Star Wars Legends Proves Why Leia Is Vital to Star Wars’ New Throne Saga

Grand Admiral Thrawn is poised to become the next major villain in the Star Wars franchise, and the Legends continuity made Princess Leia invaluable to the Grand Admiral’s eventual defeat. Timothy Zahn’s 1991 novel heir to the empireThe first book in the beloved Throne trilogy, introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn as a new threat to the fledgling New Republic, and while Thrawn lacked Force powers like Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, he made up for it with sheer military genius. Thrawn was a particularly challenging opponent to these Star Wars Original trilogy heroes, but he is not unbeatable.

Thrawn was one of the most iconic characters to be originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, so it is not surprising when, after Legends ceased to be the official Star Wars timeline and was redesigned an alternate continuity, Thrawn gained a counterpart in the modern canon. Although the newer canon’s Thrawn is extremely similar to his original incarnation, there are notable differences, especially when it comes to their respective personalities and backstories. The original defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, for example, will be different in the modern canon, but it could still perhaps involve Princess Leia playing a key role.

Leia played a key role in Thrawn’s defeat in Legends

In the legend’s continuation, The Galactic Empire used the Noghri species, whose homeworld of Honoghr was poisoned and polluted by a Separatist bioweapon. During the Clone Wars. Darth Vader lied to the Noghri, offering aid from the Empire in exchange for Noghri warriors to serve him while secretly perpetuating the devastation of Honor to maintain a steady supply of Noghri death commandos. Grand Admiral Thrawn continued the terrible grief after the death of Vader and the fracturing of the Empire, with Thrawn using the Noghri known as Rukh as his assassin and bodyguard.

Princess Leia discovered the truth of Vader and Thrawn’s deception While visiting Honoghr during the Thrawn campaign and revealing her findings to the Noghr. This led to a revolution, with the Noghri severing their ties with the Empire’s warlords—specifically Thrawn’s faction—and joining the New Republic. Rukh turned on Thrawn and assassinated him during the Battle of Bilbringi, helping the New Republic win the Thrawn campaign.

Star Wars canon Thrawn Saga is set at the peak of Leia’s influence

Thrawn and the rest of the Empire’s history with the Noghri—as well as the species’ Clone Wars-era history—is currently unknown in the modern Star Wars Canon, after Rukh is in the new timeline, serving the same role for Thrawn as he did in the Legends continuity. Rook dies in Star Wars Rebelsbut, Making it impossible for the modern canon to replicate Thrawn’s original death. Despite this, a future Star Wars Possession can – and perhaps should – have Princess Leia nevertheless play a major role in Thrawn’s final defeat in the modern canon.