‘Star Wars’: Grand Admiral Thrawn has a curious technique with which he always beats his enemies’ tactics

Fans of the movies may not have known it, but Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of the most iconic villains of ‘Star Wars’. Born from the mind of writer Timothy Zhan, the novels of the ‘90s shaped a rich Expanded Universe, continuing the stories of the heroes beyond ‘Return of the Jedi’. The character belonged to the Chiss species, very popular among Legends fans, and was canonized by Dave Filoni in the ‘Star Wars Rebels’ series. The author himself has written two other trilogies set in the new canon starring Thrawn and the character has even debuted in live-action thanks to the ‘Ahsoka’ show. One of his peculiarities is his ability to anticipate the enemy and unravel their strategies through very unorthodox means.

Grand Admiral Thrawn is not a villain like Darth Vader, Palpatine, or Kylo Ren. He does not wear armor nor does he wield a lightsaber. He also does not raise his voice more than he should or lose his patience. His value as a character is that he uses his intelligence to penetrate the minds of his adversaries. He does this through observation and logic, gathering information from the environment and reading the enemy’s reactions. In the book ‘Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising’ (Timothy Zhan), a young Thrawn invites Ziara to visit a museum. He explains that art gives clues about the tactics of a society and its people, despite the girl’s initial disbelief, who does not quite believe it.

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Thrawn knows the enemy through art

“Why are we arguing about tactics in an art gallery?” asks Zaira. “Because one is reflected in the other,” he answers. “Art reflects the soul, from which strategies flow. One can see in a piece of art the strengths and weaknesses of those who created it. In fact, if someone has enough artistic variety to study, they can extend and extrapolate the strengths, weaknesses, and tactics of entire cultures”. In this, the Expanded Universe’s Thrawn is similar to the current version. Cold and calculating, the Grand Admiral always analyzes his adversary, is interested in his artistic work, and figures out what is hidden behind it. This allows him to anticipate and act accordingly.

After the end of the first season of ‘Ahsoka’ it is confirmed that Grand Admiral Thrawn will be the main villain of the Mandoverse productions, set shortly after the fall of the Galactic Empire. ‘Skeleton Crew’ is the next spin-off of ‘The Mandalorian’ (premiering December 4 on Disney+), but there will be a second season of ‘Ahsoka’ (undated), the movie ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ (May 2026) and a film that will serve as a great crossover event for this entire conflict.

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