A fan favorite character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe has made his way to the new canon, and fans are thrilled.

With the publication of Heir to the Empire in 1991, Star Wars fans were introduced to Grand Admiral Thrawn, the Imperial officer that assumed control of the remnants of the Empire following the deaths of the Emperor and Darth Vader. He was created by Timothy Zahn and went on to appear in numerous books, a few video games and other assorted Star Wars media.

With the great Expanded Universe purge, Thrawn was tossed out with the rest of the characters from that time period. Now pieces are starting to be added back in, and amongst them it has been announced at Star Wars Celebration that Thrawn will appear in season 3 of Star Wars Rebels as well as a new novel from Zahn.

It had been announced that not the entire EU would disappear for good, but this is definitely one of the pieces fans had most wanted to see return. From his bit in the season trailer it seems he is exactly the same as he was originally, which is sure to make many people happy.

Now the question remains as to what else we may see make its way back into canon.