Author Timothy Zahn created Grand Admiral Thrawn in his critically acclaimed Heir to the Empire trilogy, but the villain didn't make his "official" canon debut until Disney XD's Star Wars Rebels.
Dave Filoni certainly paid homage to what Zahn had done but, at the same time, put his own spin on the character. Later, the writer was enlisted by Lucasfilm Publishing to flesh out the "new" Thrawn, expanding on his history with the Chiss Ascendancy and revealing that he joined the Empire to better serve his people.
We're not sure how much attention Filoni has paid to those ideas; while he's a fan of Zahn's work, those concepts have yet to be explored on screen and Thrawn has thus far been portrayed as a relatively straightforward Imperial villain (much to the disappointment of many).
The author recently took part in a "Talking Thrawn" panel at Twin Cities Con in Minneapolis and offered his take on Ahsoka's portrayal of his most iconic creation.
Based on some insights shared by StarWarsNews.net (via SFFGazette.com), Zhan is a fan of Ahsoka's take on Thrawn and remains resolute in his opinion the villain continues to act in the interests of the Chiss Ascendancy and says his belief the New Republic won't help him is why restoring the Empire is his only hope.
He understandably left the rest of Ahsoka's Thrawn-related plot holes well enough alone but revealed he's desperate to fill in some of the gaps between the events of Rebels and Ahsoka with new books exploring what happened after he and Ezra Bridger found themselves stranded on Peridea. The show didn't give us so much as a single flashback, so allowing Zahn to add some much-needed context would be no bad thing and may well be what Filoni is building to.
You can see more highlights from the panel below.
Set after the fall of the Empire, Ahsoka follows the former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.
In addition to Rosario Dawson in the title role, the series stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, the late Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll, Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati, Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth, David Tennant as Huyang, Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Eman Esfandi appearing as Ezra Bridger.
Ahsoka was written by Dave Filoni, who executive produces alongside Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson, and Carrie Beck. Directors include Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Rick Famuyiwa.
All episodes of Ahsoka are now streaming on Disney+.