I think I wanted more of a hook for casual viewers. I get that Thrawn is a threat and bringing him back to the main galaxy is a game changer, but does someone who didn’t watch all the animated stuff get that?
I also wanted Baylan’s story to wrap up, because I find it sad I won’t get to see it in full now.
True. I think they’ll either recast, kill him offscreen, or put him in a book. It depends how important his story is, and how interconnected it is with the other characters. I doubt they’ll kill him off though.