Grand Admiral Thrawn Original Star Wars Origin Getting Awesome Re-Release

Following Thrawn’s introduction to live-action Star Wars, Timothy Zahn’s classic Star Wars Legends novels Survivor’s Quest and Outbound Flight are scheduled to receive new audiobook editions of both stories. The audiobook editions will also include the original version of how the brilliant Chiss strategist and warrior Mitth’raw’nuruodo became Thrawn, the only alien Grand Admiral in the Imperial Navy. It’s worth mentioning that both novels have previously received audiobook editions, but those were abridged.

For those that aren’t familiar with Grand Admiral Thrawn, the character was first introduced in Timothy Zahn’s 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, which is no longer considered canon within the current continuity of the Star Wars universe. This has the potential to cause discrepancies within the live-action continuity. However, Zahn revisited the character in the new Thrawn-centered trilogy, published between 2017 and 2019, and the new Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy, published between 2020 and 2021.

In Zahn’s newer works, Grand Admiral Thrawn is reimagined as an anti-villain and a double agent who has penetrated the Empire’s ranks on behalf of his people and the galactic government of the Unknown Regions. The new unabridged audiobooks will be narrated by the Star Wars veteran Marc Thompson, and they’ll contain all the stories of the novels in audiobook format for the first time. Zahn redesigned the narratives of Survivor’s Quest and Outbound Flight to better adhere to the current Star Wars releases of the original and prequel trilogies.

The former of the two novels debuted in 2004, centering on Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade’s mission that would ultimately lead to them to the wreckage of the Outbound Flight project. The Outbound Flight followed in 2006, flashing back to reveal the story behind the project while also serving as a prequel to the original Thrawn novel trilogy that began with Heir to Empire and continued in Dark Force Rising and The Last Command. The Outbound Flight also revealed Thrawn’s origins along with the history of Jedi Master Jorus C’Baoth.

Despite their loose connection, both Survivor’s Quest and Outbound Flight novels can be read entirely independently from one another, and due to this fact, many consider Survivor’s Quest as a dispensable work since it feels like a frame story for Outbound Flight and Thrawn’s origins story. Ultimately, the re-release and reinterpretation of Thrawn’s origins demonstrates the enduring popularity of the character, as well as his significance, particularly following his debut in the live-action Star Wars release.Survivor’s Quest and Outbound Flight, which leads into Grand Admiral Thrawn’s origins, are now available as part of Star Wars: Essential Legends Collection. The new unabridged audio versions of both novels will go on sale on December 19, 2023.