Probably. I mean, the Empire's remaining cadre of leadership was pretty inept for the most part, tbh.
Had two of the most brilliant leaders/tacticians in the franchise still been present to help guide the course of the Empire after ANH, it is entirely possible that the series of events that led to the Empire's downfall could have been altered.
One significant change would have been the TIE Defender project. It would have been fully realized had Thrawn not gone MIA... And frankly, I think it would've been substantially more valuable to the Empire than the Death Star(s) ever were overall. /shrug
From an outside perspective, yes. The films were always going to end how they were going to end: the good guys win.
But from an in-universe point of view, the presence of these two figureheads could have significantly altered the course of events, imo. Personally, I think Thrawn's fully realized TIE/D project could have been a game-changer on its own. After all, Thrawn had full working knowledge of the Death Star and its destructive capabilities, yet still favored the TIE/D project in terms of overall effectiveness(as did Tarkin and Palpatine, it seems.) So yeah.
Originally posted by MendaxHe did.
He did?i'm sure Thrawn knew about the DS, but I don't see how he could have known what it was capable of? It didnt even seem like Tarkin knew that.
"Tell me about the Death Star", Thrawn said.
"When and how did you hear of that project?", asked the Emperor
"I learned the name from unguarded dispatches," Thrawn said. "I deduced the size and power from resource allocations. I now wish to learn from you its purpose."-Thrawn
Originally posted by MendaxIf Tarkin would have survived the Death Star's destruction he would have been one of the most durable beings in the mythos.
Lets say Tharawn didn't go on a cruise with Ezra at the end of Rebels, and Tarkin survived the Death Star's destruction. Could that have potentially changed the course of events? Would the Rebels still have won?
Originally posted by Galan007
From an outside perspective, yes. The films were always going to end how they were going to end: the good guys win.But from an in-universe point of view, the presence of these two figureheads could have significantly altered the course of events, imo. Personally, I think Thrawn's fully realized TIE/D project could have been a game-changer on its own. After all, Thrawn had full working knowledge of the Death Star and its destructive capabilities, yet still favored the TIE/D project in terms of overall effectiveness(as did Tarkin and Palpatine, it seems.) So yeah.
Originally posted by ZentrexHm. Before I ask you to elaborate, I need to know if you have at least read the Thrawn novelization and watched all pertinent episodes of Rebels?
but even Thrawn (who's not really as smart as he was in legends)
If you have, I am genuinely curious why you would think canon Thrawn is inferior to Legends Thrawn..? As someone who has read ALL things Thrawn(I'm talking canon, Legends, Sourcebooks, Guides, Insider articles, etc. etc.) I can honestly say that I wholly disagree with you here, but I'm curious to hear your opinion nonetheless.