Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi (our review here) was one of the best pieces of Star Wars animation ever when it premiered in 2022, giving us a short series that expanded Star Wars lore in meaningful ways while also being a great series in its own right. Two years later, and we’re getting a follow-up anthology series in the same vein, but one that promises a darker take with more ambiguous and lesser-known characters. Does it deliver on what we want from the Dark Side?

Fear Leads To Anger

(L-R): Grand Inquisitor and Barriss Offee in a scene from “STAR WARS: TALES OF THE EMPIRE”, exclusively on Disney+. © 2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

Star Wars Tales Of The Empire is set during multiple eras, and unlike Tales Of The Jedi, it jumps between several eras more frequently. What made Tales Of The Jedi so substantial and great was that it provided more insight into the important moments in the lives of fan-favourite characters like Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku. We saw 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.

In comparison, Star Wars Tales Of The Empire focuses on Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee, with three episodes each. Who, you might ask; if you’re not a hardcore Star Wars fan? And that’s the issue with this season. It’s harder to care about the origins and development of Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee because they’re nowhere near being as iconic or well-known as Ahsoka Tano or Count Dooku. Even as a Star Wars fan myself, there was never a time that I wanted more stories about Morgan Elsbeth, who is a relatively new character in canon (having only been introduced in Season 2 of The Mandalorian). Still, it’s just a small issue, and it’s still admirable that Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm are able to devote these resources to these relatively obscure characters.

Anger Leads To Hate

Morgan Elsbeth in a scene from “STAR WARS: TALES OF THE EMPIRE”, exclusively on Disney+. © 2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

That being said, what happens in Star Wars Tales Of The Empire does add to Star Wars lore (I won’t spoil what they are), but they’re nowhere as significant as Tales Of The Jedi showing us what happened to Jedi Master Yaddle or the lost years of Ahsoka Tano between The Clone Wars and Rebels. This makes Tales Of The Empire feel less substantial and some of it might even feel almost like filler, albeit how short the series is. I say ‘filler’, because it’s funny how the trailer for Star Wars Tales Of The Empire features a tease of Darth Vader, but he literally only shows up for a glorified cameo that lasts several seconds and he does absolutely nothing.

However, Star Wars Tales Of The Empire excels in its tone and atmosphere. While Tales Of The Jedi already had a dark and grim atmosphere, Tales of The Empire takes that one step further and elevates all that to a higher degree. Tales Of The Empire is more bleak and there are brutal moments, some of which are perhaps some of the most brutal I’ve seen in anything Star Wars. One highlight is a scene that features a surprisingly violent massacre. There are still many references and easter eggs in the six episodes of Tales Of The Empire but not as many as in Tales Of The Jedi. Just like Tales Of The Jedi, each of the six episodes is only around 10 to 15 minutes long, so you can pretty much finish it all in one sitting if you want.

(L-R): Morgan Elsbeth and Thrawn in a scene from “STAR WARS: TALES OF THE EMPIRE”, exclusively on Disney+. © 2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

Last but not least, the animation quality is top-notch, as expected from Dave Filoni and company. You can rest assured that you’re in for some gorgeous animation quality when you watch any Star Wars animated content these days, and Star Wars Tales Of The Empire is no exception. One minor flaw is perhaps that the majority of the scenes in Star Wars Tales Of The Empire look too dark, so it’s difficult to see the details in certain scenes. It’s not a glaring issue, but one worth pointing out.

Hate Leads To Suffering

A scene from “STAR WARS: TALES OF THE EMPIRE”, exclusively on Disney+. © 2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

Overall, Star Wars Tales Of The Empire still manages to accomplish its objective of filling in some blanks in Star Wars lore and for that, it remains a must-watch for fans of the franchise. That being said, it’s not on the same level as Tales Of The Jedi so you should probably temper your expectations a bit.

Star Wars Tales Of The Empire is still good Star Wars content worth checking out if you’re a Star Wars fan. If anything, the animation is still excellent and it is Star Wars through and through, although it’s not as impactful as Star Wars Tales Of The Jedi was. Your enjoyment of Star Wars Tales Of The Empire ultimately depends on how much you care about Morgan Elsbeth or Barriss Offee.

FINAL SCORE: 80/100

We received early screeners of Star Wars Tales Of The Empire courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. Star Wars Tales Of The Empire is slated to premiere on 4 May 2024 on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia.