Timothy Zahn's upcoming Thrawn: Treason book may provide us with some information on the Death Star in The Rise of Skywalker. The first trailer for the upcoming movie dropped earlier this year and Star Wars fans were quick to notice that the destroyed remnants of the Death Star are on display, though it is unclear where it is. It could be Yavin 4 or Endor, but fans are beginning to think it could be somewhere else. Thankfully, it looks like some answers could be on the way.
A new excerpt from Thrawn: Treason has been released and it brings Palpatine, Thrawn, Director Krennic, and Grand Moff Tarkin together. The short snippet isn't heavy on information, but it goes into detail about the making of the first Death Star before the events of A New Hope. Palpatine decides to put Thrawn in charge of the massive project, which may reveal where Rey and the gang discover the wreckage of the massive weapon. At this time, it is unclear where the Death Star wreckage is located.
Emperor Palpatine and Thrawn have a pretty deep connection in the official Star Wars canon. In addition to helping get the Death Star together, it was Thrawn who helped get the First Order off of the ground and running. Thrawn had extensive knowledge of the Unknown Regions and helped the Empire get there after the Battle of Jakku. Thrawn is from the planet Csilla, which is located in the Unknown Regions, and Palpatine knew he would be the one to get them there to rebuild.
So, with Thrawn's deep ties to the Death Star and the return of Palpatine, will Thrawn be showing up in The Rise of Skywalker too? This doesn't even take into account the knowledge that Thrawn has about the Force and Force-sensitive individuals, which were addressed in the Alliances novel. While it seems unlikely J.J. Abrams will introduce the character on the big screen in the final installment of the Skywalker saga, there sure seems to be a lot of information bringing him into the fold. For now, we'll just have to wait and see what Abrams has pulled off.
The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters at the end of the year, but Thrawn: Treason comes out later this month. While it more than likely does not contain any crazy spoilers, it could very well prepare us for what we're about to see and where the Death Star wreckage is located. It would be pretty huge for Star Wars fans to have Thrawn and Emperor Palpatine back together and shown in the upcoming movie, but it's all speculation for the time being. You can head over to StarWars.com to read the excerpt from Timothy Zahn's upcoming Thrawn: Treason novel and see for yourself. The book will be available on June 23rd.