The last we saw of Thrawn was the end of a battle to liberate the planet Lothal. Ezra, now a full-blown Jedi, traps Thrawn in the clutches of a creature called a purrgil and—after a goodbye to his crew—hyperspaces them both off to parts unknown to ensure Thrawn is out of commission for good. Five years later, after the downfall of the Empire, Sabine and Ahsoka head off to discover where in the heck Ezra ended up.
Which brings us right back to
The Mandalorian. Ahsoka's name-drop of Thrawn suggests that the Disney+ series is not only picking up the story threads left behind by
Rebels, but it opens the door to even more of Filoni's animated creations making the jump to live-action.
(The Haunting of Bly Manor breakout Rahul Kohli set rumors aflame with a tweet about getting into Ezra Bridger shape, but later said he was just having a laugh. A likely story.)