'Star Wars Rebels' season 3 air date, spoilers: No more expanded universe for series? Grand Admiral Thrawn introduced

"Star Wars Rebels" season 3 is premiering in a few weeks, and the franchise decided to give a sneak peek of its latest antagonist, the Grand Admiral Thrawn.

There are rumors that despite Darth Maul and Darth Vader's presence in the upcoming installment of "Star War Rebels," they will not be at the forefront of the story. Apparently, the next season will not concentrate on their battles, but will focus on the arrival of Admiral Thrawn instead.

The latest trailer for "Star Wars Rebels" released only a few days ago seems to hint that Thrawn has been spending his days trying to find out how he can defeat the universe using his tactical intelligence. It looks like he will be an even bigger threat than the two aforementioned names combined. Check out the trailer below:

It's obvious from the video that Thrawn will rely on his clever ideas in order to bring down the rebellion and defeat them. His way is much different from Darth Vader's method before, that of relying on his strength and superiority.

It is also worth noting that Darth Vader seems to be absent in the new trailer. Is this a confirmation of creator Dave Filoni's previous comments in which he said "Star Wars Rebels" season 3 will not revolve around Darth Vader and Darth Maul? If ever the two figure in the upcoming installment, it looks like their participation will be limited, as the team behind the show have carefully studied and considered how to bring in Thrawn to the picture.

Meanwhile, iDigitalTimes notes that the re-introduction of Thrawn into "Star Wars Rebels" season 3 is an indirect confirmation that the "Star Wars" expanded universe is no more. It will be recalled that back on April 25, 2014, Disney reduced all "Star Wars" expanded universe material to a mere fiction that they called "Star Wars Legends."

It was then that Admiral Thrawn was introduced, as the main enemy of the New Republic in the years following "Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi." Fans will remember him attempting to destroy the new galactic government, so it looks like he will definitely be a big threat to the heroes of "Star Wars Rebels" season 3.

"Star Wars Rebels" season 3 will premiere on the Disney XD channel on Saturday, Sept. 24.