There’s a rumor going around that Dave Filoni’s upcoming Star Wars movie is titled Heir to the Empire.
This rumor comes from the Twitter account MyTimeToShineHello; we aren’t taking it as gospel, but it does provide an opportunity to talk about the history of Heir to the Empire, and what it might mean for the future of the Star Wars universe.
Shocker (not really): Dave Filoni's movie is called Star Wars: Heir to the Empire. Jon Favreau is only producing for now. It's all Filoni
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) May 16, 2023
If true, this is a significant development considering the current jumbled state of the Star Wars universe. Several of the latest releases from Lucasfilm have been met with mixed reviews from fans, such as The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian season 3 and the Obi Wan-Kenobi TV show. Dave Filoni, a longtime Star Wars producer who now has major creative input on the direction of the franchise, is planning to continue with the storylines set up in these series in a movie he is directing, which could feature an Avengers style team-up.
That brings us to Heir to the Empire, the title of a 1991 Star Wars novel written by Timothy Zahn. Although the events of Heir to the Empire are no longer official canon, the book took place five years after Return of the Jedi and followed the rise of a man named Grand Admiral Thrawn, a former Imperial officer who becomes the new main adversary to the New Republic.
Like I said, Heir to the Empire is not official canon, but Filoni and company have been bringing in elements for a while now. For instance, the seventh episode of The Mandalorian season 3 introduced us to the Shadow Council of former Imperials. We also met Admiral Pellaeon, one of Thrawn’s main allies in Heir to the Empire. And of course, Thrawn has been mentioned several times; he will be played by Lars Mikkelsen in Ahsoka.
Would an Heir to the Empire movie include the original Star Wars trilogy characters?
In Zahn’s Heir to the Empire book, Luke Skywalker is pursued by former Hand of the Emperor Mara Jade, who eventually becomes Luke’s love interest and wife. Han Solo and Princess Leia are expecting twins, which intrigues one of Thrawn’s allies, Joruus C’baoth, who plans to train the children in the Dark Side. C’baoth is a dark Jedi and clone of a former Jedi master of the same name. Thrawn agrees to give the Solo twins to C’baoth in exchange for use of his battle meditation powers. But C’baoth is secretly planning to overthrow Thrawn, who has him imprisoned at the secret sight Mount Tantis.
Mount Tantis is the same cloning facility used by Dr. Royce Hemlock in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, so there is already a connection established there. There are also rumors that the orange lightsaber-wielding force user in the Ahsoka trailer — the one played by Ray Stevenson — could be Joruus C’baoth. Whether this is the original Jedi master or the dark clone is unknown.
But would a theoretical Heir to the Empire movie included original trilogy characters like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and Lando Calrisian like the book did? They are the main heroes of Zahn’s novel, but while Disney has brought characters like Thrawn into the mainline Star Wars universe, it’s less likely to adapt these elements. There is also conflicting reports about whether these characters will be appearing as cameos in the Filoniverse or as main characters.
In my opinion, it would be a shame if Disney adapted Heir to the Empire without the original trilogy characters. The Star Wars film franchise is in desperate need of a win, and I could think of nothing better than letting Dave Filoni take a true shot at adapting Heir to the Empire. Clearly you would need to recast the characters, but we have already seen Han Solo, Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian onscreen with new actors playing them, and I think it worked relatively well.
A young Luke Skywalker appeared with the help of deepfake CGI in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, but I would go the route of just getting an actor that looks like a young Mark Hamill. Sebastian Stan is a popular fancast for the role. Carries FIsher’s daughter Billie Lourde may be able to take on the role of Princess Leia, and you have a complete cast. Please, Lucasfilm, do not mess this up!
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