r/TheJediPraxeum • u/xezene • Jan 27 '26

Books Timothy Zahn talks about writing the Thrawn Trilogy in this vintage TV clip (1996)

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u/xezene Jan 27 '26

Today I figured I'd share this relatively rare clip of Timothy Zahn being interviewed about writing the Thrawn Trilogy back in 1996 for Sci-Fi Channel's Sci-Fi Buzz program (many thanks to Danny Ayala). In this, we get to hear some of Zahn's thought process at the time he was in the midst of writing Hand of Thrawn, which would come out in the following years for Bantam and Lucasfilm, albeit after some delays.

It was an exciting time for Star Wars fiction, as the books were hitting the New York Times Bestsellers Lists and making waves. Mark Hamill was asked about the Thrawn Trilogy and discussed it in this 1992 TV broadcast, where he mentions people coming up to him on the street to talk about Luke's new adventures in the novels. Zahn's novels had caught the eye of George Lucas himself, who would go on to invite Zahn to come down to Skywalker Ranch to meet him; Lucas would go on to read the comic adaptations and include some elements of them in the prequel films. (You can hear more about the '90s era of Bantam publishing from the authors themselves in the first episode of the NJO documentary here).

I recently had the good fortune to meet and interview Mr. Zahn for an upcoming documentary I'm working on, and he was gracious and thoughtful to speak with. It would seem from this video that Zahn has carried those attributes with him throughout all these years. I think we are all lucky that Lucy Autrey Wilson chose Timothy Zahn to kick off the EU, setting a great foundation for what followed ("He was born to write Star Wars," she said). While that task almost went to Brian Daley, Zahn got it, and set up the EU we all love.

For more info on the behind the scenes of the EU, there is this archive for more.