If I wasn’t at work, I wouldn’t have been able to pick up my jaw yet about this surprise announcement! While we were all waiting to hear more about a season two of Tales of the Jedi, Lucasfilm went ahead and did something unexpected but extremely welcomed: announcing Tales of the Empire, which releases in full on May 4, complete with the show’s first trailer! Much like the Jedi incarnation, Tales of the Empire will follow two characters over six episodes: Lady Morgan Elsbeth and former Jedi Barriss Offee! From one of the most intriguing new characters to another which fans have long been clamoring to discover the fate of, Tales of the Empire looks absolutely spellbinding. More below the cut, including the poster, but in the meantime bask in the moody trailer above!
More Tales of the Jedi would be great, especially if they went to different eras, like even The High Republic, but with so much focus on heroes, it’s a welcomed change of pace we’re focusing on the villains instead. Choosing Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee (good luck to her biggest fan, Jaclyn!) for this series, of all characters, feels the most appropriate, as what we know about each of them and the stories we’ve gotten overall with them, they deserve a chance to have more depth be added to their journeys. For Morgan Elsbeth, what started as a compelling character in The Mandalorian and the early stages of Ahsoka season one, she slowly seemed to just be used and then as easily discarded, and not knowing more about her and her motivations hindered caring as much that she passed. For Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger returning), her turn to the dark side comes out of left field in The Clone Wars and plays into deplorable stereotypes, so this feels like an opportunity to maybe right those wrongs and give her a more fleshed out story of her fall/what comes next. I have my reservations for both stories however, given how Tales of the Jedi messed with Ahsoka’s story and robbed the character’s novel of its important representation and lessened its fantastic moment on her journey just to bring the story to screen, and the Mace Windu/Dooku dynamic in one of the Count’s episodes has a racist undertone to it. Will there be more writers for this series and these episodes than just Dave Filoni (though he was joined by Charles & Élan Murray for one episode), as he once again is the creator? Given the rough edges to Ahsoka, and these episodes focusing on two female characters, hopefully he’s not the only voice in the room and some marginalized writers join him, like maybe Amanda Rose Muñoz, who has been behind some of the excellent season three episode of The Bad Batch. I’m still very hyped for this show, don’t get me wrong, but I feel it’s important to question these things and hope for better.
As for what we see in the trailer for each character, here’s a quick little rundown of my thoughts:
- Morgan. From her fighting for her life during Grievous’ (Matthew Wood) massacre of the Nightsisters to her teaming up with Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), it looks like we’re going to have the most vital pieces of her missing backstory one could hope for. I’m curious if we’ll get a chance to see Asajj Ventress here, in the distance, or even Merrin from the Jedi games, during the Dathomir set-scenes! I love the glimpse of the New Republic in animation, with the ambassador who meets with her in the little fortress town Ahsoka Tano infiltrates. Either way, I’m most excited to explore her emotional journey, how she responds to the massacre and why/how she decides to make herself useful to the Empire and Thrawn. Will we get anything about her dreams of Peridea and the Great Mothers there reaching out to her? I don’t know, but look, it’s Diana Lee Inosanto returning to voice her, what more could you want there!
- Barriss. Inquisitor heaven unlocked, as we see the Grand Inquisitor again, voiced once more by Jason Isaacs (looking great in the new animation style!), the Fourth Sister aka Lyn (?!) from Obi-Wan Kenobi, voiced by her actress Rya Kihlstedt, the return of the creepy unidentified Inquisitor from Tales of the Jedi (he was the Sixth Brother in the Ahsoka novel), and Marrok, from the Ahsoka show. Could we see Reva aka the Third Sister, Trilla Suduri aka the Second Sister, and/or the Fifth Brother, among others?! I know there’s a big hubbub about seeing Darth Vader here too, but we see enough of him and I’m looking forward to getting more insight into the lives of the Inquisitorious and more of the Grand Inquisitor. But of course I’m most eager for the exploration into Barriss’ mindset and choices as she works here way through the group.
- Bonus Fact: I only just found out that Governor Wing from The Mandalorian is played by Wing T. Chao, a Disney Legend and Imagineer, and he’s back to play the character here!
Tales of the Empire looks jaw-dropping good, especially with the quality of animation, and I’m glad the villainous side of the franchise is getting more focus, especially characters like Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee. Check back sometime after May 4 (which is already packed with Free Comic Book Day goodies and The Phantom Menace back in theaters) for our reviews, which I’ll cover much like the Jedi series with one review for each character. What are you most excited for in Tales of the Empire and who would you like to see in a potential second season? Let us know in the comments or on social media!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.