A new Star Wars novel about Grand Admiral Thrawn is hitting the shelves soon and, this time, the Chiss Imperial officer has a new formidable ally - Darth Vader. The Dark Lord himself is making an appearance in the upcoming sequel book once again written by Timothy Zahn.

Little more than a year ago, Thrawn was a Legends character. He was brought into the new Star Wars canon by way of Star Wars Rebels season 3, which was followed by a new novel by Zahn - who created the character for 1991's Heir to the Empire. While there have been a few tweaks in his history and characterization, the villain has maintained most of his personality and skill set in the transition and become a firm fan favorite again.

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Thrawn's canon backstory is about to further expand with the upcoming release of Zahn's novel called Thrawn: Alliances. The news was announced by Lucasfilm Publishing on Friday at New York Comic Con and was posted on Star Wars' official Twitter account. As the name suggests, the book will cover his rise through its military ranks, including a partnership with Darth Vader himself. The story has already been finished and was turned in two and a half weeks ago.

This isn't the first time Thrawn and Vader have encountered each other; the two has previously met before during the Clone Wars. At that time, however, the Chiss has not made a name for himself as one of the most brilliant minds in the Empire, and Vader was still Anakin Skywalker. Now that both of them have already come a long way from that first meeting, it will be interesting just how their relationship evolves - if they realize their connection at all.

Grand Admiral Thrawn's upcoming book is scheduled to be released sometime summer of next year. In the meantime, you can catch the master tactician on the last season of Star Wars Rebels which will air in less than two weeks.

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Source: Star Wars