Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi was a surprise when it was originally announced earlier this year during Star Wars Celebration 2022. Only a few months later and the new animated series is already about to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on 26 October 2022. It’s an anthology of six all-new animated shorts produced by Lucasfilm Animation and created by Dave Filoni (the one behind The Clone Wars and Rebels).

Filling In The Blanks

Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi is set during the prequel era and spotlights important moments in the lives of fan-favourite characters Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku as they embark on respective paths toward heroism and villainy. There are six episodes in the first season; three of them focus on Ahsoka Tano and the other three feature Count Dooku.

What’s great about the series is that it provides more insight not only into Ahsoka’s origins but also into the culture of the Togruta (the alien race that Ahsoka Tano and other Jedi like Shaak Ti is from). Despite being a fan of Ahsoka Tano and an advocate for more content featuring her for years, what surprised me most about Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi are the Count Dooku episodes.

Why do I say that? For the first time ever in the franchise canon, we see Count Dooku not as the evil and straight-on villain Darth Tyranus, but as a nuanced character with internal conflict, realistic emotions/feelings and motivations. This Count Dooku is not yet the Darth Tyranus we see in Star Wars Episode II Attack Of The Clones and Star Wars The Clone Wars. For the first time, we’re seeing a canon version of Count Dooku’s road to the Dark Side, which is a major addition to Star Wars canon.

Overall, the tone of Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi is closer to that near the end of Star Wars The Clone Wars Season 7. There’s a dark and grim atmosphere permeating these six episodes because we know what everything will lead to. That said, of course, there are also bits of hope sprinkled in for good measure; this is still Star Wars we’re talking about. Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi explores several mature themes similar to that from Star Wars The Clone Wars, which is no surprise considering that Dave Filoni is the showrunner. Some of these themes include showcasing how corrupt the Republic is becoming and showing how badass Ahsoka Tano is.

Star Wars fans will be happy with how many references and easter eggs they managed to fit into six episodes. The only negative thing I can say about Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi is how short it is.

Each of the six episodes is only around 10 to 17 minutes long. Yeah, they’re essentially animated shorts compared to The Clone Wars or The Bad Batch, but that can also be a good thing. There’s no filler, and the animators utilize every second and minute to give us a story worthy of the name, Tales Of The Jedi.

It’s a must-watch for fans of the franchise because of how Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi fills in the blanks in some plot holes and the timeline of the Star Wars Prequel era. I’m not kidding when I say how big of an addition this series is to Star Wars lore. Considering the aforementioned brief length of the episodes, that’s an impressive feat achieved by Dave Filoni and the team. At this point, it would be a crime not to let Dave Filoni take the helm of the next Star Wars movie series. However, because of that same length limitation, Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi can admittedly feel a bit rushed, especially the Count Dooku episodes. They certainly deserve more details and exposition, which hopefully future seasons or other Star Wars media will be able to do.

The Force Is With This One

Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi is arguably one of the best Star Wars content on Disney+ Hotstar to date. The animation is reminiscent of Star Wars The Clone Wars. Heck, Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi is basically best described as a prequel to The Clone Wars and Rebels. These six episodes make the Star Wars universe richer and expand it. If that’s not the mark of what a great Star Wars content is, I don’t know what is.

FINAL SCORE: 90/100

We received early screeners of Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi is slated to premiere on 26 October 2022 on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia.