There were some glitches with the copy of this released yesterday. I've since fixed them and uploaded again! Keeping yesterday's version up too because you left so many kind comments!
@DarthAngelus Much praise! If you happen to require new voice talent in the future I'd be honored to help out and offer mine. Its easy to see the passion you have for Star Wars {this series really helped me through some Disney Star Wars blues). I have a range similar to Frank Welker, as for mimicry, I can do Vader. Yoda, ObiWan and the Emperor pretty well. Possibly C3P0 & Dooku too. I'm good with accents as well. Im best suited for high strange voices and low commanding ones. Minor background in theater. Well, Let me know.... Again great job
I remember reading the first book at age 21. I'm 52 now and I still consider this the true sequel to ROTJ. Must've read the trilogy three times over. Thank you so much for producing this incredible visual presentation of Zahn's vision.
Same here. The characters were portrayed as their genuine, heroic selves, With some new cast members that we have grown to love and hate (and all for the right reasons).
I also read this in my early 20's and I still can't get over the fact that they did not just use the existing canon and turn it into movies. I mean it would have been a slam dunk.
I read it at age 16, back in 1999. Timothy Zahn´s novel was a good companion during the winter break season. Read it along the original ost Shadows of the Empire.
I read book 1 and 2 at 16, then book 3 wasnt available. At all. (Fuck the Austrian Book Lobbies). So I bought all 3 again in English after movin. Prizeless (ok, actually 10 Euros a piece, but whose counting^^). If we are talking Star Wars, the best there is in the combination of Characters, Story and writing. Some later ones are written actually better, but without a Cast like this.....siiiigh
I hope disney will allow Filloni to make his movie with Thrawn a trilogy, if not then I will forever hate disney/some of these bigger people in charge, because imagine if they won't allow him to make a trilogy but at the same time they decided to do it with the worst trilogy the cinema has ever seen (7,8,9)
I've read the entire trilogy. This animation is just as my mind's eye seen it as I read through it. Plz make the other two. And hopefully many more. After this trilogy maybe you can do the thrawn trilogy.
I’d love to see more but I understand that it is a staggering amount of work that goes into what you’ve done here. Awesome job! Very humbling. How long did it take you to make this episode?
This story sets up so many of the great EU narrative threads, character arcs and it contains the further development of the unresolved aspects of the original trilogy. It has long been an essential part of Star Wars. It's amazing that Disney ignored it (except for Filoni and Faverau).
The graphics here might be PS2 era sometimes, but hot damn, I can see the talent and love behind each and every scene! The framing, the pacing, the editing, everything came together wonderfully! The voice acting was shaky at times (Leia pronounced Kashyyyk as "CASH-ic" lol) but Luke, Ben, and especially Thrawn were phenomenally recorded and edited. An incredibly well made project, I'm sure Timothy Zahn would be proud!
The PS2 look of the graphics give it a unique style in my opinion. Though yes, it could look a little but more polished visually, it’s very impressive with the voice acting, editing, and convincing animation. Characters like Luke or Han are pretty close impressions.
This could have been done with 8-bit graphics and 12-year old puberty-stricken voice actors and it would still be superior to the Disney sequels. It's all about the story and characters and Zahn and this video's producer delivered.
WTF is this project? My favourite Star Wars stories finally as a movie including a worthy depiction of Thrawn? Dude... Thank you for putting this out! I'm baffled.
The stupidest decision Disney ever made was marking all of the expanded Universe non-Canon. Like George Lucas sold them a property with a blueprint of already made stories and lore that could encompass many, many movies, which comes packed with an included audience. WHY WOULD ANYBODY GIVE THEMSELVES MORE WORK!!?!?!?!??!!??! It just blows me away the incompetence. ...
I know, the expanded universe just brings out so much more detail of the characters and of Luke's power progression after Return of the Jedi. I just loved the EU and I still consider it canon over the junk and mistake that was created in the sequels.
@@DustinBarlow8P at that, this would have been better accepted by way more of us OG fans building a way better buzz and anticipation! Oh well, at least we have of what we wanted here!!
Wow!!!!! This is x1000 better than what we got with Episodes 7-9. Thanks for making this! I remember reading the books about 20 years ago, and I was so disappointed when Disney threw the expanded universe away. You have restored what should have been, and for that you deserve high praise!
@@villarrealblue72 If you mean as an animated adaptation, then yes it does. I read the entire Heir to the Empire Novel and this managed to translate almost all the dialogue in the book onto the screen.
Wow, you guys really did an amazing job with this. Sure the visuals and voices aren't perfect, but the fact is, you DID it when no one else would, you stayed true to the book, and dialogue.
The Timothy Zahn novels were very engaging story telling, illustrating a whole new Star Wars universe. Then all these years later Disney acquired the rights and made total garbage out of Star Wars, it is an amazing feat to finally see Timothy Zahns novels on screen. Excellent Work.
This proves that you don't need a multi-million dollar budget to bring a great story to life! Please make the other two parts! You just earned another subscriber DarthAngelus!
They crush the kriffin fool who originally narrated the original release, however the anniversary re-read is fucking fantastic, Johnathan Davis I think? Same guy who voiced crucible. I can't find book 2 and 3 tho So great job guys EU for life!
When I typed the book title into RUclips I did NOT expect THIS. A bald guy reenacting or expressively explaining the book. Not a full on production! Looks like a mid to late 2000 video game. This is AMAZING!
Im a grown up man and im sheding tears right now, cause thats the Star Wars we deserved to be made. Thank you so so much for making it, whoever was involved you are great people.
I'm with you on that. I watched this yesterday, and it's the first time I've felt excited about Star Wars since Force Awakens was announced. This actually felt like Star Wars!
Holy smoke! THIS is what Star Wars fans deserved, not the Disney sequels! Been a fan of Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy since I first read the books in the early '90s - and I still have the first edition hardbacks. Well done!!
They would make trilion dollars if they follow this and start again with Revan trilogy and then trilogy about Darth Bane - The rule of two. But Disney follow DIE agenda and we will never see those movies simply because there is no LGBTQ+ presence there. Disney pushing this agenda on us make them the worst company in history. Just check The Acolyte the worst Star Wars show ever created.
@@vampsith No, they didn not. They have no profit. They have 1 movie on profit but that is not enough to cover all lossess they made. Disney actually are in big loss from Star Wars. Disney lost 168 BILLIONs for one year. How do u expect they are in profit ?
Thats what I said... all they had to do was pick a few of the novels and faithfully and accurately produce movies from them. That Han Solo debacle... the Han Solo origin trilogy of books would have been off the hook as movies. Or the Black Fleet Crisis... would have been a nice look at post-imperial Republic. And the part with the Vagabond ship... man. What could have been.
Well, technically you are all right and wrong, Disney has made money on their purchase of star wars, but they haven't made enough to recoup what they have spent. Somewhere in the range of like 15% loss of the initial investment (I could be wrong on numbers) they would have however as one of you said "made billions" possibly recouping the investment and everything by not ignoring the expanded universe (with the expectation of one or two really weird one off books/comics).
It’s 3:00 am Christmas Morning. I stumbled upon this. I feel I’m back in the 80s, back in high school. Darth, my hats off to you. You are strong in the Force! John and Dave need to see this!!! Oh it’s Mara Jade!!!! Diversity, inclusion, - we need more red heads in the Star Wars universe. Here’s to A New Old Hope - Mara Jade in canon by the end of 2022. Cade Skywalker- your my only hope.
Star Wars died in 2012. After the insane backlash of the Acolyte this was randomly recommended to me. 22 mins in and my god! This is the sequel we all so dearly deserved! Disney would have made billions and more billions! Thank you who all was involved for this. Can’t imagine what yall be capable of with the right budget! Subscribed!
Whoever made this is absolutely GENIUS!!! Absolutely loved this trilogy!! Have read it twice. This is 100% spot on and in many instances exactly how I imagined it. Thank you!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻 FOREVER the TRUE Sequel trilogy!
I continue to be amazed at the quality of "Fan Made" Star Wars content that can be produced when you understand the material and have a passion for it. Thank you for giving the fans what we want. "Impressive. Most impressive"!
I read all 3 novels in the series. I was awestruck as the story pulled me in and Grand Admiral Thrawn is by far, as much a threat to the galaxy, as the Emperor. Too bad they never used Thrawn in the last 3 films. It would have been an incredible experience for older, and newer Star Wars fans.
I think it would have went better than Disney would expect too, it's more interesting because the villain is far more cunning than the First Order, Sith Wannabes, and all that - plus the wildcard in the unhinged cloned Jedi experiment. Instead Disney adapted the whole 'Emperor is back' thing which felt half-baked (they only partially adapted the Emperor Reborn, but it's still definitely my least favorite EU thing). Plus Daisy Ridley would have been an amazing role for the eventual Jaina Solo as the follow-up to these. Additionally the cast of new characters are all incredible additions: Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, Winter Celchu, Palleon, and more. The major problem was really timing however, i.e. the actors had all aged. Either they would have needed to use digital de-aging to fit the Thrawn timeline, or create an animated series 'Thrawn Trilogy' that would then bridge into a "New Jedi Order" trilogy in live-action with Jaina Solo played by Daisy Ridley. And in THAT movie trilogy, they could have used the Yuuzhan Vong, the scariest villains ever created in Star Wars.
And to think Snoke was the first time I saw or heard Andy Serkis as a character not written by one of the Inklings. (Serkis had far better stories to work with in _The Lord of the Rings_ and _The Screwtape Letters_ for sure)
I love this so much! Heir to the Empire is such a classic and it has always deserved an adaptation. Seeing this accomplishment brings me so much joy. Not to mention that Thrawn is incredible in all of his iterations and Robert S. Benjamin is doing a fantastic job portraying him. I think his performance stands up to both Lars Mikkelsen and Marc Thompson's Thrawn. Keep up the great work!
When I first read this story it all made sense as to why the IMP SD was so powerful... it was to cover for poor training. In reality, the IMP SD had the capacity to control a star system in the right hands. Man, the Zahn books were amazing...
Thank you so much for bringing the true sequel to life. This was obviously a labor of love for those who love the true storyline and all of us here in the comment section cannot thank you enough I eagerly await your next installment and i once again cannot express my eternal gratitude to you and your crew in mere mortal words. You have made our collective dream come true. Thank you thank you gracious forever
Watching all the parts separately already reminded me why this book is my favorite of the trilogy, seeing them all remastered and put into this format just makes me appreciate what you are doing even more. Great Job and hope you have an enjoyable Holiday Season
This was simply superb. From sound, music, editing, cam angle selection, cuts....just very impressive. I'd been hoping for ages this Timothy Zahn trilogy was going to make it to the screen one day. I'm so glad Hollywood or Disney never got their hands on it. They would've destroyed it. You have done it justice and stayed so faithful to the book. I certainly hope you have the stamina to complete the trilogy because I'm hooked. Part 1 was brilliant. Soooo looking forward to Part 2. Kudos to all involved. Outstanding work by you all.
Thank you Damian. I'm gobsmacked at what you and your friends have done here. Every scene had to be thought out and drawn. Every set had to be fully 360 degree thought out as there were no pre positioned cams to film every sequence cut. Every interpersonal dialogue cut, every "camera" pan to follow the action had to be drawn frame by frame for editing. Every sound had to be captured, spliced in and timed to work in perfect sync with the animation. Every cityscape, planet, building and creature had to be imagined as "Rhuk's" species had only ever been described in text. What you did here, how you imagined it, is how I did when reading the books. Watching what you produced is like watching a live, visual reading of the books. Your space battles were as good as any in the plethora of Star Wars movies. Some of the impersonations of the characters...C3PO, Han, Obi Wan, captured not only their sound, but personality too. Thrawn's voice is as cool, calculating, cunning and chilling as his character was written to be. Seeing just part 1 shows me that bringing Tim Zahn's work to the screen is in the PERFECT hands. Yours, and the remarkable people you gathered who lent their talents to the making of this masterpiece. The end result, when this trilogy is done, will be a lasting masterpiece of imagination and talent for generations, far eclipsing the George Lucas, CGI GARBAGE that the prequels were and Kathleen Kenedy's "woke" SHIT from Disney that destroyed the franchise . This is the best Star Wars franchise work I've seen since the original Star Wars Trilogy and Tim Zahn penned his trilogy. Everything done by Lucas, Hollywood and Disney since the original trilogy has been utter shit. You and your ensemble of talented people just redeemed the entire franchise with your work here. This is how a "book to movie" should be done. It's a, "Masterclass" that Hillary could learn a great deal from. LOL You and your crew of amazing talent have hit this one OUT OF THE BALLPARK! I cannot personally thank you enough for bringing one of my favorite book trilogies ever to such a perfectly done translation from book to screen.
love this. If I had one criticsm, the Chimera was a mk II Imperial Star Destroyer, and the model you used was Mk I, but that is such a small detail against the excellence of everything else. Brings me back to the 90's when I first got introduced to the "EU".....before the dark times.....before disney.
This model had the best balance of quality and performance for the animation software. Others I found were either too basic, or so high poly that the software struggled to do anything with them.
This is absolutely amazing! It is like 97% how I pictured it in my head when I read the books years ago. You are brilliant, please dont stop making these!
A Masterpiece, Masterpiece, Masterpiece!!! The fans of Star Wars Thank You!!!! This was the all powerful opportunity that Disney squandered and now YOU Have Taken that POWER!!! I salute You!!!!!
This is the result when you allow people who actually care about the source material to write for it. The pacing, the adaptation, the story, the characters everything. It’s a masterpiece and single handily is better than anything Disney has produced. I could only imagine if this was done in live action with a massive budget they should def hire you and everyone who worked on the project, absolutely awesome. Can’t wait for part 2.
Congrats! Your film is the proof and an argument that instead of waiting lackluster or uninspired adaptation of science fiction novel from big studios, creative and resourceful fans like you and your team can now offer a credible and fascinating alternative. Very inspiring, all my compliments !
25 years ago, I read the whole thing. Zahn is a master. And this is a dream come true! I'd be over the moon if you actually produced the whole trilogy. I enjoy this even more than the Mandalorian!
Damn! i assumed this was a repost of the audiobook. What a pleasant surprise that someone has gone to the trouble of adapting the original text into a movie.
Surprise! :) You will find up to Chapter 29 released individually on the channel and there will be a Part Two movie when I finish the last three of the book.
This is my Star Wars, the Star Wars of my childhood...the series of outstanding books, the computer games based on the expanded universe material. Thank you so much, it's good to know their are still like-minded people and an appetite for outstanding storytelling in this increasingly mindless world.
1:13:06 Han looks like a junkie who's been on a 6 day straight bender.... seriously though, this is in my top 5 favorite videos on RUclips. Its incredible. Thank you for making it.
I haven't commented on a RUclips video in a couple years but I had to login just to say this is amazing. This was my favorite audiobook decades ago, I listened to it everyday, and I've always had to imagine what it would look like. And to see a word for word reproduction of the audiobook done soooo exceptionally well, there aren't the right words to give proper credit to just how freaking awesome this is. I actually signed up for a RUclips premium trial just so I could download it properly. Your passion for this comes through in this art. Well done, well made, keep up the great work, and I hope to see more from you!
First off I absolutely love this!! I’m hearing a lot of people criticize the voice acting and my knee jerk reaction to that is they must not have seen many independent passion projects because holy crap this is miles above most other youtube channels voice work. Sure Leia says Kashyyyk the wrong way but have y'all seen, say Star Wars Theory’s Vader fan film? The Thrawn delivery is better than what I heard in Rebels and the C'baoth voice actor (sorry I’m blind and can't see the credits, you know who you are) nailed the grandpa Jedi narcicist perfectly. Well f****** done!!
So at almost 2 hours the video is only half of book one? The only criticism I could make of what I’ve watched so far is the slow pacing. I haven’t read the books in a long time. Is this film trying to portray every last scene from the book?
This whole project is just incredible. So much love for what you’ve done and how respectful you were of the source material. A lot of this is just how I envisioned it reading the trilogy
Man !!!! Another old fan here, I read the books almost 30 years ago and later enjoyed the comics adaptation although they had some flaws, but THIS ! This is A-MA-ZING !! Can't wait to see more, amazing work !!
Just finished watching and I can say for sure now that this is the story Disney should have used instead of the trach they went with, great work I really hope to one day see the rest of the trilogy.
I’ve only watched the first 10 minutes and this is phenomenal! The voice acting and animation could use a little work but it’s still amazing. This is an underrated gem, I didn’t even know Ben saying goodbye to Luke was a thing
@@ismhmr Some voice acting stands out in a bad way. Mon Mothma for example, not only her voice actress sounds a bit lifeless but the volume of her dialogue is lower than the volume of the rest of the cast. Nobody expects perfection from a project like this but we can't pretend that it's perfect either.
THIS is the Thrawn that we read about. See Disney misses the point that at one time when you had to wait a decade for a sequel to get made the books are what became Canon. And like KW Jeters Boba Fett THAT Thrawn doesnt exist if the current Disney versions any clue. Its great to see books brought to video properly, Thanlks!
This is amazing!!! I can’t describe how cool it is to see so many scenes I read as a kid in a book, now on a screen exactly as I imagined it. Can’t wait for part 2!!!!!
Wow, this film gave me all I've wanted since 1983 -- the joy of watching a new Star Wars adventure with the original characters. You've completely captured the feel of The Original Trilogy and I was grinning the whole time I viewed this. Amazing work, thank you, and I hope you will be willing and able to complete The Thrawn Trilogy in this fashion.
absolutely brilliant! This is real Star Wars right here, I was glued to every second of this! This is what happens when people who actually know and care about Star Wars make the content, we get a freaking masterpiece like this! Keep up this fantastic work, you are doing 100%
This is absolutely incredible. I cannot imagine the amount of hours you guys put into this. As an animator, I am stunned. This is obviously a passion project and it’s fantastic!
I was in my early twenties when these books were released, I could not believe I was looking at new Star Wars material right there on the shelf of the book store. These stories will always have a treasured place in my memory, you've done an amazing job 🙏🏼
I'm in my twenties now and just discovering this! I love this video, and I'm very tempted to buy the whole trilogy at this point. Thrawn and Luke are so cool in this!!!
I've watched this serie practically from beginning and it keeps taking me back to my early teen years when I read these books the first time. Amazing job. The sequel Star Wars needed but never got in big screen.
Good God, I havent felt like I was watching Star Wars until now. Thank you so much for this brilliant idea. Thrawn would be most pleased with the execution
This was great. Glad to see so much great SW fan content on RUclips. You can feel the love and passion everyone involved has for the source material and SW in general. Kudos to all involved in this project.
Dude. This is so much better than that lame Disney BS as far as trilogy canon goes. As a fan of the expanded universe, and having read all most all the novels I salute u my friend. Bringing to us what was supposed to be, and in such an amazing work such as this. You have my SUBport.
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There were some glitches with the copy of this released yesterday. I've since fixed them and uploaded again!
Keeping yesterday's version up too because you left so many kind comments!
You inspire me to do projects like this i love what you and your team did!
We need someone to do Shadows of the empire???
Thank you so much!
@DarthAngelus
Much praise! If you happen to require new voice talent in the future I'd be honored to help out and offer mine. Its easy to see the passion you have for Star Wars {this series really helped me through some Disney Star Wars blues). I have a range similar to Frank Welker, as for mimicry, I can do Vader. Yoda, ObiWan and the Emperor pretty well. Possibly C3P0 & Dooku too. I'm good with accents as well. Im best suited for high strange voices and low commanding ones. Minor background in theater. Well, Let me know.... Again great job
@@dorrianstone7264 YES! If you need a voice I'd be honored to lend mine. I have a background in talk radio.
This is literally all we wanted for Episode 7...
THIS IS Episode 7, there never was any other...
@ I agree
Just found this. So much respect, this is the true Star Wars sequels.
The REAL sequel to Star Wars WE ALL deserved!!!
💯🎯AGREED! (I sooo hate Kathleen Kennedy.... she stabbed all of us in the back right along with Lucas).
@@dorrianstone7264 Lucas originally has a script he wanted KK to follow
To bad she ditched her promises
This is a better Sequel Trilogy than the actual Sequel Trilogy.
NAILED IT!!! 10000000 times over, NAILED IT!!!
If the multiverse is a reality, somewhere out there they got the movie version of Heir To The Empire, while we're stuck with Disney sequel trilogy.
We do not demand, we humbly request part two. At your earliest convenience and with our eternal gratitude.
Damn bro! You sound like me asking my ex wife if I can go a have a beer with the boys 😂
@@lethalwolf7455does that work? 😅
@@GavinScrimgeour
Sometimes.
Nah, I'm lying 🤥🤥.
I just wanted to give you some hope...
Before cruelly snatching it all away...
@@dandycat2204 there can be no true despair without hope lol im watching this, eating pizza, dating myself, and the force.
@@bakionigeri6414
"It's not the disappointment that gets me, Laura...it's the hope" -John Cheese, Clockwise.
This is the true Star Wars, Ladies and Gentlemen. The True Star Wars Sequel Trilogy.
💯 I agree. Best Star Wars has to offer in my eyes.
*claps* yessir
30 years later we finally get a movie adaptation. Outstanding work by some incredibly dedicated individuals, a massive thank you to you all.
Yes, this is amazing.
This
30 years later I can still here the Emperor’s Last Command reverberating in Mara’s mind “YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER”
I remember reading the first book at age 21. I'm 52 now and I still consider this the true sequel to ROTJ. Must've read the trilogy three times over. Thank you so much for producing this incredible visual presentation of Zahn's vision.
Same here. The characters were portrayed as their genuine, heroic selves, With some new cast members that we have grown to love and hate (and all for the right reasons).
I also read this in my early 20's and I still can't get over the fact that they did not just use the existing canon and turn it into movies. I mean it would have been a slam dunk.
I read it at age 16, back in 1999. Timothy Zahn´s novel was a good companion during the winter break season. Read it along the original ost Shadows of the Empire.
And if the species art was to deceive? What of your translation ? INACCURACIES?
I read book 1 and 2 at 16, then book 3 wasnt available. At all. (Fuck the Austrian Book Lobbies). So I bought all 3 again in English after movin. Prizeless (ok, actually 10 Euros a piece, but whose counting^^).
If we are talking Star Wars, the best there is in the combination of Characters, Story and writing. Some later ones are written actually better, but without a Cast like this.....siiiigh
I don't care what anyone says, the Thrawn trilogy is the true episodes 7,8,9.
This is incredible . Thanks a million for your great work.
its what was suppose to be till Disney killed SW
Exactly 100%
I hope disney will allow Filloni to make his movie with Thrawn a trilogy, if not then I will forever hate disney/some of these bigger people in charge, because imagine if they won't allow him to make a trilogy but at the same time they decided to do it with the worst trilogy the cinema has ever seen (7,8,9)
@@herbox Dave fillonis trash bro has to put his dumb fan fic character in everything
@@Matli1804 fan fic characters????.... Every character is a fan fic character, with that description. His characters are great.
Simply amazing 😊 so glad someone did heir to the empire, it's the heir to the star wars that we never got.
The fans: fine, we’ll adapt heir to the empire ourselves and do it faithfully
I really hope you're doing the whole trilogy, this is already amazing 11 minutes in.
YES PLEASE DO THEM ALL!
Came here at 10:51 for the same reason. A story. Love it.
I've read the entire trilogy. This animation is just as my mind's eye seen it as I read through it. Plz make the other two. And hopefully many more. After this trilogy maybe you can do the thrawn trilogy.
And after that, Dark Empire, New Jedi Order books, Legacy of the Force.
I’d love to see more but I understand that it is a staggering amount of work that goes into what you’ve done here.
Awesome job!
Very humbling.
How long did it take you to make this episode?
Spectacular! I never thought Id see Heir to the Empire in cinematic form, for many of us, fans, its a dream come true.
Great job!
All Disney had to do was to shoot Thrawn books and they failed
This story sets up so many of the great EU narrative threads, character arcs and it contains the further development of the unresolved aspects of the original trilogy. It has long been an essential part of Star Wars. It's amazing that Disney ignored it (except for Filoni and Faverau).
I have Dark Horse’s Thrawn Trilogy Omnibus, and this is a good adaptation of the novel.
Agreeing as hard as I possibly can.
The graphics here might be PS2 era sometimes, but hot damn, I can see the talent and love behind each and every scene! The framing, the pacing, the editing, everything came together wonderfully! The voice acting was shaky at times (Leia pronounced Kashyyyk as "CASH-ic" lol) but Luke, Ben, and especially Thrawn were phenomenally recorded and edited. An incredibly well made project, I'm sure Timothy Zahn would be proud!
All this needs is a little more cash, animators and better microphones would make this a work of art.
@@phasst art is imperfect. Even Dali has misstrokes. Entertainment is glossy and flawless. Compare Kinkade plates and mugs with a Banksy.
@@phasst not shitting on you just my pov
The PS2 look of the graphics give it a unique style in my opinion. Though yes, it could look a little but more polished visually, it’s very impressive with the voice acting, editing, and convincing animation. Characters like Luke or Han are pretty close impressions.
This could have been done with 8-bit graphics and 12-year old puberty-stricken voice actors and it would still be superior to the Disney sequels. It's all about the story and characters and Zahn and this video's producer delivered.
WTF is this project? My favourite Star Wars stories finally as a movie including a worthy depiction of Thrawn? Dude... Thank you for putting this out! I'm baffled.
Here's my matinee ticket money since it won't be going to The Mouse anymore. Thank you for bringing this incredible story to a visual format!
As someone who is a huge fan of the Expanded Universe, thank you for making this. It is outstanding.
The stupidest decision Disney ever made was marking all of the expanded Universe non-Canon. Like George Lucas sold them a property with a blueprint of already made stories and lore that could encompass many, many movies, which comes packed with an included audience.
WHY WOULD ANYBODY GIVE THEMSELVES MORE WORK!!?!?!?!??!!??! It just blows me away the incompetence. ...
@@Voltar indeed
I know, the expanded universe just brings out so much more detail of the characters and of Luke's power progression after Return of the Jedi. I just loved the EU and I still consider it canon over the junk and mistake that was created in the sequels.
You're one of my favorite Buffalo Bills
@@DustinBarlow8P at that, this would have been better accepted by way more of us OG fans building a way better buzz and anticipation! Oh well, at least we have of what we wanted here!!
Wow!!!!! This is x1000 better than what we got with Episodes 7-9.
Thanks for making this! I remember reading the books about 20 years ago, and I was so disappointed when Disney threw the expanded universe away. You have restored what should have been, and for that you deserve high praise!
Does this follow the books?
@@villarrealblue72 If you mean as an animated adaptation, then yes it does. I read the entire Heir to the Empire Novel and this managed to translate almost all the dialogue in the book onto the screen.
Absolutely. We needed this
The Eu was never something George acknowledged, so it isn't like Disney threw away anything that he hadn't already.
30 years ago*
The real sequel trilogy, happen almost exactly as I pictured it when I read the books! Thank you and Merry Christmas.
@@Voltar well Disney destory and buried those, so this is a closest to a proper sequel we ever get.
What is real? How do we define real?
So, you pictured bad acting and shitty animation?
@@mapost2 let me guess you like the shit Disney shat out
@@Voltar You discrediting the fact most people at lucasfilms has been there since TPM??They dont count after all those years?
Wow, you guys really did an amazing job with this. Sure the visuals and voices aren't perfect, but the fact is, you DID it when no one else would, you stayed true to the book, and dialogue.
The Timothy Zahn novels were very engaging story telling, illustrating a whole new Star Wars universe. Then all these years later Disney acquired the rights and made total garbage out of Star Wars, it is an amazing feat to finally see Timothy Zahns novels on screen. Excellent Work.
A work of art, borne from passion. We couldn't ask for better than this.
Just imagine if they'd done live actors against CGI backdrop.
This proves that you don't need a multi-million dollar budget to bring a great story to life! Please make the other two parts! You just earned another subscriber DarthAngelus!
Please tell Robert S Benjamin he's doing an incredible job portraying Thrawn. His voice and delivery is perfect for the character.
I will pass that along :)
Yes pls, that man deserves it mad respect for him performing as Thrawn, making him the most legendary, badass, and scary as hell Man in Star Wars
Yeah Thrawn even better than how I imagined him sounding. Major Kudos.
Also to Richard Grove as Joruus C'baoth. You can just feel the disdain C'baoth has for Thrawn in his performance!
They crush the kriffin fool who originally narrated the original release, however the anniversary re-read is fucking fantastic, Johnathan Davis I think?
Same guy who voiced crucible.
I can't find book 2 and 3 tho
So great job guys
EU for life!
Dude, i'm SOOOOOOOOOO happy you've made this. It means more to me than I know how to express in words. Thank you.
May The Force Be With You. Always.
Glad to hear that, thankyou! May the Force be with you too! :)
Ikr!! D.A. is tha f'in MAN!!
Yeah, what HE said! :)
When I typed the book title into RUclips I did NOT expect THIS. A bald guy reenacting or expressively explaining the book. Not a full on production! Looks like a mid to late 2000 video game. This is AMAZING!
This story came out as a trilogy and I agree it is and would have been the best sequel. The storyline is fantastic.
Yes it really makes the most out of new characters while still respecting the old ones
Im a grown up man and im sheding tears right now, cause thats the Star Wars we deserved to be made. Thank you so so much for making it, whoever was involved you are great people.
Right there with you.
I'm with you on that. I watched this yesterday, and it's the first time I've felt excited about Star Wars since Force Awakens was announced. This actually felt like Star Wars!
You need help
@@quetzalcoatlz My shrink said otherwise xD
Dude.....are you kidding me??? This is beyond fantastic! This is one hell of a project.... Thank you for this! Wow.
The canon we wanted, this is so good, thank you all for animating such a great story.
Holy smoke! THIS is what Star Wars fans deserved, not the Disney sequels! Been a fan of Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy since I first read the books in the early '90s - and I still have the first edition hardbacks. Well done!!
Disney would have made billions if they made the Sequel trilogy more like this.
They would make trilion dollars if they follow this and start again with Revan trilogy and then trilogy about Darth Bane - The rule of two.
But Disney follow DIE agenda and we will never see those movies simply because there is no LGBTQ+ presence there.
Disney pushing this agenda on us make them the worst company in history.
Just check The Acolyte the worst Star Wars show ever created.
They did make billions lol, I get what you mean though
@@vampsith No, they didn not. They have no profit. They have 1 movie on profit but that is not enough to cover all lossess they made.
Disney actually are in big loss from Star Wars. Disney lost 168 BILLIONs for one year. How do u expect they are in profit ?
Thats what I said... all they had to do was pick a few of the novels and faithfully and accurately produce movies from them.
That Han Solo debacle... the Han Solo origin trilogy of books would have been off the hook as movies.
Or the Black Fleet Crisis... would have been a nice look at post-imperial Republic.
And the part with the Vagabond ship... man. What could have been.
Well, technically you are all right and wrong, Disney has made money on their purchase of star wars, but they haven't made enough to recoup what they have spent. Somewhere in the range of like 15% loss of the initial investment (I could be wrong on numbers) they would have however as one of you said "made billions" possibly recouping the investment and everything by not ignoring the expanded universe (with the expectation of one or two really weird one off books/comics).
It’s 3:00 am Christmas Morning. I stumbled upon this. I feel I’m back in the 80s, back in high school. Darth, my hats off to you. You are strong in the Force! John and Dave need to see this!!! Oh it’s Mara Jade!!!! Diversity, inclusion, - we need more red heads in the Star Wars universe. Here’s to A New Old Hope - Mara Jade in canon by the end of 2022. Cade Skywalker- your my only hope.
This is amazing! How did a multi billion dollar company get it so wrong.. this actually _feels_ like Star Wars.. they could learn a thing or three
Or everything...
Because they hate us and destroyed Star Wars on purpose.
its sad its non canon now
@@arishemghoul9571 What does that matter to us? By separating Legends and Canon, Disney made it easy to ignore their crap.
@@huntclanhunt9697 yeah but it makes me sad knowing alot of my favorite characters and events aren't longer the real deal
Oh my gosh! This is terrific! Not only did you capture the story so well, but it FELT like Star Wars. This is the sequel we all wish we had!
Star Wars died in 2012. After the insane backlash of the Acolyte this was randomly recommended to me. 22 mins in and my god! This is the sequel we all so dearly deserved! Disney would have made billions and more billions! Thank you who all was involved for this. Can’t imagine what yall be capable of with the right budget! Subscribed!
Personally, for me Star Wars never really died 😅😅
Whoever made this is absolutely GENIUS!!! Absolutely loved this trilogy!! Have read it twice. This is 100% spot on and in many instances exactly how I imagined it. Thank you!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻 FOREVER the TRUE Sequel trilogy!
This is so great. As another who wants to animate a story from a book, I am in awe of the scope of this. A wonderful Christmas Eve gift thank you!!!!
Please do Shadows of the empire
@@jstars1119 Ah. I'm working on a space opera outside the Star Wars universe. Sorry 😇
Which (non Star Wars) book are you working on adapting?
I have no idea why, but Expanded universe Thrawn reminds me of Sherlock Homes, but evil. Does anyone else feel that vibe too?
Yes, Thrawn and Pellaeon is inspired by Holmes and Watson.
I continue to be amazed at the quality of "Fan Made" Star Wars content that can be produced when you understand the material and have a passion for it. Thank you for giving the fans what we want. "Impressive. Most impressive"!
I read all 3 novels in the series. I was awestruck as the story pulled me in and Grand Admiral Thrawn is by far, as much a threat to the galaxy, as the Emperor. Too bad they never used Thrawn in the last 3 films. It would have been an incredible experience for older, and newer Star Wars fans.
I think it would have went better than Disney would expect too, it's more interesting because the villain is far more cunning than the First Order, Sith Wannabes, and all that - plus the wildcard in the unhinged cloned Jedi experiment. Instead Disney adapted the whole 'Emperor is back' thing which felt half-baked (they only partially adapted the Emperor Reborn, but it's still definitely my least favorite EU thing). Plus Daisy Ridley would have been an amazing role for the eventual Jaina Solo as the follow-up to these. Additionally the cast of new characters are all incredible additions: Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, Winter Celchu, Palleon, and more.
The major problem was really timing however, i.e. the actors had all aged. Either they would have needed to use digital de-aging to fit the Thrawn timeline, or create an animated series 'Thrawn Trilogy' that would then bridge into a "New Jedi Order" trilogy in live-action with Jaina Solo played by Daisy Ridley. And in THAT movie trilogy, they could have used the Yuuzhan Vong, the scariest villains ever created in Star Wars.
Yeah but you got Snoke
@@Milos596 snoke the joke
He is in Ashoka which is after return of the Jedi
And to think Snoke was the first time I saw or heard Andy Serkis as a character not written by one of the Inklings. (Serkis had far better stories to work with in _The Lord of the Rings_ and _The Screwtape Letters_ for sure)
This has been, is, and always will be my canon; thank you very much for bringing it to life.
I agree the E U will always be my canon 👍😁
100% free from vermin of the murine persuasion.
Im named after Mara Jade and was so upset when they trashed the EU. This is absolutely fantastic! Well done!
she was a star in that Jedi Knight II plugin too. I miss that game. Wish they'd remaster it.
This is the real sequel trilogy we deserve you’ve done a very good job DarthAngelus keep up the good work
Hey man I have been waiting for something like this ever since I read the novel in the late 90's. Thank you for uploading this!
You're welcome!
Bravo. Bringing three of the best Star Wars Novels to life is an amazing achievement. This is stellar. Cannot wait to see more.
Now imagine they gave this creator $180 million. Holy shit. Bravo.
You have made better work than Disney ever tried to. THAT is true Star Wars spirit and you kind sir deserve eternal gratitude and fame.
I love this so much! Heir to the Empire is such a classic and it has always deserved an adaptation. Seeing this accomplishment brings me so much joy. Not to mention that Thrawn is incredible in all of his iterations and Robert S. Benjamin is doing a fantastic job portraying him. I think his performance stands up to both Lars Mikkelsen and Marc Thompson's Thrawn. Keep up the great work!
When I first read this story it all made sense as to why the IMP SD was so powerful... it was to cover for poor training. In reality, the IMP SD had the capacity to control a star system in the right hands. Man, the Zahn books were amazing...
This is absolutely mind blowing if it was done by a fan ! Without a budget! Impressive, yes Most impressive!
Not sure what I stumbled on to here, but I know it’s pretty freaking awesome lol we need more fan movies like this
Thank you so much for bringing the true sequel to life. This was obviously a labor of love for those who love the true storyline and all of us here in the comment section cannot thank you enough I eagerly await your next installment and i once again cannot express my eternal gratitude to you and your crew in mere mortal words. You have made our collective dream come true. Thank you thank you gracious forever
Watching all the parts separately already reminded me why this book is my favorite of the trilogy, seeing them all remastered and put into this format just makes me appreciate what you are doing even more. Great Job and hope you have an enjoyable Holiday Season
Thankyou so much! Hoping to relax a bit over the holidays now this is finished and start on Chapter 18 in the new year :)
@@DarthAngelus How long does a chapter usually take you?
I literally just discovered this but looking back in his channel this movie took about 2 years or more to make from what I see.
An incredible feat of animation. The motion capture for the individual figures was excellent, and the voice acting superb. Can't wait for Part Two!
Mind blowing. I cant imagine the amount of passsion, hard work and love went into this. Thank you for this.
Kept me busy during lockdown ;)
Just imagine "Star Wars Episode VII: Heir to the Empire" that would be so fire
Man, that talk with Obi-Wan....still gets me. One of the most memorable parts of SW ever.
"...the first of the new."
This was simply superb. From sound, music, editing, cam angle selection, cuts....just very impressive. I'd been hoping for ages this Timothy Zahn trilogy was going to make it to the screen one day. I'm so glad Hollywood or Disney never got their hands on it. They would've destroyed it. You have done it justice and stayed so faithful to the book. I certainly hope you have the stamina to complete the trilogy because I'm hooked. Part 1 was brilliant. Soooo looking forward to Part 2. Kudos to all involved. Outstanding work by you all.
Thank you Damian. I'm gobsmacked at what you and your friends have done here. Every scene had to be thought out and drawn. Every set had to be fully 360 degree thought out as there were no pre positioned cams to film every sequence cut. Every interpersonal dialogue cut, every "camera" pan to follow the action had to be drawn frame by frame for editing. Every sound had to be captured, spliced in and timed to work in perfect sync with the animation. Every cityscape, planet, building and creature had to be imagined as "Rhuk's" species had only ever been described in text. What you did here, how you imagined it, is how I did when reading the books. Watching what you produced is like watching a live, visual reading of the books. Your space battles were as good as any in the plethora of Star Wars movies. Some of the impersonations of the characters...C3PO, Han, Obi Wan, captured not only their sound, but personality too. Thrawn's voice is as cool, calculating, cunning and chilling as his character was written to be. Seeing just part 1 shows me that bringing Tim Zahn's work to the screen is in the PERFECT hands. Yours, and the remarkable people you gathered who lent their talents to the making of this masterpiece. The end result, when this trilogy is done, will be a lasting masterpiece of imagination and talent for generations, far eclipsing the George Lucas, CGI GARBAGE that the prequels were and Kathleen Kenedy's "woke" SHIT from Disney that destroyed the franchise . This is the best Star Wars franchise work I've seen since the original Star Wars Trilogy and Tim Zahn penned his trilogy. Everything done by Lucas, Hollywood and Disney since the original trilogy has been utter shit. You and your ensemble of talented people just redeemed the entire franchise with your work here. This is how a "book to movie" should be done. It's a, "Masterclass" that Hillary could learn a great deal from. LOL You and your crew of amazing talent have hit this one OUT OF THE BALLPARK! I cannot personally thank you enough for bringing one of my favorite book trilogies ever to such a perfectly done translation from book to screen.
love this. If I had one criticsm, the Chimera was a mk II Imperial Star Destroyer, and the model you used was Mk I, but that is such a small detail against the excellence of everything else. Brings me back to the 90's when I first got introduced to the "EU".....before the dark times.....before disney.
This model had the best balance of quality and performance for the animation software. Others I found were either too basic, or so high poly that the software struggled to do anything with them.
@@DarthAngelus Wonder if the software (or maybe fractals to mimic the high poly) has improved since then . . .
Brilliant. It definitely captured Thrawn’s intellectual capability, too. Amazing work.
This is better than ANYTHING Disney has EVER put out. Thank you !
This is absolutely amazing! It is like 97% how I pictured it in my head when I read the books years ago. You are brilliant, please dont stop making these!
I was in the mood for some more Star Wars.
Great to have something new to me. Thank you
Happy to provide the new Star Wars content you were looking for :)
Loved it, these are the true sequels to the original trilogy!
A Masterpiece, Masterpiece, Masterpiece!!! The fans of Star Wars Thank You!!!! This was the all powerful opportunity that Disney squandered and now YOU Have Taken that POWER!!! I salute You!!!!!
This is the result when you allow people who actually care about the source material to write for it. The pacing, the adaptation, the story, the characters everything. It’s a masterpiece and single handily is better than anything Disney has produced. I could only imagine if this was done in live action with a massive budget they should def hire you and everyone who worked on the project, absolutely awesome. Can’t wait for part 2.
Ah a fine addiction to my collection fan-films
Amazing! Certainly better than anything Disney was able to make to this day.
Congrats! Your film is the proof and an argument that instead of waiting lackluster or uninspired adaptation of science fiction novel from big studios, creative and resourceful fans like you and your team can now offer a credible and fascinating alternative. Very inspiring, all my compliments !
25 years ago, I read the whole thing. Zahn is a master. And this is a dream come true! I'd be over the moon if you actually produced the whole trilogy. I enjoy this even more than the Mandalorian!
Some of the first EU books I read. These scenes are spot on and even better than I imagined! Great production!
Damn! i assumed this was a repost of the audiobook. What a pleasant surprise that someone has gone to the trouble of adapting the original text into a movie.
Surprise! :)
You will find up to Chapter 29 released individually on the channel and there will be a Part Two movie when I finish the last three of the book.
This is my Star Wars, the Star Wars of my childhood...the series of outstanding books, the computer games based on the expanded universe material. Thank you so much, it's good to know their are still like-minded people and an appetite for outstanding storytelling in this increasingly mindless world.
1:13:06 Han looks like a junkie who's been on a 6 day straight bender.... seriously though, this is in my top 5 favorite videos on RUclips. Its incredible. Thank you for making it.
I haven't commented on a RUclips video in a couple years but I had to login just to say this is amazing. This was my favorite audiobook decades ago, I listened to it everyday, and I've always had to imagine what it would look like. And to see a word for word reproduction of the audiobook done soooo exceptionally well, there aren't the right words to give proper credit to just how freaking awesome this is. I actually signed up for a RUclips premium trial just so I could download it properly. Your passion for this comes through in this art. Well done, well made, keep up the great work, and I hope to see more from you!
You must have really enjoyed it to break years of not commenting on videos! Thankyou! :)
First off I absolutely love this!! I’m hearing a lot of people criticize the voice acting and my knee jerk reaction to that is they must not have seen many independent passion projects because holy crap this is miles above most other youtube channels voice work. Sure Leia says Kashyyyk the wrong way but have y'all seen, say Star Wars Theory’s Vader fan film? The Thrawn delivery is better than what I heard in Rebels and the C'baoth voice actor (sorry I’m blind and can't see the credits, you know who you are) nailed the grandpa Jedi narcicist perfectly. Well f****** done!!
For anyone wondering this animation ends at the end of chapter 16, about halfway through HttE. Fantastic work! I missed seeing star wars so much.
So at almost 2 hours the video is only half of book one? The only criticism I could make of what I’ve watched so far is the slow pacing.
I haven’t read the books in a long time. Is this film trying to portray every last scene from the book?
I believe so
This whole project is just incredible. So much love for what you’ve done and how respectful you were of the source material. A lot of this is just how I envisioned it reading the trilogy
Man !!!! Another old fan here, I read the books almost 30 years ago and later enjoyed the comics adaptation although they had some flaws, but THIS ! This is A-MA-ZING !! Can't wait to see more, amazing work !!
Just finished watching and I can say for sure now that this is the story Disney should have used instead of the trach they went with, great work I really hope to one day see the rest of the trilogy.
You had me at Mara Jade. This is absolutely incredible! Thank you! I pray you do the whole series.
OH wow, thanks, this novel trilogy is my favorite books.
Again thanks.
This is brilliant. I've been watching this for ages. I've seen it numerous times.
Dont have much to give but the effort these type of vids take deserve more attention and frankly money
One of the best Star Wars adaptions from one of the best books. Thank you to everyone who worked on this.
I’ve only watched the first 10 minutes and this is phenomenal! The voice acting and animation could use a little work but it’s still amazing. This is an underrated gem, I didn’t even know Ben saying goodbye to Luke was a thing
mhm. the model's mouths could use a little work but doing them is hard anyhow.
The voice acting is what makes this. What are you talking about? lol
@@ismhmr Some voice acting stands out in a bad way. Mon Mothma for example, not only her voice actress sounds a bit lifeless but the volume of her dialogue is lower than the volume of the rest of the cast. Nobody expects perfection from a project like this but we can't pretend that it's perfect either.
Fantastic work. This is the ultimate visual audio book of the beloved trilogy. Thanks to the team of creators!
Honestly, this is one of the most honest and heartfelt renderings of a fans beloved story that I can't help but give you respect...
THIS is the Thrawn that we read about. See Disney misses the point that at one time when you had to wait a decade for a sequel to get made the books are what became Canon. And like KW Jeters Boba Fett THAT Thrawn doesnt exist if the current Disney versions any clue. Its great to see books brought to video properly, Thanlks!
This is amazing!!! I can’t describe how cool it is to see so many scenes I read as a kid in a book, now on a screen exactly as I imagined it. Can’t wait for part 2!!!!!
The sequel that should have been.
Wow, this film gave me all I've wanted since 1983 -- the joy of watching a new Star Wars adventure with the original characters. You've completely captured the feel of The Original Trilogy and I was grinning the whole time I viewed this. Amazing work, thank you, and I hope you will be willing and able to complete The Thrawn Trilogy in this fashion.
This is incredible! I absolutely LOVE the voice actor you have for Thrawn! Nomad City looked so amazing too! Looking forward to Part 2!
absolutely brilliant! This is real Star Wars right here, I was glued to every second of this! This is what happens when people who actually know and care about Star Wars make the content, we get a freaking masterpiece like this! Keep up this fantastic work, you are doing 100%
This is absolutely incredible. I cannot imagine the amount of hours you guys put into this. As an animator, I am stunned. This is obviously a passion project and it’s fantastic!
I was in my early twenties when these books were released, I could not believe I was looking at new Star Wars material right there on the shelf of the book store. These stories will always have a treasured place in my memory, you've done an amazing job 🙏🏼
I'm in my twenties now and just discovering this! I love this video, and I'm very tempted to buy the whole trilogy at this point. Thrawn and Luke are so cool in this!!!
I've watched this serie practically from beginning and it keeps taking me back to my early teen years when I read these books the first time. Amazing job. The sequel Star Wars needed but never got in big screen.
Good God, I havent felt like I was watching Star Wars until now.
Thank you so much for this brilliant idea. Thrawn would be most pleased with the execution
And Mickey murdered him as well in Ahsoka.
This was great. Glad to see so much great SW fan content on RUclips. You can feel the love and passion everyone involved has for the source material and SW in general. Kudos to all involved in this project.
Dude. This is so much better than that lame Disney BS as far as trilogy canon goes. As a fan of the expanded universe, and having read all most all the novels I salute u my friend. Bringing to us what was supposed to be, and in such an amazing work such as this. You have my SUBport.
When that "counting down to Star Wars" meme obtains true meaning! Thank you for this!