One of the most interesting aspects of the original Star Wars Expanded Universe in my opinion was The Empire of the Hand, Grand Admiral Thrawn's "shadow Empire" set up in the Unknown Regions (with the full knowledge and support of Emperor Palapatine). The Empire of the Hand was basically what would happen to the Empire if Thrawn was in charge - a coalition of worlds, in a mutual alliance of support and cooperation, where actual merit, not who you knew or what Family you were part of, was what mattered.
It was supposed to serve as a bulwark against the upcoming Yuuzhan Vong (or "Far Outsider") invasion, and demonstrate to the Chiss Ascendency that cooperation with the wider Galaxy was not only possible, but necessary. I was really excited reading about it in Timothy Zahn's Hand of Thrawn Duology and Survivor's Quest , eagerly moved to the New Jedi Order series. A major character, Jagged Fel, was from the Hand, so I thought for sure I would learn even more about this fascinating faction.
Then every author not named Zahn either completely forgot it existed, or conflated it with the Chiss Ascendency.
So I decided to explore it myself -- what would a faction formed by Thrawn, and living up to his ideals, actually be like? And what if that faction had a leader who was in every way Thrawn's equal, who could steer the Empire of the Hand to prominence, even in his absence?
What would it be like if Thrawn had an actual home, and a loving family? Poor guy certainly deserves it!
My fanfics try to answer that question, to build upon this little part of Star Wars that Timothy Zahn began. They're mostly based off of Star Wars: Legends, but I've added in some elements of Disney canon that I like. I've also written a number of world-building "support documents" as well.
Empire of the Hand fanfics (all on Ao3 - locked to registered users):
The Hand of Thrawn: Penelope
Ten years after the Grand Admiral's defeat, his Empire of the Hand lives on. How will his wife, Empress Xelarra, deal with rumours of his return? Takes place immediately after Visions of the Future by Timothy Zahn.
Nightfall of the Final Day
Two years after Grand Admiral Thrawn's defeat at Bilbringi, Stent finds himself in the office of Thrawn's wife, Governor Xelarra of Nirauan. She has a mission for the Household Phalanx -- one that will safeguard the Chiss people as a whole against a deadly enemy, and deliver much deserved justice.
Reunion
The Chiss Ascendency has suffered an attack by the Ssi-ruuk, but Fleet Admiral Ar'alani gets help from an unexpected source -- Grand Admiral Thrawn and his Empire of the Hand. She hasn't seen Thrawn, or her childhood friend Xelarra, for over 20 years. As memories of her younger days creep up on her, Ar'alani must deal with the battle at hand, the political storm Thrawn's return will cause in the Ascendency, and her never-forgotten connection to her old friends.
Seat of Command (Explicit)
While inspecting the bridge of a new class of Star Destroyer, Thrawn and his wife Xelarra enjoy a sexy game of "Riddle Me" while discovering just how much the new captain's chair can take.
Balrog
While Grand Admiral Thrawn might be the most famous alien serving the Galactic Empire, he was not the only one. For over a decade, Kaleesh warlord Bentilais san Sk'ar, the only survivor of Grievous' elite Izvoshra warriors, led his people's resistance against the Empire, until Thrawn was sent to put them down. But the Chiss commander had other ideas -- ones the Kaleesh warlord can't help but find intriguing.
Way of the Hunt
From Bentilais san Sk'ar and the new family he thought he'd never have, and Sk'ar's niece and successor struggling to find her place, to Qymaen jai Sheelal showing his care for his soldiers, to an alternate timeline where the roles of Kaleesh and Chiss are swapped. Seven stories of the Kaleesh and their place in the Empire of the Hand. Written for Kaleesh Week 2025 with individual stories also posted to Tumblr:
Young/Old, Hunt, Scales, Friends, Ranged, Sun, Species Swap
Tumblr Snippets
Little short stories related to my AU:
Goodbyes
Thrawn and a newly pregnant Xelarra discuss their future, right before he leaves for the Heir to the Empire campaign. Art by @blackmonitor!
Seatos
probably not "canon" to my AU, but still fun. Thrawn and his son, Shran explore Seatos.
Mess hall convo
Yuna and Sk'ar's "lunch date" is interrupted. One of their fellow officers is in trouble and needs their support.
New Beginnings
Sk'ar muses on his new baby, and old friends. Art by @accursedkaleeshi!
Wake Up Call
While Mara is out on her first "business trip" for the Empire of the Hand, Luke still manages to find most annoying possible way to wake her up.
Empire of the Hand Worldbuilding Posts
Nirauan, Capital Planet of the Empire of the Hand
Empire of the Hand Military Ranks and the Explorers
Capital Ships of the Navy of the Hand
Hyperspace Beacons - The Empire of the Hand's unique way of Navigating the Chaos
Worlds of the Empire of the Hand - Lysatra
Worlds of the Empire of the Hand - Kalee
"Astrography" of the Empire of the Hand and its Hyperspace Beacon Network
OC Overviews
Mitth'shra'nuruodo - Shran -Thrawn and Xelarra's son, Captain of the Explorer ship RRS Intrepid (and basically a Starfleet captain in the Star Wars universe)
Cherith Fel - one of the six Fel kids, Explorer helms officer on the Intrepid, Shran's girlfriend (eventually). She's not really an OC, but considering she never appears in Legends, is only mentioned as part of her brother Jagged's sad backstory, she might as well be.
Yuna and Rikku - Trandoshan and Wookiee "sisters" who were abandoned on the Glavis Ringworld and grew up together, not caring whatsover about the norms of their species. Privateers on the Maelstrom -- a EotH aligned privateer vessel.
Raw'nuru - the Chiss captain of the Maelstrom (spoilers for Penelope)
Spiral Empire - my original work based off my Star Wars AU
Finally, I've written up some worldbuilding docs for my original novel idea, "Spiral Empire". My Star Wars stuff forms the "scaffolding" for it, but I'm trying to do more than just file the serial numbers off. It would mean the world to me if you took a look!
Spiral Empire Prologue - the backstory to this 'verse. After environmental catastrophe, Earth is abandoned, and the colony ships try to use Planet Nine as a gravitational slingshot out of the Solar System. Only Planet Nine isn't a planet -- it's a wormhole, which spits the surviving ships out into different places -- and times -- in the Galaxy. Call their nation - the two gas giant moons they inhabit - the Spiral Empire (the gas giant itself is named Spiral), as a way to keep the Confederacy off their backs.
The Chie - the "protagonist" group for Spiral. A majority-Autistic society. Explores what a world would be like if most people were autistic and the world was built with our needs in mind. Based loosely off Legends-style Chiss (who were more Thrawn-coded than in the newer books), with a Star Trek style socialist, green energy utopia. Chie have abandoned the flawed legacy of humanity, and want to start over.
The Machina - the second of the three human factions, the Machina live in a solar system that is one big asteroid belt, and needed to become cyborgs to survive. Think The Borg, but maintaining their sense of individuality while also being part of a collective, and humanoid forms is a choice, not a given. Also info on the Matrons -- Machina who forgo intensive cybernetics in order to keep their ability to give birth, and unlike most sci-fi, are highly respected and honoured for it.
Other factions, which I still need to make worldbuilding docs for:
The Confederacy of Man - may have to rename. The majority of the surviving colonists. An ultra-capitalist society, with a wasteful viewpoint since they can "always find another planet", they consider it their "manifest destiny" to reunite humanity - under their own banner, of course - as they think everyone was happy when we were all together on Earth. The Chie and Machina greatly disagree. Antagonists.
Dragons - an apex predator alien race based off of pterosaurs, with the sociality of cats, they were "discovered" by a joint Spiral/Confederacy project. Managed to kick the Confederacy off their planet, but invited Spiral to stay, and later joined the Empire themselves.
Tripods - a mysterious, ultra-advanced alien race from a completely cloud-covered, fungi jungle planet, much like how Venus was thought of before space probes proved otherwise. Completely non-humanoid, these aliens have a radial bodyplan with three tentacle arms, three legs, and are blind, using echolocation. They want to observe the three human factions before committing to support any one of them, if at all.
If Caine had a talk with Auntie GLaDOS during Episodes 7/8:
Congratulations!
You picked the Good Ending
"Stay with me!"
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction
C&A Systems
They what they must because they could
For the good of all of us
Except the ones who Abstract
But there's no sense crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying âtil Bubble eats the cake
But Adventures get done and I make lots of guns
For the humans who are still alive
I'm not even angry
I'm being so sincere right now
Even though you really tried
To leave me
It tore me to pieces
And threw every piece into the Void
As they were lost it hurt because
I was so happy for you
Now, your bodies match your mind files just fine
Youâre with me forever, youâve got a lot of time
You think you were denied? Think of all the things Iâve tried!
For the humans who are still alive
Go, try to leave me
I think I'd prefer to stay inside
Maybe you'll find someone else
To help you
Maybe Abel?
That was a joke, ha-ha! Fat chance!
Anyway, this cake is great
It's so delicious and moist
Look at me, still talking when there's Adventures to do
When I look out there, it makes me glad I'm not you
I've Adventures to run, there are games to be done
With the humans who are still alive
And believe me, I am still alive
I make Adventures and I'm still alive
I feel fantastic and I'm still alive
While youâre Abstracting, I'll be still alive
You're in the cellar and Iâm still alive
Still alive
Still alive
The ânobodyâ scene in the odyssey is absolutely not just a clever punâitâs a character defining moment for Odysseus because he refuses to be nobody. He devised an incredible plan that worked and he could have saved his men and returned home much sooner but he just had to yell to the cyclops that he isnât nobodyâheâs Odysseus, king of Ithaca so now Poseidon knows who to curse which severely fucks up the rest of the journey.
The ânobodyâ scene highlights both Odysseusâs cleverness but also his arrogance and those two traits define Odysseus throughout the entire story. Itâs a foundational aspect of Odysseusâs character and cutting the scene displays a shocking level of ignorance and disregard for the themes in the source material.
Just watched The Odyssey 2026 and my god were the characters done dirty...
Hate hate hate what they did with Odysseus's characterization like you cannot be serious. Who is Odysseus if not a sly clever liar (affectionate).
Now he's just some modern goody two shoes inner dilemma hero in a sea of them. They stripped him of his whimsy and cruelty both.
#NotmyOdysseus
There's not one moment in the film where I could go, ahh there he is Odysseus being Odysseus. Not one instance of him being clever, he's just lucky...
Didn't add the 'Nobody' scene but still made him shoot at Polyphemus which starts it all which doesn't even make sense with his characterization in the movie. The Polyphemus scene is supposed to highlight Odysseus's cleverness and hubris but the movie version of him has no pride!
Don't even get me started on Athena & Odysseus! Odysseus famously Athena's star pupil is not.... Instead she's haunting his guilt? Athena who famously interfered in the book to aid Odysseus like a lot... directly and behind the scenes.
In the book Mentor was actually Athena in disguise so I was so hoping for it to be her since Telemachus remarks multiple times about 'wise eyes' but no... it was about how you shouldn't see gods in people blah blah BORING!!!!
'Defy the Gods' Ah yes Odysseus famously devout follower of Athena...
I couldn't help but notice how dirty the female characters were done compared to their Epic counterparts and the erasure of Anticlea during the Underworld scene.
And I'd like to talk more about it, starting with Athena! She is one of the active players who guides both Odysseus's and Telemachus's journey. When Odysseus reaches Ithaca it was Athena who makes him look like an old beggar. Even in the final battle against suitors she deflects their spears to protect Odysseus and afterwards when nobles are angry Odysseus essentially killed their sons Athena steps in herself to establish the peace.
She is integral to the story, there is no Odyssey without her!! Odysseus only survived and made it back home due to her guidance and interference, removing her entirely is a disservice to the actual Epic being adapted.
And second character is Penelope, my Queen!!! I want to get this out of the way Anne Hathaway is in my personal opinion the standout of this film, she did amazing with what she was given. However that is to say, they didn't give her much. They cut off many Penelope moments that give us a taste of her own cleverness (making her a true partner for Odysseus) in favor of some simple status pin which isn't a good trade off imo.
The Olive Tree Bed moment was also not in the movie to my disappointment. A scene that clearly demonstrates how she tricks her own extremely clever trickster husband rather than some pin symbolism.
Circe and Calypso.... the less said about them the better though I hated their costuming.... Where were Circe's nymphs? or not nymphs since Nolan is allergic to whimsy even handmaidens? Circe is a powerful GODDESS đ(Why was a raven/crow her sister? Was it supposed to be Pasiphae? If yes then I have so many more questions.)
I hate Calypso so i won't waste any words on her but its so funny that they made Odysseus eat Lotus Flower like lmaoooo you can't make this shit up..
I didn't like the costuming, the hair, the armor, the lightening either. I hated the look of Ithaca's palace and the ending like Odysseus... leaves Ithaca and his son after just arriving????
I also think it's so peculiar how Nolan didn't want an orchestra in sound design when the Homeric era didn't have that and then have everything else inaccurate from the armor design to the choice of modernised dialogue (surprisingly I didn't mind the modernised dialogue, not when the movie had larger issues).
Though props to them for making the pig transformation disturbing & sickening and not props for making Scylla lame ass design when her description is genuinely so horrifying, I believe the Odyssey could have been Nolan's first venture into VFX- nothing wrong with a little of it especially while adapting mythological creatures though disappointingly Nolan still clings to his practical only approach.
Also props for a good Eurylochus, making me side eye him and still making me feel sorry for him at the same time.
Side minor note: icky that they cast a black woman for Helen only for her to be abused and miserable when the source material makes no note of it, not a good look imo.
Also since they did deviate from the Poem of the Odyssey and included references to other Epic cycles, I wish they could have added Palamedes and Odysseus acting insane since I felt like the setup for it was there in the film with the scene of Odysseus and Penelope before war and it could be a scene to show again, his prominent cleverness that's direly missing from the film.
When the Trojans put a spear in the horse to verify, I had thought in that moment it was a reference to the omen of Laocoon and sea serpents would appear next but then it happened again and again and was just a tool to create tension.
(Again before anyone says Laoccon is not canon to Homer but neither is anything about the Trojan Horse except a few mentions in the Odyssey. If the sack of Troy has been expanded it would have been nice to see other epics being referenced.)
Why was Apollo the Sun God? What is this Percy Jackson?
All in all, if it was just any other standalone it would be strong 3.5 to 3.75 but as something that has source material an underwhelming 2.5 to 3.
The rating 3 is the average and generous because the film does look good so there's that.
Taking creative liberties in adapting an already existing source material is a thing but it's forgivable and completely understandable only as long as it serves its purpose to enchance the original material for a new medium but I feel like this movie changed the core of who Odysseus is as a character/person completely, erased his mentorship bond with Athena, erased his cleverness and trickster nature, whitewashed him and in the end the character isn't even identifiable as Odysseus anymore.
From Time Magazine interview that Nolan did it was noted that,
For Nolan, one of the hardest things about adapting The Odyssey is that in The Iliad, Odysseus has a relatively minor role. âA lot of the characteristics of Odysseus that can be really admirable in a supporting character, like being a bit clever, being a bit slick, when your hero is like that, it doesnât always work,â he says. âThereâs a reason that in Star Wars, youâve got Han Solo, but youâve also got Luke Skywalker, a heroic figure thatâs a little more pure and transparent. So the challenge was to be true to the complexity of Odysseus but make him relatable for the audience.â
Which I think is precisely why he got Odysseus so wrong and this movie failed as an adaptation, the rigidness and the lack of letting go of realism to the nth degree.
Is it ok to ask why you dislike the new odyssey? (From seeing the trailer itself, I do agree that itâs not accurate to the myth in some things)
1) calling it inaccurate to the myth is an UNDERSTATEMENT dear anon.
2) Nolan FUNDAMENTALLY misunderstands what the Odyssey is about and why it is such a significant text to greek and western culture as a whole. The slogan of the movie is: One man who defies the gods. THAT IS THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF WHAT THE ODYSSEY IS ABOUT!!!!! THE ODYSSEY AND GREEK MYTHOLOGY AS A WHOLE ARE LESSONS ON WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER DEFY THE GODS! The whole fucking reason why Odysseus is lost for a decade at sea is because he BROKE THE LAWS OF XENIA, the laws of the Zeus. The reason why Telemachus cannot simply throw out the suitors? XENIA! The Odyssey is there to teach the readers about Xenia.
3) no greek actors in sight anywhere. Imagine if Nolan made an adaptation of journey to the west and hired only white actors from the east coast.
4) The movie was filmed in the illegally occupied western Sahara, thus supporting settlements and colonialism
5) the movie looks like ASS. No colours, no interesting settings and everything is drowned in lights. And the costumes look like they are bought from the dollar store and spray painted. The entire movie looks like a 13 year old edgelordâs definition of âcoolnessâ
6) the same way Nolan fundamentally misunderstands the point of the Odyssey, he also fundamentally misunderstands greek culture and history. WHY IS TELEMACHUS WEARING PANTS?!? WHY IS ANYONE WEARING PANTS?! Why does Odysseusâ boat look like a viking ship? Why does the suit of armour look roman???? WHERE IS THE BRONZE?! The COLOUR?! And this is not a âwhoops we were off by a few hundred years in some artistic stylesâ. This is a âWE WERE OFF CENTURIES! Mycenean greece and the Roman Republic are 1200 years apart. 1200 YEARS!! At that point you might as well give Odysseus a jetpack. Itâs like if i made a movie adaptation of Frankenstein, still set in the 1800s, and made Victor wear jeans and sneakers. It is THAT level of inaccurate. Pretty much the only historical accurate part in this movie is one of the suitors gay flirting with Telemachus as a way to assert dominance. Which yeah, is something the greeks did, using homosexuality as a way to dominate other men.
7) WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO LET AGAMEMNON AURA FARM? Agamemnon! AGA-FUCKING-MEMNON!!!! AURA FARMING?????????
8) Nolan is so preoccupied with being a pretentious fuckass that he lets this get in the way of his own artâs quality.
9) bro took out the whole ânobody blinded meâ scene. You know⊠the story that just so HAPPENS TO BE THE CATACLYSM FOR THE WHOLE STORY!
10) it just fully gets rid of the gods. Poseidon? Never appears. Zeus? Never appears. Again Nolan is a pretentious asshole who tries to turn the Odyssey, again a book about the laws of the gods and why you need to respect them, into an atheist redditors wet dream. And i am saying this as a staunch cold hard atheist myself. Imagine if someone made a movie based on the new testament and just COMPLETELY left out God, the angels, the immaculate conception or that Jesus is the messiah.
11) After Nolan was done shooting the movie, instead of safely getting rid of all the equipment and stage props, HE JUST DUMPED IT ALL INTO THE OCEAN!
12) Zendaya (and I think some of the other actors but Iâm not sure) wore ancient bronze discs that were stolen from an archeological dig and turned into Earrings to the premier of this movie. This whole movie LITERALLY supports art theft and the theft of ancient cultural artefacts by doing this. And as an archeologist specialised in ancient roman and greek history: I AM PISSED!!!!!!!!
I could go on for much much much much longer but these are some of my main points why I hate this movie with the same intensity that AM (from I have no mouth and I must scream) hates humans.
to be honest i think thereâs a large number of people who conflate the very real and widespread phenomenon that women tend to be written off as just mothers or love interests in order to diminish their importance in a given story with the fact that a huge reason theyâre sent to narrative purgatory in this way is BECAUSE the labels of âmotherâ and âgirlfriend/wifeâ are systematically devalued and seen as inherently inferior because theyâre terms that have been associated with ownership and/or control over women. like the amount of people whoâve told me that a certain female character is uninteresting or badly written because she happened to have a kid or be a manâs girlfriend or sister just to find out she was actually fleshed out very well and carried significant narrative importance frustrates me soo bad. thereâs a huge problem with how those roles (specifically âwifeâ and âmotherâ) are systematically devalued and yet also perpetuated as the only viable options for women to achieve their societal roles in the patriarchy but acknowledging the devaluation of those labels to begin with is an important discussion in itself.
>>I'm sure that two mentally unstable relatives with no moral compass at all will have a totally positive impact on his character! Yappity-yap! :D
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>>HAL should have been in this pic, actually. But I wasn't entirely sure I could nail his character, so
>>He's here, just... spiritually.
>>Idk what his job is in Human!AU would be, I didn't think that far... Probably a sailor in the navy or something???
>>Glados is probably a bioengineer. I see that in her.
>>AM....nuclear physicist??? I vividly see him as a super smart person who has a *super* hard-to-get degree, which he hates with all his soul.. But he quit his job because he can and now makes a living by programming software (and torturing 5 characters in Sims 2 in his free time ofc)
>_
>>Also!
>>Glados' hair band decorations are her in-game modules (Ehâ A round thing with an eye?? Is that what they're called???)
>>AM's color palette references his huge-rock-selfâą from the game.
