Lucasfilm has released an excerpt from upcoming novel Star Wars Thrawn: Alliances revealing the book’s connection to the new theme park, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Opening at Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida in 2019, the park will be located on the planet Batuu – a remote outpost on the galaxy’s edge that has become a trading stop for smugglers, adventures and rogues. The park will feature a Millennium Falcon ride fans will get to pilot, an immersive resort to stay at and its own Cantina live music and dining experience.

One thing that fans are still wondering about is how Batuu is going to connect with the current Star Wars cannon and its vast extended universe. We already have the Falcon and we know that fan-favorites like Chewbacca, BB-8 and Kylo Ren will be at the park to greet guests, but many are curious about how Batuu will fit into the the story of a galaxy far, far way with its various movies, books, TV series and video games.

It looks like that question will soon be answered as a new preview on The Star Wars Underworld reveals the highly anticipated novel, Star Wars Thrawn: Alliances, by Timothy Zahn will feature Batuu. Alliances is a sequel to the 2017 novel Thrawn and follows the titular villain from Star Wars Rebels, which concluded its final season earlier this month. The novel is set for release on July 24, 2018, and will continue to follow the rise of Grand Admiral Thrawn to the heights of Imperial power as he teams up with Darth Vader. Here is part of the excerpt from the novel:

“You surprise me, Admiral Thrawn,” Palpatine said. “I would have expected a certain eagerness to journey within sight of your home.”

Thrawn’s glowing red eyes narrowed slightly, and Palpatine felt his sudden caution. “Excuse me, Your Majesty?”

“The disturbance is located at the edge of your Unknown Regions,” the Emperor said. “It appears to be centered on a planet named Batuu.” Again, he sensed a reaction to the name. This time, the reaction came from both of them. “I believe you have heard of it?”

Thrawn’s eyes were hooded, the expression on that blue-skinned face swirling with memories. “Yes,” he murmured. “I have indeed heard of it.”

As, of course, had Vader. It was the place where he and Thrawn had long ago interfered, albeit unwittingly, with one of Palpatine’s plans.

But again, Vader remained silent.

It sounds like Batuu is going to have a rich history and play an important part in the Empire’s rise over the galaxy. It’s also exciting to learn that the theme park will not just be a random planet in the Star Wars universe, but one that was once a vital part of Emperor Palpatine’s plans before Vader and Thrawn, somehow, interfered.

This revelation also makes us wonder if Thrawn is going to be featured in the park as a character fans will get to meet in person, considering the planet plays an important part in his life. The current Star Wars attractions at Hollywood Studios don’t focus on the animated characters at all, so it would be a nice change to see popular characters like Ezra, Hera and Thrawn become integrated into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.