and the rest of the New Republic promise to be key in future stories, and the former Rebel has already made her presence felt in Ahsoka. If we are indeed going to explore how their in-fighting paved the way for the rise of the First Order, Borsk Fey'lya is a must.
The Bothan wasn't so much a villain as a power-hungry politician who hoped to take charge of the government and rule over it the way he believed was right.
Fey'lya's story could be intertwined with many of the characters listed here, and even if his role is a relatively minor one, we know fans of the Expanded Universe would appreciate seeing Admiral Ackbar's longtime rival thrown into the mix.
5. Niles Ferrier
If we are going to better explore the place of smugglers in the Galaxy at this point in time, then Niles Ferrier absolutely needs to make his presence felt.
This cigarra-smoking a**hole worked secretly (and somewhat unwillingly) for Thrawn, betraying his fellow smugglers and emerging as one of Karrde's biggest hurdles in his mission to unite the Galaxy's criminal factions against an Empire that was coming dangerously close to regaining its former power.
It would make sense for Ferrier to be introduced as a minor antagonist in The Mandalorian season 4 or Skeleton Crew, with him becoming a recurring presence on TV who we later learn reports to the Grand Admiral.
4. Captain Pellaeon
Captain Pellaeon was Thrawn's right-hand man and was by his side for the battle against the New Republic from the start. Awed and confounded by the Grand Admiral's clever military tactics in battle, he would make for a fitting dogsbody to the villain in this movie.
A live-action version of the Captain (played by Xander Berkeley) debuted in The Mandalorian season 3 and clearly wanted to wait for Thrawn's return.
There are, of course, those who would rather see Eli Vanto return from Zahn's recent in-canon novels, but squeezing him in here makes little sense as it would require too much explanation. That dynamic can instead continue to be explored on the page as the author continues revealing more about the Chiss Ascendancy.
3. Khabarakh
Rukh was a Noghri introduced as Thrawn's bodyguard and assassin in Star Wars Rebels, though he'd eventually meet his maker at the hands of Zeb Orrelios.
What the series didn't explain is that his people were enslaved first by Darth Vader and then Thrawn; their planet was poisoned and they were forced into a life of servitude before Leia revealed the truth and won their trust after crossing paths with Khabarakh, a young Noghri who had been sent to kidnap her.
At the end of this trilogy, Rukh stabs Thrawn in the chest and kills him, and that's a role we could see go to Khabarakh somewhere down the line. That would, however, require the Noghri and Honoghr to be a big part of upcoming stories so the moment makes sense and feels earned.
2. Luuke Skywalker
No, that isn't a typo! When Thrawn imprisons C'Baoth on Mount Tantiss (which is one of the Emperor's old storehouses) he makes use of the cloning facility that's responsible for the Empire's new army...by creating a second Luke Skywalker!
It turns out Vader retrieved Luke's hand and lightsaber on Cloud City, and it was that which eventually allowed C'Baoth to make "Luuke." While mostly a puppet for the deranged elder clone, he wielded Luke's blue blade in a thrilling duel which saw the duplicate very nearly overpower the real deal.
Luuke's inclusion in this movie depends on a number of factors, including whether Mark Hamill agrees to return. However, the concept could be revisited with perhaps Ezra or Ahsoka cloned in his place. Don't forget what we saw in The Mandalorian...
1. Mara Jade
Over the course of this trilogy, we learn that Mara Jade was once the Emperor's Hand and was present in Jabba the Hutt's palace during Return of the Jedi. She didn't make it onto the sail barge so was unable to stop Luke and blames him both for her Master's defeat and the fact she lost everything.
Despite initially wanting to kill the Jedi, Mara ultimately realises that Palpatine planted the idea in her head at the moment of his death and embraces the idea of being a Jedi...after ridding herself of the Sith's voice by dealing the killing blow to Luuke!
Eventually, she and Luke marry and have children, something we don't anticipate seeing here. We could however get an awesome new female protagonist who is front and centre in the next era of storytelling, perhaps in a TV show or movie set closer to The Force Awakens.