Star Wars: Tales of the Empire trailer reaction
In a surprise reveal, Disney and Lucasfilm have unveiled a new trailer for ‘Star Wars: Tales of the Empire’ in the same vein as ‘Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.’ There will be six episodes focusing on Morgan Elsbeth from ‘The Mandalorian’ and Barriss Offee after she falls to the Dark Side in ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ season five. The animation looks stunning as always, but the story and time period feel safe and unimaginative.
The episodes will follow on Morgan Elsbeth and Barris Offee, and the trailer gives a strong hint of their storylines, and where they will interlink and possibly diverge from one another. It seems like this is the season two of ‘Tales of the Jedi’ that was announced during Star Wars Celebration in 2023, a brilliant alternative take on the concept.
Starting with Elsbeth, these stories will show how she fell into Thrawn’s servitude. The masscre of Dathomir will be revisited in stunning fidelity, will Grievous in particular looking beautiful in what will likely be his final appearance in animation. He’s a perfect indicator for how far this animation style has come from the first season of ‘The Clone Wars.’
This masscre will see Elsebeth being taken in by the Witches of the Mountain Clan, a different sect of witches to the Nightsisters. They will likely train her in their ways before sending her off to discover her destiny, which will likely lead her to Corvus. Here there are the same soldiers from her appearance in ‘The Mandalorian’ burning the forest, another shot rich in detail, where she will likely be approached by Thrawn.
His offer to her will be of crucial importance, because it could tie into ‘Ahsoka’ and the future of the Mandoverse. It’s great the see a younger Thrawn present, and Lars Mikkelsen continues to nail the voice. Later, New Republic dignitaries appear, but Elsebeth, consumed by her hatred, burns their ship, and thus perpetuates the cycle of violence again. It’s shaping up to be a tragic tale.
Moving to the other side of the equation, Barriss Offee, will have her own set of shorts. These will focus on her descent into becoming an Inquisitor, and she’s been trained by none other than the Grand Inquisitor, voiced by Jason Isaacs. This will likely delve into how Inquisitors were trained and selected, a fun lore exploration for those interested. The Fourth Sister will also be present as a friend of sorts, giving her more screentime.
How Offee’s story will end is still a mystery. Lucasfilm could leave it wide open again, but what’s likely is that Offeewill renounce her evil ways. StarWars.com teases that these two characters are on divergent paths, and audiences already know that Elsbeth won’t split from the Empire, so will Barriss?
If she does defect, then the Grim Reaper of failed Inquisitors – Darth Vader – is present to collect Offee’s soul. Offee of course has history with Vader, and this could play out in some way across her episodes, but this is yet to be seen
One criticism is that these shorts have an overwhelming feeling of safety to them. Disney could have explored unfamiliar time periods and characters in a very similar premise, with three episodes on Darth Revan and Darth Bane. While this could end up more controversial than simply following familiar characters, it would be a bolder vision for ‘Star Wars’ animation than what’s been currently offered.
But these shorts will be pleasant enough for an alternate take on ‘Tales of the Jedi’ and will debut on May 4, ‘Star Wars’ Day. That’s only a few days after ‘Star Wars: The Bad Batch’ wraps up, a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
