**Spoilers for Thrawn. Mild spoilers for Thrawn: Treason and Rebels**

As we move closer to the Ahsoka premiere and Thrawn’s first live-action appearance, there is an increased interest in the Chiss Admiral, naturally leading to interest in the Chiss species.

When Thrawn Met Eli

A scouting team comes across the Chiss on an uncharted planet in Wild Space. An Imperial cadet named Eli Vanto is the only one who seems to know anything about the Chiss and can speak their native language, Sy Bisti. Vanto’s knowledge of the Chiss piques Thrawn’s curiosity when the two meet, and even though Thrawn can speak and understand basic, he asks the Emperor for Vanto to accompany him as a translator. The Emperor, recognizing Thrawn’s intellect and strategic skills, accepts his story of being banished by the Chiss over a military disagreement and sends Thrawn and Eli to the Imperial Academy on Coruscant.

Through their time together, the men become good friends as Thrawn rises through the Imperial ranks to Grand Admiral. Vanto gets a long-overdue promotion to Lieutenant Commander. The two worked together to find and stop an insurgent leader, code-named Nightswan. When Governor Pryce kills Nightswan on Batonn as collateral damage to cover up the murder of an ISB agent, Thrawn makes a difficult decision. Even though Nightswan was a strategist and leader for an adversary to the Empire, Thrawn offered him a role within the Chiss Ascendency to combat forces “far more evil than the Empire.” While Nightswan turned down the offer, his death put a final period on that possibility. With clear reluctance to say goodbye to one of his only friends within the Empire, Thrawn offered the role to Vanto, who accepted and left for the Unknown Regions to rendezvous with Admiral Ar’alani of the Chiss Ascendency.

Vanto was absent in the second novel Thrawn: Alliances, but resurfaced in Thrawn: Treason, when both the Chiss and Empire run into an enemy that threatens them both. After Thrawn and Ar’alani’s fleets stop that threat, Vanto returns to the Chiss, and Thrawn returns to Lothal and Star Wars Rebels.

The mystery of where Thrawn was during the Original Trilogy will be revealed this year when Ahsoka premieres, but what about Vanto? Lucasfilm has done a great job at taking players off the board during the Galactic Civil War who would have likely affected the outcome. So what is the story with Vanto and the Chiss during and after the Original Trilogy?

Ahsoka

For most, Ahsoka will be the first look at the Chiss, so Grand Admiral Thrawn’s backstory will be shown or told on screen. Ahsoka and the members of the Ghost Crew know some information about Thrawn’s history in the Empire but probably not much more. Thrawn will be the series’ main villain, and with eight episodes, there will be time to focus on him and his motivation. 

On the Imperial side, Captain Gilad Pellaeon (who is in Thrawn: Treason, Rebels and appears via hologram in The Mandalorian episode “The Spies”) and Morgan Elsbeth (from The Mandalorian episode “The Jedi”) could provide more insight into Thrawn’s Imperial time. But the Chiss leader had an entire career within the Chiss military before joining the Empire. 

To get a complete picture of the culture of the Chiss Ascendency in canon, one would need to read Thrawn’s The Ascendancy Trilogy (Chaos Rising, Greater Good, and Lesser Evil) for all the backstory on how his own species feels about the genius military commander and how he came to be “discovered” by Imperial forces. 

But, many will not read these books as many will not even watch Rebels before the Ahsoka premiere. Therefore, other ways that Thrawn’s background can be revealed on the show are either through Thrawn’s monologuing, through flashbacks, or through the people who know him. Ezra Bridger will be in the series (played by Eman Esfandi), and since the character was with Thrawn in the Unknown Regions, he could play a part in the Ghost Crew (and the viewers) learning more about him. 

Back in April, Deadline announced Wes Chatham was joining the cast of Ahsoka. Initially, Deadline also included information in the subhead that Chatham would specifically play Captain Enoch, the right-hand man to Thrawn. The publisher later dropped the Enoch blurb but still published the right-hand note. Now, this can mean one of two things: 1) He is going to be this new character that feels like an Eli Vanto stand-in, but they want to keep a mystery around him, or 2) Chatham will be Eli Vanto, and they did not want a false report published. 

Vanto has a strong Southern accent in the audiobook of Thrawn, as Southern accents represent Wild Space to show the class division within Imperial ranks and opportunities. Chatham is an American from the American South, so he could certainly play the part (although a capable non-American actor could also fill that role). These Disney Plus series tend to have more American actors because they are filmed in the US, so he could be another new Imperial with an American accent. That would be a waste, but it wouldn’t be the first time Lucasfilm introduced new characters into live-action canon that could have been from the novels or animated series (still waiting to see what happened to Barriss Offee).

The Untitled Dave Filoni Film

Thrawn will be introduced in Ahsoka, but from what we know about the film Filoni is working on, the heroes of the FiloniVerse will battle against Imperial remnant forces. The story will undoubtedly include Thrawn and other Imperial officers and factions. While a character like Eli Vanto would probably be easier to introduce in a series, the film might be more appropriate IF Lucasfilm truly wants to capitalize on Thrawn’s popularity. 

In that case, a movie could get a more high-profile actor for the big screen. With Pedro Pascal’s popularity skyrocketing since The Mandalorian season one, largely due to HBO’s The Last of Us, having him (and his face) in the film is a no-brainer. Add in Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka, who will also star in The Haunted Mansion before Ahsoka premieres, and that only leaves two big names (we do not know if Jude Law will make it out of The Skeleton Crew alive). 

Star Wars can no longer rely on brand recognition to attract audiences, so having more star power in supporting roles couldn’t hurt. Still, a movie is limited with time, so an episodic narrative always better serves additional backstory. 

Another Thrawn Trilogy Leading Up to Filoni’s Film

Disney recently announced a slate of delayed release dates for major franchises, including two Star Wars films, currently scheduled in May and December 2026, respectively. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s movie that takes place after the Sequel Trilogy with Daisy Ridley’s Rey returning is heavily rumored to be the May date. That script is nearly complete, and casting has begun, so it is reasonable to think it will be the first film out. The December one feels right for Filoni, but it could also be the first one out the gate, depending on The Mandalorian season four. 

Either way, there will be time for more novels to fill in the gaps between series. So another Thrawn-focused story or trilogy is not out of the realm of possibility. And one could involve what Eli Vanto has been up to with the Chiss Ascendency, especially since his main mission is working on analyzing the Skywalkers (the Chiss’s name for the Force-sensitive child navigators). A book might be better to develop Vanto further if he jumps to live-action.

---

The friendship between Grand Admiral Thrawn and Eli Vanto is among the most endearing things about the character’s first canon novel. And even though Thrawn likely will be portrayed as more evil than sympathetic as he is in his novels, having a close relationship that balances out the evil is never a bad idea.