Disney+ celebrates May the Fourth with the release of Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, a new anthology series of animated shorts overseen by Star Wars head honcho Dave Filoni. Following in the tradition of Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Tales of the Empire follows the paths of two very distinct lead characters: the witch Morgan Elsbeth and ex-Jedi Barriss Offee. But are these leads too obscure for casual fans to care about? And with such a limited runtime, can Tales of the Empire add something epic to the canon?
Opening Shot: The red sky of a war-torn planet, currently under siege by legions of droid soldiers led by the four-armed murder machine General Grievous.
The Gist: Star Wars: Tales of the Empire flips the point of view from 2022’s Tales of the Jedi, focusing on the rise (or fall) of two characters who’ve stories have yet to be told in full: Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee. The premiere episode is centered on Elsbeth, around 30 years younger than her last live-action appearance as an antagonist in Ahsoka. All we know of Elsbeth is what we’ve seen in her brief appearances to date: her debut in a standout episode of The Mandalorian Season 2 and her playing a mid-level villain in Ahsoka. The premiere, titled “The Path of Fear,” lets us in on the definitive moment of Morgan Elsbeth’s life. Following the slaughter of her warrior people, Elsbeth is taken in by the pacifist Mountain Clan. She’s offered a place to regroup until she can determine her path… and, well, you know the title of the series and the title of the episode and you know the trouble Morgan Elsbeth kicks up in those other shows so, you know the path she chooses.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? This is Star Wars in its purest form, a form that’s been sharpened into an incisive tool by Dave Filoni since the days of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In retrospect, that series redefined Star Wars as a franchise of parables — sharp, done-in-one stories that deftly (sometimes bluntly) demonstrate something about a character. This is the kind of storytelling that you get in Star Wars animation, and the Tales animated anthologies provide the purest form of that by dipping in and out of a character’s life, spanning decades.
Parting Shot: Elsbeth stands in front of the flames of her failure, watching those who could guide her towards the light drift into the darkness.
Sleeper Star: There are very few characters in this 14-minute tale, so Morgan Elsbeth is really the only one who gets any dynamic characterization. But even before I knew who she was, I was pulled in by her fight to survive and I wanted to see more of her. When I realized she was that industrialist/witch from that kickass Mandalorian episode? I was even more invested.
Memorable Dialogue: “You must not assume that just because someone does not want to fight that they are not capable.”
Our Take: I don’t want to say it, but, I think Star Wars — at least the type of Star Wars that Dave Filoni excels at — is better in animation. It pains me to make that distinction because I’ve personally, as a lifelong Star Wars fan, loved seeing Filoni step into live-action storytelling. But after the abysmal to middling quality of The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian Season 3, and Ahsoka, Tales of the Empire feels like a return to form — most likely because it’s a return to animation.
Like I mentioned above, Filoni has mastered the language and rhythm of Star Wars-as-parable. That style works because the craft of storytelling and the sharing of mythology has been part of the franchise since George Lucas cracked open his first Joseph Campbell book and Obi-Wan Kenobi shared the story of Anakin Skywalker. When Filoni is on, he tells stories that feel humble yet epic. Small yet mighty. There’s a stillness to this style, yet it’s a style that also depends on visual cues over dialogue. Not much is said verbally, but everything is said visually — physically, compositionally, intentionally.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is pure Filoni storytelling, as executed by writer Amanda Rose Muñoz (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) and director Nate Villanueva (Star Wars: The Clone Wars). There’s a directness to the script and an immediacy to the direction that draws you in and puts you right behind the protagonist as Separatist murder robots shoot everything in sight. And when you realize that protagonist is a witch, a notorious Nightsister, and future Imperial associate, it’s too late. You care. Part of that is due to Morgan’s voice actor Cathy Ang (And Just Like That…), who’s able to infuse this younger version with equal amounts innocence, darkness, youth, and grit.
While all the talk of Nightsisters and witches and Separatists could sound off-putting to casual Star Wars fans, or even more involved fans who just watch the live-action stuff, the Filoni storytelling style always prioritizes painting the broadest of strokes. The gist is clear and the emotions are all there. The humanity of the story is secured first, and the specifics are filled in on the margins to satisfy the superfans and the needs of the larger Star Wars narrative. I knew who Morgan Elsbeth was before I watched this, and I didn’t have an opinion on her either way — but now I need to know more. Tales of the Empire did its job and told its tale.
Our Call: STREAM IT. It’ll be an entertaining May the Fourth binge, and likely an engrossing one for Star Wars fans of all levels.
