A safe choice. When J.J Abrams was selected to direct Star Wars Episode 9, this phrase seemed to be hovering around Star Wars fan circles. Since Disney purchased Star Wars in 2015, many people have deemed the two new films to be sound, but not wholly original. With Disney’s announcement to have Rian Johnson helm a new Star Wars trilogy, I think Kathleen Kennedy and crew have responded to such criticisms.
Upon this announcement, it was near impossible to not speculate. After letting the dust settle, several options seemed to be in the forefront, most understandably, The Knights of the Old Republic. This would of course be a terrific choice, but due to some other recent Star Wars news, another realistic possibility emerged. Namely, Grand Admiral Thrawn’s species, the Chiss, and the Unknown Regions.
Timothy Zahn’s 2017 novel
, Thrawn, provided us with new information on how Disney might use this species within the context of new canon. It provides us with a brief synopsis on the Chiss Ascendancy, and clearly states that this governing body has been in place for an extended period. Near the novel’s close, one of the main character’s ends up leaving the known regions of the galaxy, and meeting the Chiss Ascendancy. Whether or not the films pick up with this character, the novel left us with a longing to learn more about this alien race.
Another recent occurrence in Star Wars canon left me pondering this possibility. Recently on Star Wars Rebels, we saw the Expanded Universe character of Rukh, brought back into canon. This gave us our first glimpse at the Nogri, a species closely tied to the Unknown Regions in the Expanded Universe. Dave Filoni has also not given us a concrete answer on Thrawn’s fate after the television series. We know that the new Thrawn and Vader team up book,
Alliances, is on the way, but surely that isn’t going to be all we see from such a cherished character?
Disney has been picking and choosing from the expanded universe, but they have really just hit the tip of the iceberg when concerning Timothy Zahn’s original Thrawn novels. If they were to expand upon the Chiss and the outer regions, what might see, the ysalamiri? The planet Myrkr? More Nogri? A new version of Joruus C’baoth?
One thing is for sure, Timothy Zahn’s Expanded Universe novels are a goldmine, just sitting there, waiting to be exploited.