Who is Pellaeon in ‘Star Wars?’ ‘The Mandalorian’ season 3 villain, explained

The seventh episode of The Mandalorian gave fans a lot of mixed emotions, as well as a lot to think about — what with mentions of Project: Necromancer and the imminent return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, there’s a lot going on. There seems to be some clear setting up happening for Thrawn’s return, and in one of the biggest nods to the character yet, Gilad Pellaeon made his live-action debut near the beginning of the episode. But who exactly is the Imperial officer and what does he have to do with Grand Admiral Thrawn?

Pallaeon’s first-ever appearance was in a spin-off book trilogy written by Timothy Zahn, and many fans still maintain that the books are some of the best Star Wars literature despite not being canon since Disney bought the franchise. Pellaeon was loyal to Thrawn; after the Admiral’s death, he led the Imperial remnants before allying himself with the New Republic. He largely remained as a Legends character until Mandalorian director and general pillar of modern-day Star Wars content, Dave Filoni, re-introduced him in the 2018 finale of Star Wars Rebels. 

We only hear his voice as Thrawn speaks with him in the show’s finale, but his name being mentioned opened the door for the character to make a more substantial return. Of course, his story could change from what it was as the canon is being rewritten. It seems Filoni brought the character into the current narrative as a way of acknowledging the Star Wars Legends stories that were, by and large, mostly ignored by Disney.

For all intents and purposes, Pellaeon very much serves the same purpose as his character did before; he is still Thrawn’s closest ally. Although he’s had fewer appearances than his Legends counterpart, it seems Filoni intended to bring the character into the current canon and have him be a recurring character.

Pellaeon was a captain in Grand Admiral Savit’s Third Fleet; he commanded the Imperial Star Destroyer known as the Harbinger. However, Savit was revealed to be a traitor to the Empire, and so Pellaeon helped Thrawn arrest the Grand Admiral. Following this, he was assigned to the Seventh Fleet (under Grand Admiral Thrawn).

He was also involved in the Imperial blockade of Lothal during the events of Star Wars Rebels. When the blockade is destroyed by rebel forces, Thrawn disappears along with Ezra. Where they end up is unknown, but we know Thrawn survived. Pallaeon also survived the blockade’s destruction as is evidenced by his appearance in the latest episode of The Mandalorian.

We’ll definitely be seeing more of Gilad Pellaeon in the future, and it’s been confirmed Thrawn will be returning in the Disney Plus series, Ahsoka, but some fans are beginning to think he could appear in the finale of The Mandalorian, too. Either way, fans are hyped for these two characters to make more live-action appearances.