The Disney+ Ahsoka loosely adapts Heir to the Empire - the book in which author Timothy Zahn originally introduced Grand iral Thrawn. It was the start of a gripping trilogy about a fragmented Empire and the New Republic's struggle against Thrawn's unmatchable tactical brilliance. An obstacle to this adaptation, and the reason Ahsoka's series has potential to impact Star Wars as a whole, is that Thrawn's in-canon whereabouts are currently unknown.
Thrawn returned to Star Wars canon in later seasons of Star Wars Rebels, which ended with Thrawn and the Jedi Ezra Bridger jumping into the void of hyperspace. It's assumed that the two ended up in the Unknown Regions, and with both Thrawn and Ezra probably returning in Ahsoka, it makes sense Ahsoka will venture there to find them. This bears massive potential due to the fact that the Unknown Regions are home to both The Rise of Skywalker's Exegol and Thrawn's people, the Chiss.
While Exegol was given context in a comic where Darth Vader discovers Emperor Palpatine's hidden base and deadly Star Destroyers, to wider audiences the planet remains a jarring The Rise of Skywalker plot hole. Ahsoka can help remedy this due to the connection Thrawn has with the planet. In Timothy Zahn's canon novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, Thrawn helps Palpatine understand the Unknown Regions and, by implication, find Exegol. Exegol is one of many "box systems" in the Unknown Regions, most of which the Chiss have identified. Clearly, Thrawn and the Chiss are very aware of goings-on in the Unknown Regions, meaning Ahsoka could plausibly come across hints of Exegol's existence on her hunt for the Grand iral. While Exegol can only be found using a Sith Wayfinder, Ahsoka's Force prowess and the Sith activity in the area could theoretically lead her to one. As Darth Vader has visited the Sith planet Exegol by the time Ahsoka's show is thought to take place, a visit to the planet could also set up an emotionally wrenching and character-building moment for the former Jedi.
That journey to Exegol would not only work for Ahsoka's journey, but the entire franchise's future. While it's possible Star Wars: Episode X will introduce the Yuuzhan Vong, Ahsoka could easily pave the way for the Chiss to be Star Wars' new antagonists instead. The enigmatic blue-skinned alien race is a highly civilized yet deadly isolationist society that could easily substitute for the Empire without acting as a simple rehash, especially considering their association with the Imperials in Legends.
In a post-The Rise of Skywalker universe, it's also logical to have the Chiss stirred into action due to the fleet traffic and conflict the battle with Palpatine brought to the Unknown Regions. Though Ahsoka is likely set decades earlier than a potential Episode X, it would be a nice change for Disney's Star Wars to set up a major plot point proactively rather than after the fact. Future films could even adapt the Legends character Jagged Fel, a human who grew up among the Chiss and had a relationship with Jaina Solo (who could be substituted for Rey.)
