Credit: LucasfilmGeorgia Senator-Elect Jon Ossoff is just like the rest of us — he loves Star Wars and he sometimes forgets to delete old social media posts during a national election. Okay, fine, maybe not quite like the rest of us, but the Senator-Elect is really a big Star Wars fan and nine years ago — on October 30, 2012 — he made a (at the time) wild prediction that is (sort of) coming to pass.
On the heels of The Walt Disney Company’s buyout of Lucasfilm from George Lucas, Disney made an announcement about its Star Wars sequel trilogy. Upon hearing this original announcement, Ossoff Tweeted:
Will it be the Thrawn Trilogy? #starwars #episode7
Will it be the Thrawn Trilogy? #starwars #episode7
— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) October 31, 2012
Related: Mark Hamill, James Gunn Band Together to “Sue” Space Force
Given the fact that Lucasfilm’s final movies before the Disney buyout — the prequel trilogy featuring Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) — were not popular with original trilogy fans at the time, there were high hopes for the next three film installments in the Star Wars franchise.
Although we now know that the sequel trilogy — Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017), and Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) — featured the trio of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and Finn (John Boyega) and villains Emperor Palpatine (clone versions, anyway), Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Ossoff’s Tweet has gone viral thanks to…what else?…Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni’s pop culture hit The Mandalorian.
In The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 5 (“Chapter 13: The Jedi”), Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels character Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) learned from Corvus Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) that Grand Admiral Thrawn (voiced by Lars Mikkelsen) was still alive and well, serving as Elsbeth’s master.
This storyline leads directly into the upcoming Mandalorian spinoff Ahsoka — likely set to premiere sometime in 2022, although no official release date has been given. Dawson is set to reprise her role as she sets off on a search for Thrawn and Ezra Bridger (voiced by Taylor Gray). This expanded universe opens the door for all sorts of character appearances.
Now, thanks to rampant rumors that Marvel Studios’ Avengers and Iron Man trilogy star Robert Downey, Jr. is in talks to play Thrawn in live-action, Senator-Elect Ossoff’s Tweet has gone viral, receiving more comments within the past 24 hours since Georgia’s runoff election than it ever did when it was originally posted.
The responses are hilariously apolitical and focused, instead, on the fact that the Star Wars fan community is excited to have a representative of their “own” in the federal government.
Joe O. enthusiastically wrote:
This guy is about to be US Senator. The dude knows about Grand Admiral Thrawn. Let’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
A response from another social media user, Mark Tobin, reads:
I couldn’t be more proud. ESPECIALLY with the name drop in The Mandalorian.
This guy is about to be US Senator.
The dude knows about Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
— Joe O. (@joeo423) January 6, 2021
I couldn’t be more proud. ESPECIALLY with the name drop in The Mandalorian.
— Mark Tobin (@marktobindesign) January 6, 2021
Related: OpEd: Three Actors That Could Play Admiral Thrawn in ‘The Mandalorian’
Tori Starr said:
If we get the THRAWN Trilogy in the Disney+ shows it will have been worth it. Favreau created the MCU, he can handle the Star Wars D+ universe.
And honestly, I trust Favreau/Filoni to do Thrawn justice more than the people who did the Sequel movies so this might’ve worked out better for us. Not hating on the sequels, I just think TCW/Rebels/Mando are a lot more organized and IMO are better
And honestly, I trust Favreau/Filoni to do Thrawn justice more than the people who did the Sequel movies so this might’ve worked out better for us.
Not hating on the sequels, I just think TCW/Rebels/Mando are a lot more organized and IMO are better
— Carmesi (@XDogeGamingX) January 6, 2021
He had an intern make a tweet in 2012 to influence an election in 2021? That’s a plan worthy of Thrawn himself.
He had an intern make a tweet in 2012 to influence an election in 2021? That’s a plan worthy of Thrawn himself.
— Stephen Graves (@stephengraves) January 6, 2021