Star Wars: Why Is Thrawn Blue? His Physiology Explained

One character has stood out in the storyline of ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ and ‘Ahsoka,’ and we are talking about Grand Admiral Thrawn, who became the biggest threat to the Rebels in ‘Rebels’ and to the New Republic in ‘Ahsoka.’ Of course, while he does come with a human-like appearance, the thing about Thrawn is that he has blue skin that tends to stand out. So, why is Thrawn’s skin color blue?

What race is Grand Admiral Thrawn?

If there is one enemy that Star Wars fans love more than any other commander in the greater lore, this would be Grand Admiral Thrawn because he is one of the most intelligent beings in the entire galaxy. Of course, Thrawn used his intelligence and gift for strategy in his career in the military as he became a Grand Admiral within the Empire and was arguably the best in his job.

But while it may be true that Thrawn stands out because of his intelligence and astute mind, his appearance is another aspect that stands out. That’s because he doesn’t look like all of the other Imperial officers working for Emperor Palpatine. Of course, the Empire was known to favor humans above all of the other races in the galaxy, thereby making it harder for non-human aliens to ascend the ranks of the military in the Empire. So, the fact that Thrawn was a Grand Admiral despite not being human was also an aspect that made him stand out.

Thrawn was not human but a member of the Chiss race, a race of aliens that can be found in the Chiss Ascendancy. Note that the Chiss Ascendancy, while belonging to the same galaxy as the Empire, isn’t part of the Empire. Instead, the Chiss Ascendancy is independent of the Empire and the Old Republic because it can be found in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy,

The Unknown Regions are aptly named because the people from the other parts of the galaxy hardly know anything about this place. After all, it is incredibly difficult to navigate space in this region of the galaxy. Strong gravitational pulls coming from black holes, supernovas, and all other heavenly or celestial bodies make it almost impossible for the Republic and even the Empire to navigate through the Unknown Regions, and that’s why the Chiss Ascendancy was able to isolate itself from the rest of the galaxy.

In ‘Thrawn: Alliances,’ it was shown that Thrawn went to space outside Batuu for a secret mission as he sought allies against the upcoming threat to the Chiss Ascendancy. That was when he met Anakin Skywalker, who was also on a separate mission during the Clone Wars. It was detailed in that book that this was the first time a member of a Chiss Ascendancy and an official from the Republic had ever met one another. That means that the Chiss did indeed isolate themselves from the rest of the galaxy for hundreds or even thousands of years due to the location of the Chiss Ascendancy.

The Chiss are blue

Of course, Thrawn stands out as an alien in the middle of a sea of humans in the Empire because he is actually colored blue. And the simple reason Grand Admiral Thrawn has blue skin is that this is normal among the Chiss, as they all have blue skin.

The Chiss are near-human aliens with almost all of the standard features of humans. Of course, the biggest difference is that the Chiss have blue skin instead of the varied skin color that humans tend to have. The Chiss also have bluish-black hair. And another aspect that also makes them stand out is that they have red eyes.

It is also known that the Chiss have better hearing and reflexes compared to humans, and that’s why Thrawn was portrayed as a very skillful fighter. Meanwhile, the red eyes of a Chiss allow them to see in the infrared range. Outside of all of that, the Chiss are just similar to humans in many different things.

That means that Thrawn’s blue skin is standard among Chiss. But what isn’t standard about him is his ability to think most logically and rationally, allowing him to develop the best strategies and tactics against his enemies. This trait of Thrawn wasn’t due to his Chiss biology; he was just born and trained to have such an astute mind. 

Thrawn is the only Chiss in the Empire

As mentioned, the Empire in Star Wars almost always prioritized humans above every other species in the galaxy because the Empire believed that humans were superior to other races. Nevertheless, Thrawn earned the title of Grand Admiral even though he isn’t human. Of course, the fact that he was able to impress Emperor Palpatine with his knowledge and intelligence allowed him to rise through the ranks of the Empire despite being a member of the Chiss race.

This also means that Thrawn is the only Chiss in the Empire. As mentioned, the Chiss isolated themselves in the Unknown Regions, and it was also detailed in ‘Thrawn: Alliances’ that Thrawn was the first member of the Chiss Ascendancy to meet a Republic official. In that regard, it is easy to see why Thrawn is the only Chiss in the Empire. And this also explains why he tends to stand out with his blue-colored skin.

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