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Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Chapter 19 of the mandalorian,
Have we just seen a big sign that a major star wars player will enter live-action star wars The Milky Way Sooner Than We Thought?
Chapter 19 of the mandalorian Deen Jarrin, unleashed as a blinding debutant, inadvertently leaves Mandalore with the redeemed Bo-Katan Kraze.
Bo-Katan hides what he saw in the living waters beneath the mines of Mandalore, but there is no time to explore the added tension between the pair as they are set upon by some familiar ships.
A dogfight ensues between Bo-Katan’s craft and, after a daring jump, Mando’s N1 fighter surges ahead, darting through the cliffs of the Kalevala as the Mandalorians take down the TIE interceptor. However, their impressive defeat of those Imperial fighter ships is short-lived when Din Zarin notices something else on his radar.
While TIE interceptors proved that the targeting system had not improved since the Battle of Endor, TIE bombers quickly established that the Empire still had it. They destroy Bo-Katan’s palace before the Mandalorian is driven off the planet by the arrival of a large fleet of TIE interceptors.
“That’s a lot of ships for one Imperial warlord,” says Bo-Katan. This isn’t dug up again during the chapter, though some viewers don’t quite buy into Bo’s earlier comment that this is just any old bunch of “mudscuffers”.
Piecing together some clues, a prime candidate emerges star wars Vidya who could assemble an impressive fleet and deploy them using those distracting tactics.
Yep, fans were quick to pick up on the hint that a Grand Admiral was coming. One of the Most Compelling Parts of Thrawn Extended star wars Cosmos, a Grand Admiral of the Empire who survived the Emperor’s death and whose popularity saw him pass star wars legends For core continuity. Timothy Zahn fleshed out the villain in the books, establishing him as an important strategic force who regrouped and commanded the disrupted Imperial fleet following the destruction of the second Death Star at the Battle of Endor.
Grand Admiral debuted in canon during Star Wars: Rebels animated series, and fans have been itching to see him in live-action for the first time for a while now. in chapter 13 of the mandalorianJedi Ahsoka Tano mentioned Thrawn as master to the Magistrate of Corvus, and now, we have a hint that she’s closer than we thought.
Thrawn has his fingerprints on the specific targeting of Bo-Katan’s legacy. Yes, the Mandalorian says he has wounded plenty of Imperial warlords, but Thrawn is renowned for his broad approach to defeating his enemies. The key to his success? Understand their philosophy and culture—and this destruction feels like an onslaught of that kind of knowledge.
Thrawn is expected to make the leap into live-action Ashoka Disney-Plus series later in 2023, with many Star Wars: Rebels Pot. Ahsoka and Grand Admiral Anakin Skywalker are joined by one as her Padawan and the other as his imperial rival, so expect sparks to fly. As the mandalorian Veteran Dave Filoni is lead author AshokaIt’s understandable that some are looking for leads in Ashoka series, like last week’s cameo.
There are indications that Moff Gideon is back on the scene later in Chapter 19. They may be a red herring, but Guido’s involvement would be more consistent with recent storylines, especially given the extended detour to Coruscant coming in the episode. Fans are especially well aware of the timeline suspicion that Thrawn will get Gideon out of the way at this point.
With Thrawn, it’s all about strategy, and maybe his best strategy isn’t to drop those kinds of hints?
Either way, a renewed Imperial threat is rising, which we now know reaches from the Mandalore system all the way to the heart of Coruscant.