The Empire's Grand Admirals | Star Wars Legends Lore

[@h.plovecat4307]

Pellaeon is one of the few Imperials that deserved almost unconditional respect. Imagine if HE was Emperor.

[@MrMarinus18]

I don't know if he could have been. He just doesn't really have the charisma and bravado that Jagged Fel has.

[@CharlieHepp]

@@MrMarinus18 In Heir to the Empire (1991), master tactician Grand Admiral Thrawn plots to destroy the New Republic despite their numerical advantage over the remaining Imperial forces. He sets his sights on the Wayland storehouse of the late Emperor Palpatine, which contains a massive array of Spaarti cloning cylinders and a working cloaking shield. To this end, Thrawn and his subordinate Gilad Pellaeon, captain of the Star Destroyer Chimaera, enlist the help of smuggler Talon Karrde and his second-in-command Mara Jade to obtain several salamander-like creatures called ysalamiri. Thrawn uses the ysalamiri, which possess the natural ability to disrupt the Force, to subdue the storehouse's guardian Joruus C'baoth, a twisted clone of a Jedi Master whom the Grand Admiral had killed years before. C'baoth offers his allegiance in exchange for two acolytes to bend to his will: Darth Vader's twin children, Luke and Leia. Thrawn sends some of his Noghri killers to capture Luke and a pregnant Leia, but their attempts repeatedly fail. Leia defends herself from one attack and is surprised when the Noghri suddenly surrenders. Thrawn launches his first offensive, a series of hit-and-run attacks into New Republic territory, and then steals a complement of mole miners from Lando Calrissian's mining operations on Nkllon. In need of warships, and with his previous tactics having forced over 100 lightly crewed ships to be stationed at the Sluis Van shipyards as he planned, Thrawn invades. His stormtroopers use the stolen miners to board and hijack the ships, but they are thwarted when Lando can seize control of the miners remotely. The Grand Admiral withdraws his forces, but thanks to Thrawn's plotting, his New Republic nemesis Admiral Ackbar is soon arrested for treason.

[@Paerigos]

A little correction - Octavian Grant actually commanded some defences of his retirement home during operation Shadow hand as he had little interest of Palpatine winning.

[@CharlieHepp]

In Dark Force Rising (1992), it is revealed that before the Clone Wars, the Old Republic had constructed a fleet of highly automated heavy cruisers, known as the Katana fleet. A virus infected the crews of the entire fleet and drove them insane. The fleet was never seen again until smuggler Talon Karrde discovered it (several years before the events of the first book). With access to Palpatine's private storehouse on the planet Wayland, Thrawn presses his advantage to marshal more forces for the battle against the New Republic. Mara Jade, in an attempt to exonerate the Empire's warrant for Karrde's arrest, goes to Thrawn and offers to reveal the location of the Katana fleet. Instead, he has her followed and Karrde is captured. Luke and Mara rescue Karrde from Thrawn's Star Destroyer as Thrawn attempts to capture another man who knows about the Katana fleet. Meanwhile, Leia learns that the Noghri serve the Empire because they revere her late father, Darth Vader, who they believe saved their planet Honoghr from ecological disaster. Leia convinces them that they have been deceived and effectively enslaved by the Empire, and they switch sides. With Ackbar temporarily neutralized as a tactical opponent, Thrawn leads an army of clones to claim the so-called "Katana fleet", outmaneuvering Luke, Lando, and Han Solo

[@kiraking87]

I love to see more on Gilad Pellaeon he had a full military career with my memory chores from the clone wars to the second Galactic Civil War

[@tuskinradar8688]

A full video on Pellaeon, my personal favorite star wars character, would be amazing

[@CharlieHepp]

@@tuskinradar8688 Although Lucas did not consider the Expanded Universe to be canonicalhe adopted the name Coruscant for the galactic capital in the prequel trilogy, which was created by Zahn in the Thrawn Trilogy. Additionally, the character of Thrawn would later be officially canonised by Lucasfilm as he was introduced into Star Wars: Rebels.While the Thrawn Trilogy would be rendered non-canon following the Disney acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, Zahn would later return to write an alternate trilogy surrounding the Thrawn character, in Star Wars: Thrawn (2017), Thrawn: Alliances (2018), and Thrawn: Treason (2019),[29] and would later create a prequel trilogy about the character in the Ascendency trilogy.

[@MrMarinus18]

3:30 I think it's actually an acknoledgement of his talents. The grand admirals mostly spend their time attending fancy parties and meeting up with governers. The emperor knew the Thrawn's talents were too valuable to be wasted and gave him something more productive to do.

[@Stogger1459]

Well that’s just one piece of the puzzle. We can’t forget that Palpatine made contact with Thrawn during the Clone Wars after he was able to destroy a Yuuzhan Vong scout group. He obviously impressed Palpatine and both acknowledged the danger of the “Far Outsiders” and sealed their alliance with the destruction of Outbound Flight. Thrawn had his motives which was to protect his people while Palpatine needed a militaristic empire, which Thrawn agreed to. He was essentially one of the few aliens which received Palpatine’s full support. Even before Thrawn was a grand admiral, he knew he was the one that had a similar agenda: to prepare for a galaxy-wide invasion. He approved his expansion into the unknown regions, something that Grand Moff Tarkin probably wouldn’t have such power to do without supervision( yes he kept Vader in check and was responsible for the construction of the Death Star). Thrawn feared nobody, with only any harm to the Chiss being his greatest fear. Thrawn was so highly revered that he was unofficially promoted to Grand Admiral.

[@tommytwofingers64]

It would be awesome if you covered the warlords and their territories

[@CoreysDatapad]

Yep, that video should be coming in about 2 weeks I think. I'm gonna start with a similar video to this on the major ones.

[@tommytwofingers64]

Corey's Datapad Oh that’s perfect, thanks Corey

[@CharlieHepp]

@@CoreysDatapad New Republic. Mara Jade, in an attempt to exonerate the Empire's warrant for Karrde's arrest, goes to Thrawn and offers to reveal the location of the Katana fleet. Instead, he has her followed and Karrde is captured. Luke and Mara rescue Karrde from Thrawn's Star Destroyer as Thrawn attempts to capture another man who knows about the Katana fleet. Meanwhile, Leia learns that the Noghri serve the Empire because they revere her late father, Darth Vader, who they believe saved their planet Honoghr from ecological disaster. Leia convinces them that they have been deceived and effectively enslaved by the Empire, and they switch sides. With Ackbar temporarily neutralized as a tactical opponent, Thrawn leads an army of clones to claim the so-called "Katana fleet",

[@CharlieHepp]

@@tommytwofingers64 At the 2019 New York Comic Con, a new prequel trilogy from Zahn was announced to launch with Book I: Chaos Rising in May 2020. After being delayed twice, the first novel was ultimately released on September 1, 2020. In October 2020 a sequel to Chaos Rising was announced, titled Greater Good, which was released on 27 April 2021. On April 1, 2020, the final novel in the Thrawn Ascendency trilogy was announced, titled Lesser Evil, which is set for a November 16, 2021 release

[@kalebname8490]

You should start talking about all the planets in the star wars univers Politics Echo systems Recreational activities Vacation Rare animals Rare minerals Of a planet I just got this idea i think it would be cool just a suggestion

[@musicloverandclassicalmusi698]

that's gonna be a 18-hour video lol

[@Rebel-Unit]

I agree.

[@CharlieHepp]

@@musicloverandclassicalmusi698 In December 2018, it was announced that Timothy Zahn would write and publish another Thrawn sequel, titled Thrawn: Treason.The novel was released by Del Rey Books on July 23, 2019, and debuted at #5 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

[@CharlieHepp]

@@Rebel-Unit The novel explores the crisis Thrawn encounters when he discovers that his people are in peril, forcing him to choose between loyalty to the Empire or loyalty to the Chiss Ascendancy

[@echosdatacore2056]

Awesome video. Thrawn and Pellaeon are absolutely my favorites.

[@giladpellaeon1691]

Same here.

[@realone4993]

Same

[@kumardias9348]

Deep dives on the warlords featured in Thrawns Revenge would indeed be interesting. Would love to see those.

[@CharlieHepp]

The idea for a post-film trilogy was conceived by Lou Aronica, an editor at Bantam Books who proposed a series as "ambitious as the films were Lucas was initially skeptical of the proposal, but acquiesced; Bantam Spectra then brought Timothy Zahn on board to write the trilogy. Zahn was given freedom to develop the direction the story should go in, with minimal pushback from Lucasfilm.[5] Before starting work on the books, Zahn was only given two rules: the series had to take place three to five years after Return of the Jedi, and no characters killed in the films could return.[12] Changes which were requested by Lucasfilm included changing an evil clone of Obi-Wan Kenobi to the new character of Joruus C'baoth, and the renaming of Rukh's species from Sith to Noghri.[5] In order to provide him with existing worldbuilding material, Lucasfilm supplied Zahn with supplementary content from the tabletop RPG Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. When conceiving of the antagonist for the series, Zahn desired a villain who was less brutal than Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine.Instead, Zahn sought inspiration from military commanders throughout history and envisaged an adversary who could outsmart the protagonistsIn creating the character of Thrawn, Timothy Zahn said: I think it’s because he was so different from any other villain we’d seen in Star Wars to that time. Most Imperials seemed to follow the “hit it with a rock” school of thought regarding opposition. Thrawn, in contrast, used strategy and careful planning and usually managed to be two or three steps ahead of the New Republic. Readers like their villains to be a challenge to the heroes because that forces the heroes to bring their best game to the field. The more clever the opponent, and the more difficult the fight, the more satisfying the victory.[13] The original, working title for Heir to the Empire was "Wild Card", which was rejected by Lucasfilm as they believed it was too similar to the Bantam's Wild Cards series. The alternate name "The Emperor's Hand" was also rejected. Warlord's Gambit was also a potential title, but ultimately Heir to the Empire was chosen, which according to Zahn was suggested by Aronica

[@MrMarinus18]

2:40 I like that better as weapon's development doesn't really suit Thrawn in my opinion. He's a people person and while he can appreciate a good ship when he sees it he is more so focused on achieving victory with whatever means he has at his disposal. He doesn't really have a developer mindset of having the best stuff just for the sake of having the best stuff.

[@CharlieHepp]

Denis Lawson, who portrayed Wedge Antilles in the original Star Wars trilogy, narrates the abridged audiobook of Heir to the Empire, and Anthony Daniels, who portrayed C-3PO in every Star Wars film, narrates Dark Force Rising and The Last Command. Lucasfilm and Varèse Sarabande Records producer Robert Townson discussed the creation of a score to promote the trilogy.[a][16][17] All three books were adapted as comic books by Dark Horse Comics between 1995 and 1998. The series was divided into six issues per book, written by Mike Baron, who says, "I didn't invent any language. All the language is Zahn's." The first volume was illustrated by French artists Olivier Vatine and Fred Blanchard, the second by Terry Dodson and Kevin Nowlan, and the third by Edvin Biuković and Eric Shanower.[18] The entire trilogy was collected in 2009 as a single graphic novel.[18] In 2011 a 20-year anniversary edition of the book was published, which included an introduction and annotations by Timothy Zahn, commentary by Lucasfilm and Del Rey books, and a new novella centred around the character of Thrawn.[19]

[@ArcBing]

As always, another well done video. I love the out of universe notes in these videos about how characters change between authors and the context in which they were created 🙂

[@CharlieHepp]

Each novel in the trilogy had its own Star Wars role-playing game sourcebook created for it by West End Games. When the rules for the Star Wars RPG changed the three volumes were collected into one book for the entire Thrawn trilogy which also served as a second edition to the original three sourcebooks. According to Zahn, the writing of the trilogy was coordinated with preexisting West End Games materials (at the behest of Lucasfilm), and that "They filled in a bunch of gaps I hadn't got around to filling in.

[@matthewmohri9990]

Glad you are doing this one too b/c playing Revenge of Thrawn we see all of these Grand Admirals with minor roles but we don't really know a lot about them. Thanks for doing this one. The Maser and Laser episode was informative and well done as well.

[@CharlieHepp]

"Thrawn (novel)" redirects here. For the 1991-1993 trilogy also written by Timothy Zahn, see Thrawn trilogy. For the 1997-1998 duology, see The Hand of Thrawn.

[@giladpellaeon1691]

Great video, would love to see one on the life and career of Gilad Pellaeon.

[@CharlieHepp]

The Thrawn trilogy is widely credited with revitalizing the Star Wars franchise,[25][26][20] although Zahn himself was skeptical of this.[11] In The Secret History of Star Wars, Michael Kaminski suggests that this renewed interest was a factor in George Lucas' decision to create the Star Wars prequel trilogy.[20][27] The trilogy's success has been cited as beginning the Star Wars Expanded Universe

[@lkvideos7181]

FYI. The novel "Thrawn:Treason" caonized that the Galactic Empire had 12 Grand Admirals before Rogue One. Thrawn wasn't just officialy one of them but also part of Imperial High Command which meant he technicaly only answered to Palpatine and Tarkin as extension of Palpatine's direct authority.

[@rustedgreatsword4902]

Can you do one over admiral dalla (the one who ran the research in the Maw). I don't remember what eventually happened to her, but the story arch she was part of was one of my favorites.

[@HerrTihes]

I would like to see a video about Gilad Pellaeon and his hole carrer

[@giladpellaeon1691]

I concur.

[@piatpotatopeon8305]

Yuss! Mah boi, Milton Takel. Good 'Ol Grand Admiral Glitterstim!

[@CharlieHepp]

A sequel to Thrawn, titled Thrawn: Alliances, was announced during New York Comic Con in October 2017.The novel was scheduled to be released on June 26, 2018,[20] but was later delayed to July 24, 2018.The cover artwork was revealed in November 2017,and an excerpt was released on the official Star Wars website on March 23, 2018.The excerpt was the first canon appearance of the planet Batuu, which was featured in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the new theme park expansion at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios, in 2019.Thrawn: Alliances was released by Del Rey Books on July 24, 2018, and debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list. Thrawn: Alliances focuses on Thrawn's partnership with Darth Vader, whom he meets at the conclusion of Thrawn. In the novel, Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader are sent on a mission to the unknown regions to explore a disturbance in the Force felt by Emperor Palpatine. The mission is more than that, however, as Thrawn's split loyalties between the Empire and his native people the Chiss and Vader's past as a Jedi require a test of loyalty for both. The book also features flashbacks to a Clone Wars conflict featuring Thrawn and Anakin Skywalker

[@My19922]

@Corey's Datapad a video about the Empires Grand Moff and Grand General ranks would be interesting.

[@Докторпарадокс]

Man I just read Thrawn Trilogy and Canon Thrawn books and just sheer amount of things Zahn brought into Star Wars is astounding

[@indoshonstudios1893]

I have a soccer game in literally 5 minutes I was just about to turn my phone off when I saw the notification, but I'll watch when I'm done.

[@melonface2232]

thrawn: *dies* Corey: *loses*

[@UncleMikeDrop]

I think it would be interesting if you did a list of actors/actresses who in your opinion would be well suited for live action adaptations of Legends characters.

[@CoreysDatapad]

That could be a fun topic for a Wednesday video at some point

[@CharlieHepp]

@@CoreysDatapad Star Wars: Thrawn (also known simply as Thrawn) is a Star Wars novel by Timothy Zahn, published on April 11, 2017 by Del Rey Books. It chronicles the origins of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a popular character originating from the Star Wars Legends line of works, which were declared non-canon to the franchise after Disney redefined Star Wars continuity in April 2014. The novel was announced in July 2016 alongside news that the character Thrawn would be reintroduced into the Star Wars franchise on the 3D CGI animated television series Star Wars Rebels. A sequel, titled Thrawn: Alliances, was released in July 2018. A third novel, Thrawn: Treason, was released in July 2019.

[@marcopozzi4315]

Please make the next video about Corran Horn or Ysanne isard and nice video

[@heavyarms55]

Oh I second this! Corran is my favorite male character in Star Wars! And Isard was such a cool villain!

[@wolfpredator1000]

Sweet, more Legends lore pls

[@fluffly3606]

I was jokingly a fan of Octavian Grant due to how funny his unsubtle name and his scaled-down portrait in Thrawn's Revenge are to me but after watching this video I'm actually intrigued.

[@RockNRuen]

Thanks! I never knew the the other Grand Admirals, except Grant cause of your Mod haha

[@CharlieHepp]

A sequel to Thrawn, titled Thrawn: Alliances, was announced during New York Comic Con in October 2017.[18][19] The novel was scheduled to be released on June 26, 2018,[20] but was later delayed to July 24, 2018.[21] The cover artwork was revealed in November 2017,[22] and an excerpt was released on the official Star Wars website on March 23, 2018.[23] The excerpt was the first canon appearance of the planet Batuu, which was featured in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, the new theme park expansion at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios, in 2019.[24][25] Thrawn: Alliances was released by Del Rey Books on July 24, 2018, and debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Seller list

[@Sion-dq6xo]

It would be very interesting to hear about the Fel empire and the other factions of the time, most people have no idea what happened.

[@CharlieHepp]

The novel explores the crisis Thrawn encounters when he discovers that his people are in peril, forcing him to choose between loyalty to the Empire or loyalty to the Chiss Ascendancy

[@georgelabe-assimo4365]

You should do a video just on Gilad Pellaeon!

[@CharlieHepp]

Zahn would go on to write a pair of sequel books, in the Hand of Thrawn duology (Specter of the Past (1997) and Vision of the Future (1998)), expanding on the background of the Thrawn character.He would later develop Thrawn's legacy further by writing Survivor's Quest (2004), and subsequently the prequel novel Outbound Flight (2006).

[@Ifedude]

Nicely put together, as always. One thing I've been wondering is if you might mention a couple of reading recommendations on the topic presented at the end of a video, or toss them into the description?

[@CoreysDatapad]

I've actually been trying to think of the best way to work them in, I think it'll be something I start including at the end of the videos where applicable

[@Ifedude]

@@CoreysDatapad Sounds good! It's just helpful to have a starting point for the often rather expansive topics you cover.

[@CharlieHepp]

@@CoreysDatapad Adrian Liang of Omnivoracious called the novel "a solid addition to the new official Star Wars novels", noting that "the Thrawn POV chapters are the weakest" while the Vanto sections "provide the most insight and entertainment.

[@CharlieHepp]

@@Ifedude In July 2017, Marvel Comics announced that a comic book miniseries adaptation of Thrawn is scheduled for release in early 2018.[16][17] The first issue was released on February 14, 2018, with five more to follow on a monthly basis.

[@starwarsshorts235]

Hi Corey, could you di a video on the life of palleon . He truly was a great character.

[@CharlieHepp]

Found on an unnamed Outer Rim planet, the exiled Chiss warrior Thrawn pledges himself to Emperor Palpatine and joins the Imperial navy. Thrawn's cunning and expertise as a tactician help him to rise through the ranks with unprecedented speed, though his renegade tactics ignite the ire of his superiors. At Thrawn's side is his translator-turned-aide-de-camp, Ensign Eli Vanto, whom he trains in the ways of war. Meanwhile, ruthless administrator Arihnda Pryce plots her own rise to power

[@CharlieHepp]

The character of Thrawn was originally introduced in Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, and became a fan favorite.[1][2] He went on to appear in several other novels, short stories, comics, and video games.[3] Following the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by The Walt Disney Company, most of the licensed Star Wars fiction produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars were rebranded as Star Wars Legends and declared non-canon to the franchise in April 2014

[@ArK047]

Please make a video about the Fel Empire, or maybe the life and times of Soontir Fel.

[@swfcocs1]

Nom Anor would make a great subject for a vid,or for that matter any of the other Vong leaders

[@QA-ut7dd]

We need a vid on #TheGreatGilad

[@stacidavies6023]

What about Grand Admiral Savit from "Thrawn: Treason"

[@piatpotatopeon8305]

Cover every kind of spice ever! Let's go full Nar Shaddaa! Is it true that almost all of Star Wars spices are mineral-based rather than plant-based like on Earth?

[@CharlieHepp]

Thrawn was published on April 11, 2017. Del Rey Books produced three variant covers: the standard edition is white, featuring Thrawn's face split by the spine; the Barnes & Noble-exclusive edition has the same cover design in black, with a double-sided pull out poster that has a Thrawn portrait on one side and the Del Rey novel timeline on the other; and the Star Wars Celebration limited edition has a textless cover with Thrawn's full face, the portrait on the back cover, and special end papers.

[@Kovu2004]

The wars between the imperial remnants is basically the SW version the wars of the Diodahki.

[@trevordelaney3871]

Great Job~ Keep it up :D

[@CharlieHepp]

It's very exciting [to write Thrawn again]. A writer never knows which characters are going to click with the readers, and it was highly gratifying to me that Thrawn captured the imaginations of so many people over the past quarter century. Over the years I've written a lot of books and stories that featured him, but with this book I'll be visiting a part of his life that I never before had a chance to explore

[@judegagnon2738]

Trioculus

[@cloneofethan]

Hey Corey I'm curious where there significant warlords that weren't imperials

[@kumardias9348]

Wonder what would have happened if the NR let Grant fight for them against Thrawn.

[@joshuacanales6419]

Now you told us about the grand Admiral's tell us about the grand Moffs

[@andrzejhinc6404]

Afsheen Makati was the greatest one!

[@goatismyname]

I thought 12 grand admirals meant 12 Thrawns, not true believers and lesser admirals.

[@jarrodm9299]

Good video

[@buttersurge8047]

What about warlord Zinge?

[@seawind930]

Zsinj was a fake who declared himself a Grand Admiral to make himself look good.

[@My19922]

Zsinj was a Grand Moff who took over the Quelii Oversector which included the 10th Sector Army "Crimson Dagger Command"

[@Rebel-Unit]

ADMIRAL SCREED ⚡

[@KitchenSinkSoup]

Didn't Zsinj declare himself Grand Admiral?

[@chad9015]

I like the Grand Admiral who died of sadness after Palps died

[@lkvideos7181]

The guy who drove his SD into a sun ?

[@lynngreen7978]

What is the difference between a Grand Admiral and a Grand Moff?

[@lordinvictus793]

Grand Moff is more like an overseer or governor. It's a political title, while Grand admiral is technically a military one. Of course in the post Endor era, political and military distinctions amongst the splintered Imperial factions largely faded.

[@ebenezer1690]

I just love blue.

[@heavyarms55]

I think you need more visuals to go with this videos. Though the lore is cool it largely feels like a slide show, and I am more inclined to listen to you while I play a video game or something. I am quite glad your videos focus on the Expanded Universe. That's the real Star Wars. I despise Disney's reboot and would have no interest in videos on that topic.

[@CoreysDatapad]

Unfortunately the lack of visuals is a side effect of the fact that there's not really many visuals you can have for this. Even some of the most prominent topics in the Expanded Universe only have a few images, let alone video, so there's not much else to add in. I'm doing my best to add extra visuals where I can like the maps and the timeline and whatnot but that can only go so far.

[@heavyarms55]

@@CoreysDatapad That's reasonable. If it were me, I would just show other related pictures. Perhaps the planets where events happened or ships involved.

[@CoreysDatapad]

A similar problem exists there, most of this happens in novel form and only a small batch of it gets covered with any sort of artwork associated with it. I get as much available media as I can, really, and I hopefully will be able to supplement that with game footage from EaW and Sins and whatnot for recreating some battles but there's not much else to show.

[@chrisre6259]

Hmmmm

[@ironheart9794]

Really nice video but music was poorly choosen. We need something that shows our imperial migth

[@CoreysDatapad]

Unfortunately the options with Star Wars music don't really leave much room.for choice at all. I can't use the movie soundtracks at all, or the videos will get claimed, so I'm stuck with a few things from a couple games.

[@ironheart9794]

@@CoreysDatapad Ah I see... Our hands are tied then for the foreseeable future. For the Empire.

[@TyanStudios]

Awesome video:D If you are interested in Star Wars, you may also like our "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" TRAILER PARODY!